January 9, 2003 | Read Time: 1 minute
Multiple Choices After School: Findings From the Extended-Service Schools Initiative by Jean Baldwin Grossman, Marilyn L. Price, Veronica Fellerath, LInda Z. Jcovy, Lauren J. Kotloff, Rebecca Raley, Karen E. Walker reports on 60 after-school programs created through grants from the Wallace-Reader’s Digest Funds, in New York. Public/Private Ventures, in Philadelphia, and the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, in New York, evaluated programs resulting from collaborations between schools and community-based groups. They found that such programs were generally put in place fairly quickly, had “reasonable” costs, and were well-attended by students. The authors suggest that the partnerships benefit both the students—by drawing on the expertise of existing youth groups—and the organizations, which can capitalize on their newly developed ties to schools and town residents to find new potential sources of income, and additional space for their programs. The report examines the relative strengths of different organizational and programmatic decisions, such as the number of days students were required or allowed to enroll. According to the report, several challenges remain, including attracting a broader group of students to programs and finding sufficient financial support to meet the growing demand for after-school activities. Public/Private Ventures, 2000 Market Street, Suite 600, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103; (215) 557-4400; fax (215) 557-4469; http://www.ppv.org; 70 pages; $8.50; free for download on Web site
