Extended-Service Schools

Project

Overview

Project Overview

Especially in low-income neighborhoods, schools are an attractive setting for after-school programs for many reasons, including their physical facilities and their convenience. Indeed, the vision of some youth development experts is to transform public schools into full-service youth and community centers that open early in the morning and stay open into the early evening, as well as on weekends. While federal spending on school-based, after-hours programs has risen dramatically over the past several years, little is known about the realities and challenges of providing services in this context.

Launched in 1997, the Extended-Service Schools (ESS) Initiative helped establish after-school programs in 60 elementary and middle schools in 17 cities across the country. In 2002, Public/Private Ventures and MDRC completed a four-year evaluation of the initiative.

STATUS: Completed

Basics

Issue: P-12 Education

Focus Area: After-School/Out-of-School Time, Elementary and Middle School

Population: Children and Schools

Focus Population: Elementary and Middle School Students

Locations: Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Rhode Island

Multiple Choices After School

Findings from the Extended-Service Schools Initiative

Launched in 1997, the Extended-Service Schools (ESS) Initiative helped establish after-school programs in 17 communities across the country, each of which adapted one of four program models to local circumstances and needs.

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Agenda, Scope, <br> & Goals

Agenda, Scope, and Goals

Each ESS program adopted one of four nationally recognized after-school models and tailored it to local circumstances and needs. Partnerships between the local school district and a university or a community-based organization (or both) facilitated this process. The activities offered by the programs included homework help, enrichment and artistic activities, and sports. Despite differences in orientation, the programs shared most of the following aims:

to improve young people’s academic performance;

to offer youth an opportunity to use their out-of-school time safely and productively;

to foster the development of positive relationships among young people, as well as between young people and adults;

to get parents more involved in their children’s lives and schooling; and

to provide youth with enriching athletic and cultural experiences.

The ESS evaluation examined the after-school programs’ implementation, quality, and cost. It also analyzed program participation patterns and the benefits of participation, as seen by students and their parents. The evaluation sought to answer these questions:

What were the characteristics of children and youth who attended the programs, how much did they attend, and why? Did the programs attract young people who would benefit most from participation?

What features characterized the activities that seemed most likely to promote the positive development of children and youth? What organizational structures and programmatic approaches best sustain these practices?

In what ways did young people who participated believe they benefited from the ESS programs?

How much did the programs cost, and how were they financed?

STATUS: Completed

Basics

Issue: P-12 Education

Focus Area: After-School/Out-of-School Time, Elementary and Middle School

Population: Children and Schools

Focus Population: Elementary and Middle School Students

Locations: Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Rhode Island

Multiple Choices After School

Findings from the Extended-Service Schools Initiative

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Design, Sites, & <br> Data Sources

Design, Sites, and Data Sources

Using data collected from 1998 through 2001, the study focused on the implementation and perceived benefits of the ESS programs. The implementation research was augmented by analyses of participation and program costs. While program implementation was examined in all 60 sites, the analysis of participation, costs, and benefits focused on 10 programs in six communities: Aurora, Colorado; Boston, Massachusetts; Central Falls, Rhode Island; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Missoula, Montana; and Savannah, Georgia.

The study findings are based on site visits; computerized records of program attendance; cost records; surveys of program participants and their parents; and interviews with program staff, students, parents, program partners, and city officials.

STATUS: Completed

Basics

Issue: P-12 Education

Focus Area: After-School/Out-of-School Time, Elementary and Middle School

Population: Children and Schools

Focus Population: Elementary and Middle School Students

Locations: Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Rhode Island

Multiple Choices After School

Findings from the Extended-Service Schools Initiative

Overview »

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Funders & <br />Partners

Funders

The Wallace Foundation

MDRC Staff

Fred Doolittle
Chair, Institutional Review Board
Doolittle joined MDRC in 1986, initially specializing in studies of employment and training programs for economically disadvantaged out-of-school young people and adults. As MDRC expanded its work to include education, he focused on evaluations of elementary and secondary school reforms.
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Jean Grossman
Senior Fellow, K-12 Education Policy Area
Grossman joined MDRC in 2011 as a part-time senior fellow in the K-12 Education Policy Area. She is working on the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation’s Social Innovation Fund project, leading the evaluation of the BELL summer program.
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Project

STATUS: Completed

Basics

STATUS: Completed

Basics

STATUS: Completed

Basics

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