Methods for Creating Productive After-School Programs

By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions

May 18, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute

Getting It Right: Strategies for After-School Success, by Rebecca Raley, Jean Grossman, and Karen E. Walker, reports on research by Public/Private Ventures on how to establish after-school programs that attract young people and produce strong academic and social results. Among the most successful approaches, the group found, were those that focused on specific needs, such as providing academic tutoring or teaching young people how to manage conflict, and recruited young people who were not receiving such help. The report also includes examples of activities that motivated participants to attend regularly, and how to assemble the budget and management structure needed for an effective, well-monitored program.

Publisher: Public/Private Ventures, 2000 Market Street, Suite 600, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103; (215) 557-4400; fax (215) 557-4469; http://www.ppv.org; 45 pages; $7.50 for hard copy or free for download on the organization’s Web site.

About the Author

M.J. Prest

Senior Editor, Solutions

M.J. Prest is senior editor for solutions at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, where she highlights how nonprofit leaders navigate and overcome major challenges. She has covered stories on big gifts, grant making, and executive moves for the Chronicle since 2004. Her work has also appeared in the Washington Post, Slate.com, and the Huffington Post, and she wrote the young-adult novel Immersion. M.J. graduated from Williams College and after living in many different places, she settled in New England with her husband, two kids, and two rescue dogs.