PASA Blog
AfterZone: Outcomes for Youth Participating in Providence's Citywide After-School System
This report presents findings from a three-year quasi-experimental evaluation of the AfterZone—a citywide system-building effort in Providence, RI, that aims to provide high-quality, accessible out-of-school-time services to middle school youth. The AfterZone model is unique in that it is built on a network of "neighborhood campuses" anchored by one or two middle schools; this structure provides youth the opportunity to participate in sports, arts and skills-enhancing programs in both community- and school-based settings. The report summarizes the patterns of youth participation in the AfterZone during the two-year period (in terms of amount, breadth and engagement); examines the benefits youth experience from participating after one and two school years; and presents implications for funders, policymakers and program leaders interested in implementing their own citywide out-of-school-time system.
To read the accompanying executive summary, click here. To read P/PV's 2010 study focused on the implementation of the AfterZone model, click here.
A final publication, which focuses on how youth participated in AfterZone programs and the relationship of various patterns of participation to youth outcomes, can be accessed here.
Hard Copy...
Nora Fleming highlighted Providence as part of a larger discussion around what recent Federal legislation could mean for expanded learning.
The Push is on to Add Time to School
About 50 6th graders at Roger Williams Middle School hiked with the Audubon Society during a class period last week, examining plant and insect species and cataloging birds from a nearby urban park. For another period, they gathered water samples aboard a boat on Narragansett Bay.
Those experiences were part of their new 7th-period class, which adds an extra hour...
Thanks to Travis Herbert, Campus Director of Asheville's In Real Life program, for sending along this fantastic video of all the hard work they're doing! Travis attended PASA's City Institute last November to learn more about how Asheville could build a citywide after-school system similar to what we have in Providence. Check out the progress they've made since!
In Real Life from 614 Films (Rod Murphy) on Vimeo.
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STEM Coordinator Rob Pecchia (right) with Tim and Kevin (from left to right) Club AfterZone AmeriCorps Everyday Explorers from the 2010-2011 school year
Monday, October 3rd kicked off another year of community service for Rhode Island AmeriCorps members. Over 400 new AmeriCorps Team Members took the pledge of service at the State House and celebrated the beginning of another year working with communities throughout Rhode Island. The opening ceremony included testimonials from AmeriCorps members, musical performances, and remarks from Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, as well as from Representatives Jim Langevin and David Cicilline.
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All of our fall AfterZone programs began on Tuesday and we're happy to welcome this year's AmeriCorps Everyday Explorers to the team! PASA works with AmeriCorps Team Members as part of our Club AfterZone programs and this year's group of Everyday Explorers are already working with Providence middle school youth in three schools—Roger Williams, Nathan Bishop, and DelSesto—doing hands-on science and math projects. One of last year's AmeriCorps Everyday Explorers, Kevin Marin (pictured above) has rerturned to be the team leader at Roger Williams.
Thanks to Kevin and all of the AmeriCorps Everyday Explorers who make Club AfterZone an engaging and exciting hands-on STEM learning experience!
Learn more about what's going on in Club AfterZone from Everyday Explorers in the field by checking out their a href="http://...
The Hub hired 2 students who completed our Web Development class to help build an Expanded Learning website. HTML coding starts now!
By Damian Ewens
There is a lot of conversation happening right now about how, when, why, and if educators should integrate technology into the classroom. Digital learning offers exciting new capacity as much as it offers challenges. New learning tools can provide real time analysis of student knowledge and critical thinking skills. Educators can adapt their content to better individually serve students according to their strengths and proficiency levels. Tom Vander Ark even goes so far as to suggest in his article 10 Things I’d Do Right Now as a Superintendent(www.gettingsmart.com) districts should place all AP courses online purely because the web offers the capacity to do so. Why offer only 6 AP courses when you can offer all AP courses?
At the same time challenges are present to incorporating digital learning as an educational tool. Many argue that digital learning takes away from the critical human interaction between teacher and student, and peer to peer learning. This is a matter of when and how digital tools are used. In the same way that today's standardized tests do not paint a complete and accurate picture of a learner, digital learning is not the only way to learn but rather, a tool that can facilitate new ways of acquiring, sharing, analyzing and assessing learning wherever and whenever it happens.
Here in Providence there is a great array of digital learning happening for high school students in the after-school environment. The MIT-supported FabLab at AS220 provides tools and training for digital manufacturing, 3D printing, video and audio productions and more and Inspiring Minds offers a Build Your Own Computer Class. Youth organizations like Youth 4 Change,a href="http://newurbanarts.org/...