Resources

The Out-of-School Time Leader's Guide to Equitable Hiring and Staff Development Practices

Because the OST sector is rooted in the principles of youth development including creating safe and welcoming spaces for all young people, the sector is primed to be a leader in using similar philosophies to enact equitable hiring and staff development practices. We realize there is a broader need for a comprehensive overhaul of job quality in our sector, from rethinking compensation to making benefits more accessible to creating career pathways.  We can do better, and we will absolutely need to in order to meet the current and future staffing demands of the growing OST field.

This guide is just the beginning of support needed to make comprehensive changes to systems, policies, funding, and practices. It is intended to catalyze the OST workforce, our stakeholders and partners to examine systems, elevate practices and policies that will build and strengthen the field.

A Natural Fit: Supporting After-School Staff of Color in Teacher Pipelines

Our report, A Natural Fit: Supporting After-School Staff of Color in Teacher Pipelines, examines the experiences of current and former teacher candidates of color with after-school or OST experience to provide insights into how teacher preparation programs and state policymakers can create the right programmatic experiences and conditions to recruit after-school/OST staff into the teaching profession and prepare them for success.

We focus specifically on the experiences of candidates in what are considered non-traditional preparation pathways, such as teacher residencies and Grow Your Own programs. These programs tend to attract and retain a more diverse pool of teachers, with deeper connections to local school communities than traditional teacher education pathways.

Putting Data to Work for Young People: A Framework for Measurement, Continuous Improvement, and Equitable Systems

This tool and guidebook can help people assess afterschool systems, the programs within them and youth outcomes—in the interest of informing system improvements. ​

Navigating Social and Emotional Learning from the Inside Out

The field of social and emotional learning (SEL) is rapidly expanding, as educators bring a sharper focus to helping children build skills beyond academic knowledge.

Out-of-School Time Programs This Summer: Paving the Way for Children to Find Passion, Purpose & Voice - Parent, Teacher & OST Provider Perceptions

America After 3PM

For years, afterschool programs have kept kids safe, inspired them to learn, and helped working families. America After 3PM—the largest survey on afterschool, spanning 16 years—found that unmet demand has skyrocketed. For every child in an afterschool program, 3 are waiting to get in.

Demand remains strong during the pandemic, as parents see programs providing critical supports.