Resource Database

Created by ExpandED Schools by TASC, this resource guide profiles promising strategies that advance informal STEM learning. It provides an overview of core elements of the national Frontiers in Urban Science Exploration strategy, profiles of city and county-wide STEM initiatives, afterschool curriculum resources for STEM activities, and more.

“STEM Related After-School Program Activities and Associated Outcomes on Student Learning” provides findings that may be useful to afterschool leaders seeking support for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs in their afterschool programs. Published in the journal Educational Sciences: Theory & Practices, the article discusses findings from a qualitative case study of how afterschool STEM programs affect collaborative learning and students’ interest in STEM fields and 21st-century skills. Free registration is required to access the full article.

The Afterschool Training Toolkit for Math contains a suite of professional development materials to help your 21st CCLC provide engaging math enrichment activities. Resources include information on best practices and the research base supporting them, video clips of the practices in action to use for professional development, and lesson plans so that your team can practice implementing these strategies.

Partners in Education: A Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships is a publication of SEDL in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education. The publication presents a new framework for designing family engagement initiatives that build capacity among educators and families to partner with one another around student success. Based in existing research and best practices, this report is designed to act as a scaffold for the development of family engagement strategies, policies, and programs.

Engaging Families in Afterschool is a webinar created especially for Illinois 21st CCLCs. The webinar will help afterschool programs strengthen and build a systemic approach to family engagement and highlight school- and district-level efforts. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) will host and co-facilitate with SEDL's Illinois Quality Afterschool team. Before the webinar, participants can review ISBE’s Family Engagement Framework Guide and provide feedback.

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation works with schools, companies, community organizations, healthcare professionals and families to transform the conditions and systems that lead to healthier kids. The organization provides resources for out-of-school time providers, state-specific statistics, and an e-newsletter. There is also a framework to help out-of-school providers improve access to healthier foods, increase physical activity opportunities, and emphasize youth engagement.

The You for Youth afterschool website has a collection of resources on drug and alcohol prevention. All materials provided in the resource list and in the content modules are approved for your professional development needs by both the Office of National Drug Control Policy and by the U.S. Department of Education.

This publication from the Wallace Foundation explores how high-quality arts programs can attract and retain low-income urban tweens. The report draws on hundreds of interviews with young people, their families, leaders of exemplary programs and others nationwide and outlines 10 principles for developing effective programming. An infographic illustrating key findings, a report “knowledge-in-brief,” a video introduction, and video profiles of six outstanding arts organizations offer compelling supplemental reading and viewing.

This article presents recommendations from the Wallace-funded RAND Corporation report Getting to Work on Summer Learning, specifically those related to the hiring and training of teachers for school district-run summer learning programs. First and foremost, the report and article emphasize the need for districts to commit to a summer program by December and begin planning by January. The article appeared in JSD, the journal of Learning Forward, an organization promoting professional development in education.

This literature review from the Robert Bowne Foundation examines research on the effects of professional development on afterschool program quality and youth outcomes. Author Sarah Hill observes that there is “no clear link between professional development and youth outcomes” in out-of-school time literature but notes that a research-based consensus has established the characteristics of high-quality professional development: “It is sustained over a period of time, coherent, content focused, and based in a community of learners.” The review suggests that afterschool professionals use these guidelines to shape their professional development offerings while calling for more rigorous studies on the link between high-quality professional development and youth outcomes. The review also contains an annotated bibliography of related research.