National Introduction of our Afterschool Program Assessment System (APAS)
Project Director: Julie Dennehy
With primary funding by the AT&T Family Care Development Fund, NIOST piloted their afterschool program assessment system in Atlanta, Georgia and New Jersey. Additional funding was provided by United Way Massachusetts Bay and Partners in Out-of-School Time to include Boston, MA and Charlotte, NC sites. The pilot succeeded in its objectives of completing the training modules, integrating the tools into a database (KidTrax by nFocus Software ), and writing an online tutorial for parts of the system. APAS includes two measurement tools-the Survey of Afterschool Youth Outcomes (SAYO) and the Assessing Afterschool Program Practices Tool (APT). SAYO measures outcomes in eight areas that research suggests are linked to long-term positive development, and academic and life success. SAYO uses brief pre- and post-participation surveys to collect data from day school teachers and afterschool staff in a "menu" approach. Afterschool programs collect data only on outcomes that are aligned with their goals and practices. APT is designed to complement SAYO by helping programs evaluate and strengthen quality practices that research suggests are linked with SAYO outcomes. APT looks at the overall afterschool program, homework time and activities with two comprehensive tools that combine observation and self-assessment. Together, these user-friendly and affordable tools are designed to help afterschool programs improve program quality and focus on appropriate and realistic outcomes for youth. These tools were developed to help address the accountability challenge that faces afterschool programs. |
