Afterschool Programs - From Vision to Reality: Get Credit

Letter to administrator

Syllabus
Rubric and list of critera

This rubric is designed to assess the creation of an effective afterschool activity plan as presented in the Implementation section of the "Afterschool Programs -- From Vision to Reality" workshop.

Afterschool Programs -- From Vision to Reality

1. Goal Formation

The afterschool activity plan aligns its activities with the goals of the overall program and reflects the needs of students, staff, parents, and school community.

The afterschool activity plan aligns a few of its activities with the goals of the overall program and meets few of the needs of students, staff, parents, and school community.

The afterschool activity plan does not align its activities with the goals of the overall program and does not reflect the needs of students, staff, parents, and school community.

2. Needs Assessment

A variety of stakeholders including students, staff, parents and other relevant community members are equally involved in designing the afterschool activity plan.

While some community stakeholders are involved in designing the afterschool activity plan, the teachers and other school staff are the primary participants in its overall design.

Members of the school staff design the afterschool activity plan but without the input or consultation of other community stakeholders such as students and parents.

3. Child Dynamics

The number of students, their ages, gender, and behavior was taken into consideration during the process of planning and developing its activities.

Some consideration was given to the number of students, their ages, gender, and behavior during the activity development and planning process, but not all factors were addressed.

The number of students, their ages, gender, and behavior were not taken into consideration during the process of planning and developing its activities.

4. Environment

There is sufficient space available for different scales of activities and also for storing materials and student projects.

Space has been designated for activities. However, sufficient accommodations have not been made to allow for large student projects or the storage of materials.

There is not sufficient space for different scales of activities, large-scale student projects, or storage of materials.

5. Content Knowledge

The activities' design has taken into consideration the specific prior knowledge that students need in order to successfully complete the activities.

The activities' design does not fully take into consideration the specific prior knowledge that the students need in order to successfully complete the activities.

The activities' design has not taken into consideration the specific prior knowledge that students need in order to successfully complete the activities.

6. The Budget

The afterschool activity plan budget provides for the long-term sustainability of the program, as well as for the immediate finances needed to buy materials for the daily activities.

The afterschool activity plan budget does not adequately address the long-term sustainability of the program, or consider the immediate finances needed to buy materials for the activities.

The afterschool activity plan budget does not provide for the long-term sustainability of the program, or for the immediate finances needed to buy materials for the activities.

7. The Schedule

The afterschool activity plan has a structured and flexible schedule that includes daily, weekly, and monthly routines, as well as time allotted for celebrations and special events.

The afterschool activity plan may have established routines for students to follow on a daily basis but there are not enough blocks of free time to allow for greater flexibility.

The afterschool activity plan does not have a daily schedule with established routines and has too great of a degree of flexibility so that students are moving irregularly from one activity to another.

8. Transition Time

The schedule builds in opportunities for different kinds of transitional activities such as snack time, and time for students to unwind after the school day and in between activities.

There may be opportunities for transitional activities such as snack time, and time for students to unwind after the school day and in between activities, but they are not built into the schedule.

The schedule does not build in opportunities for different kinds of transitional activities such as snack time, and time for students to unwind after the school day and in between activities.

9. Balance of Activities

The afterschool program offers a balance of academics, recreation, enrichment and cultural activities in its curriculum based on all the developmental needs of students.

The afterschool program offers some diversity of enrichment activities but is skewed toward one or two areas such as academics or athletics and does not meet all the developmental needs of students.

The afterschool program centers upon a singular enrichment activity and does not significantly meet any of the development needs of students.

10. Activity Web

The activity web uses a central theme that builds on students' interest and creates continuity so that students broaden the depth and width of their academic knowledge through a balance of linked content activities.

The activity web has a theme but it is not continuously present across all activities. The various activities also do not meet the needs and interests of students.

The activity web does not have a well-defined theme, lacks a variety of activities, lacks continuity, and does not meet students' interests and needs.

11. Activity Matrix

The activity matrix maps out the purpose and desired results of all the activities and defines how the activities meet the needs of students' academic, social, and emotional development.

The activity matrix maps out the purpose and desired results of most of the activities but does not clearly define how the activities meet the needs of students' academic, social, and emotional development.

The activity matrix does not map out the purpose and desired results of the activities and does not define how the activities meet the needs of students' academic, social, and emotional development.

List of assessment criteria

This suggested list of criteria can be used as a guide for an administrator when determining the level of integration of the workshop topic into the overall program curriculum over a greater period of time. This list can also be used as a guide for teacher self-assessment.

The degree to which afterschool programs address the multivariate concerns of community stakeholders, including families.
The degree to which afterschool programs enhance students' academic achievement.
The degree to which afterschool programs support students' social development and relationships with each other and with adults.
The degree to which parents, teachers, students, and community members are involved with the planning and implementation of afterschool programs.
The degree to which public and private funding sources are secured for the establishment and maintenance of afterschool programs.
The degree to which an afterschool program develops a budget and financial plan that provides for long-term sustainability.
The degree to which an afterschool program establishes strong leadership and an organizational structure.
The degree to which an afterschool program recognizes liability risks and legal requirements and addresses such issues in its operational plan.
The degree to which an afterschool program addresses the safety, health and nutritional issues facing students.
The degree to which an afterschool program considers staffing needs, including the hiring of a skilled and caring staff, the provision of professional development opportunities, ensuring a low adult/child ratio and the inclusion of school day teachers as afterschool staff.
The degree to which an afterschool program offers students a balance of academics, recreation, enrichment and cultural activities.
The degree to which afterschool activities are coordinated with school day curricula.
The degree to which an afterschool program meets the developmental needs of students.
The degree to which afterschool program designers analyze the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of their particular school community in order to create a more targeted response to community needs.
The degree to which afterschool programs ensures meaningful and sustained parental and community involvement throughout the planning and implementation phases of the program.
The degree to which afterschool programs make use of existing networks of youth serving organizations
The degree to which an afterschool program designs an evaluation process that involves program staff as well as community stakeholders.
The degree to which an afterschool program incorporates a variety of activities to address curriculum objectives as well as provide student participants with choices within the overall structure.
The degree to which afterschool programs develop curricula that address learning standards as well as students' interests.
The degree to which an afterschool faculty devotes time in its planning process to study successful afterschool programs across the country and incorporate relevant aspects of these model programs into the design of their own school's afterschool program.
The degree to which technology is incorporated into the curriculum of an afterschool program.
The degree to which students in an afterschool program employ higher order thinking skills to accomplish various tasks within in the program's curriculum.
The degree to which an afterschool program uses high interest activities (e.g. sports, dance, drama) as leverage in expanding student participation in afterschool academic programs.
The degree to which afterschool programs provide students and teachers with cross-cultural experiences that help each in building understanding and familiarity of the complexity of a school community.
The degree to which students and their family members can benefit from enrichment activities offered in an afterschool program.
The degree to which public and private institutions, businesses, etc operating within a school's town or city are incorporated into the planning, funding or program segments of an afterschool program.
The degree to which afterschool programs coordinate with local law enforcement and counseling agencies to reduce the incidence of various at-risk behaviors (gang membership, drug use, committing violent and property crime).
The degree to which afterschool curricula address students' wide range of learning styles
The degree to which parents are informed of their student's daily progress in an afterschool program.
The degree to which an afterschool program includes a broader range of desired outcomes, such as the social and emotional development of each child, as part of its evaluation criteria.
The degree to which afterschool program schedules provide both structure and flexibility.

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