Expanding Learning Opportunities Beyond the School Doors & the School Year Nicole Yohalem Director, Special Projects, Forum for Youth Investment Jessie Kerr-Vanderslice Providence After School Alliance April 18, 2012 #readyby21

What do we call this work? Youth development After-school Out-of-school time Informal learning Free choice learning Extended learning Expanded learning opportunities Blurring the lines… When I first got involved in this work I called it youth development. After too many fuzzy conversations about what that meant, I threw in the towel and began using the after-school language. It seemed to resonate pretty clearly, especially with policy audiences, even though from a communication standpoint it conveys only a time of day (and a narrow one at that). Then along came out-of-school time, which I happily latched onto. Though still focused on the question of time rather than purpose or focus, it was broader than after-school and OST was a catchy acronym. Now along comes this ELO language. Though I will continue to use any number of these labels, since they vary in terms of nuance and origin in some meaningful ways, I'm making my peace with the Expanded Learning Opportunities language and here's why. First, it is broad enough to serve as an umbrella term as opposed to a specific program label, and an umbrella that sticks could be a powerful unifier. Second, the word "learning" communicates something about purpose, and the word "expanded" (unlike "extended"), opens up the opportunity for learning to be defined broadly. I also like the ELO language because I believe that ultimately, we need to blur the lines between school and community if we are to help all young people be ready for college, work, and life. In A Place Called School, John Goodlad said "the school may be the only institution charged exclusively with the educational function, but... there is not one agency, but an ecology of institutions educating -- school, home, places of worship, television, press, museums, libraries, businesses, factories...” Maybe the ELO language can help us realize Goodlad’s vision.

Ready by 21: The Big Picture The Building Blocks The Insulated Pipeline The Readiness Target Ready Leaders Ready Communities Ready Youth

Expanded Learning Opportunities Effective expanded learning opportunities offer an integrated approach to learning and address what, where, when, and how students learn. Ensuring that all young people are ready for college, work and life requires integrated communitywide commitments to learning. Many recent proposals would expand learning time, not necessarily expand learning opportunities. But expanding time and place are unlikely to produce more actual learning until we expand how we define and measure what and how students learn. Most of the ELO definitions currently circulating emphasis the where and when, some others address the how learning happens, but few speak to the question of what. Most include an emphasis on partnerships as essential. When, Where, What and How Youth Learn, Spring 2004 New Directions for Youth Development, Jossey Bass Edited by Karen Pittman, Nicole Yohalem & Joel Tolman http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/yd.32/abstract

Expanded Definitions of… What. Academic preparation is critical but not enough. Young people need to develop a range of skills and competencies to be ready for college, work and life. When. Young people learn and develop every day, across their waking hours, during the school year and the summer. Where. In addition to schools - CBOs, museums, libraries, parks, faith organizations and families are all places where learning happens that can connect to and go beyond academics. How. Effective learning environments – wherever they are – involve inquiry & project-based learning, youth choice & voice, supportive relationships, and physical & psychological safety. Now a few slides underscoring why this is important.

Why an expanded learning approach? Civic Social Emotional Physical Vocational Cognitive Developmental Domains Ages 21+ . After School ? To help you understand what we mean by reach, let me set up a familiar scenario. In the business community, a common response to the quality question is, “let’s find the best programs out there and replicate them.” There are a couple of problems with that model. First it can lead to factions, as the anointed programs receive more of the available resources. Second, replication models can be very program specific, and they don’t always help professionals working in different kinds of contexts and systems transfer and apply the practices that led to the initial success very well. In the end, the replication model can get high marks in terms of quality programming, but usually doesn’t result in enough reach to address all of the systems, settings and programs that touch young people’s lives. To address the reach part of the equation, we ask communities to make three assumptions: First, kids need early and sustained supports. Many communities have gotten the early part right – as seen in investments in early childhood education. But it is not enough to invest early without thinking systemically about what supports & opportunities are in place next. So we start with the first assumption that we have to invest in young people from the time that they are little to the time that they are big. The second assumption is that we have to invest in and engage young people across their waking hours – from the time they get up until the time they go to sleep. Third, we have to think across the full range of outcomes – from academic to social – if we are to fully support young people being Ready by 21. If you take those three assumptions and you make them the axes of a cube (ages, times of day/year, outcomes) – you define developmental space for young people. We can intentionally fill this space or kids can be left to their own devices to fill it - young people will find someone to talk to and something to do, whether we are paying attention or not. At a systems level, we don’t do a consistent job of thinking about the entire space and using our community resources to address that entire space. Schools only fill a small part of the space – roughly 27% of young people’s time -- and they are increasingly under pressure to address only a narrow slice of the outcomes space (namely academics). After-school fills an even smaller space, depending on how it is defined. To answer the question are youth getting what they need, communities need to know what fills the rest of the space and need mechanisms in place for monitoring the availability, accessibility and quality of programs. [Speakers note: You may insert a discussion question to engage the audience in what they think fills the “developmental white space” space – good or bad – for young people in your community, and make observations about how coordinated mechanisms are helping or may help to address some of the most critical concerns in the future.] School Times of Day/Week/Year Morning . . . Night

Why an expanded learning approach? Explain slide. The message is not we should disband schools and send kids to youth programs. But when we say “schools’ can’t do it alone” we don’t just mean because they’re too busy (which they are). It’s because there are other settings that offer equally or perhaps even more powerful learning opportunities that we must capitalize on. Class With Friends Sports Programs* *Arts, clubs, hobbies

Traditional assumptions about learning WHEN WHERE During School Day After School In the Community Formal Learning Enriched Learning Informal Learning Extended Learning In the School Formal Learning Enriched Learning Extended Learning Informal Learning In the boxes is the “how”

Expanded assumptions about learning WHEN WHERE During School Day After School In the Community Formal Learning Enriched Learning Informal Learning Extended Learning In the School We know that the characteristics of effective learning environments are consistent across settings. Reinfroce that this kind of approach really calls for partnerships – school’s can’t do this alone. There is increasing evidence that the characteristics of effective learning environments are the same across settings. FORMAL LEARNING ENRICHMENT INFORMAL LEARNING

Principles of Effective Expanded Learning Programs Afterschool Alliance www.afterschoolalliance.org/policyexpandedlearning.cfm www.expandedlearning.org

www. forumfyi. org www. readyby21. org Nicole Yohalem nicole@forumfyi www.forumfyi.org www.readyby21.org Nicole Yohalem nicole@forumfyi.org 202-207-3344

Expanded Learning in Providence Ready by 21, April 2012 Nashville, TN

What is the AfterZone? Community approach, Intermediary support Citywide system of supports, collective leadership Positive youth development framework Quality improvement focus

Public/Private Ventures Quasi-Experimental AfterZone Evaluation AfterZone Outcomes Public/Private Ventures Quasi-Experimental AfterZone Evaluation 2-year findings On average, relative to comparison youth, AfterZone participants: Had 25% fewer school absences Had math grades that are 1/ 2of a grade higher (e.g., a B- to a B+) Those who attend 32 or more days of the AfterZone per year: Had higher scores on state standardized math test Had higher math, ELA and science GPA Reported greater school connectedness Those who report high levels of engagement in the AfterZone: Thought more about their future Had better social skills Demonstrated more positive behavior

Community- Facilitated What are the primary options? Expanded Learning Opportunities in Rhode Island: Creatively bridging the ways youth learn to create a full day, full year of learning School-facilitated: Focus primarily on academic outcomes Led primarily by school staff; can incorporate community-led activities Community-facilitated: Focus on an array of social, emotional and learning outcomes Led primarily by community educators, with an emphasis on experiential learning School- Facilitated Community- Facilitated What are the primary options? Blended Blended: Focus on academic and broader outcomes simultaneously Led jointly by community educators and teachers, following intensive planning

Youth Development Programs Inquiry-Based Programs Blended Practice “AfterZone Scholars” – Summer –School Year) Expanded Learning Elements for Providence Middle Schools On-going programs with defined curricula in arts, sports, and general skill-building Programs jointly designed and led by community educators and classroom teachers, with academic components woven into hands-on exploration Ongoing youth development programs led by educators taking part in professional learning communities defining essential learning skills / strategies; includes high-quality STEM, English language arts, and academic skill-building curricula implemented by AmeriCorps members Nationally recognized model serving as the central experience and lynchpin for expanded learning efforts

High Quality Programs and Continuous Improvement Rhode Island Program Quality Assessment (RIPQA) Aligned Professional Development Learning Communities Collaborative design and planning

Middle School Expanded Learning Opportunities Summer Scholars Program Turnaround school pilot program Higher education partnerships Professional Development Learning Communities Overview of all of the current projects and developing initiatives in MS ELO

Summer Scholars Learning Teams Providence Public School Teacher (Generalist) Community Based Organization Provider AfterZone Staff Member Providence Public School Teacher (Math) Summer Experience: Blended Practice Teaching and Planning Youth Development Approach Inquiry Framework

High School Expanded Learning Opportunities 2011 Web Development Pilot ELO Technology Infrastructure 2012 ELO Pilot Digital Badging- connecting AZ to Hub

“Learning happens anytime, anywhere.”

www.mypasa.org www.youtube.com/mypasaorg Jessie Kerr-Vanderslice AfterZone Co-Director/Quality Improvement jkerr-vanderslice@mypasa.org 401-490-9599 x 107