What Difference Does It Make? An Interview with Milbrey McLaughlin

By Sam Piha

Milbrey McLaughlin

Milbrey McLaughlin has been a leading thinker, researcher, and advocate on youth development, out-of-school time youth programs, and community schools for decades. Dr. McLaughlin teaches at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education and is Founding Director of Stanford’s John W. Gardner Center. 

Dr. McLaughlin recently released a new book entitled, You Can’t Be What You Can’t See: The Power of Opportunity to Change Young Lives. Below are her responses to a few questions regarding her work. 


Q: Can you say a few words about the subject of your new book and why you decided on this? 

A: My 1994 book Urban Sanctuaries chronicled the successful youth outcomes associated with CYCLE (Community Youth Creative Learning Experience), a neighborhood-based youth program operating in Chicago’s notorious Cabrini-Green housing project. CYCLE provided the high-poverty black youth growing up there with concrete alternatives to gangs and school failure, occasions to experience life outside the four square blocks of their dense neighborhood, and opportunities to imagine futures different from the concentrated poverty they saw around them. 

While Urban Sanctuaries documented participants’ encouraging outcomes in the early 1990s, it could say little about whether these positive attitudes and behaviors could or would be sustained over time given the powerful challenges of poverty and negatives of life in Cabrini-Green. You Can’t Be What You Can’t See: The Power of Opportunity to Change Young Lives follows up with around 700 CYCLE participants 30 years later and provides a rare opportunity to see the long-term impact of a youth program on their lives, and the lives of their children.

CYCLE had remarkable success in enabling Cabrini-Green’s low income, African-American youth to make it through high school and move into positive adult lives. In a community where around 30% African-American females and less than 20% of African-American males graduated from high school, and where gang membership and early pregnancies were the norm, CYCLE participants’ accomplishments are extraordinary. Around 90% of the youth involved in CYCLE’s scholarship programs and other activities during the 1980s graduated from high school. They subsequently achieved careers such as educators, doctors, office workers, social workers, managers, youth leaders, tradesmen and law enforcement officers. Many attained success in higher education. In addition to earned Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees, CYCLE participants from the 1980s include 11 doctorates, 2 MDs, and MAs in programs such as architecture, social work, education, and business. 

Today, CYCLE alums have stable jobs, families and friendships; they are active in their communities and in their children’s lives. And, a majority of their children are high school graduates headed for higher education. 

Q: What were the key takeaways? 

A: There were several:

• The impressive accomplishments of CYCLE alums and their children show that the negative outcomes predicted for kids who grow up in concentrated poverty like Cabrini-Green—school failure, early pregnancy, involvement with gangs, drugs—are not inevitable. They result not from a so-called “culture of poverty” but from a poverty of opportunities. But sadly, nationally, the youth who most need out-of-school opportunities like CYCLE in fact have the fewest. Kids, especially black youth, growing up in the most impoverished communities have scarce constructive things to do once school is out.

• Attention to the character of the context available to high-poverty youth may be the single most important ingredient in transforming poor kids’ sense of who they are and what they might become. CYCLE’s experience counsels that the most productive approach to improving low-income youth’s social and academic outcomes involves changing the nature of their environment rather than zeroing in on “fixing” the kid. CYCLE demonstrates that a comprehensive, youth-centered, relationship-based program that exposes poor kids to new places, options and pathways, supports their academic and personal efforts unconditionally, and gives them the tools needed to reach their goals can transform the lives of even the most disadvantaged, marginalized youth.

• This follow-up project highlights the importance of taking a ‘life-course’ or long-term perspective to understand the consequences of a youth program on participants’ lives. While near-term program outcomes such as high school graduation or postsecondary enrollment provide important markers of program effectiveness, they can say nothing about whether [or not] the positive developmental outcomes these benchmarks predict in fact occur, or are sustained. Arguably, the intergenerational consequences associated with CYCLE participation—what happens to their kids— may provide the ultimate gauge of sustained effects.

Photo Credit: www.chicagoganghistory.com

Q: Were there any findings that you were surprised by? 

A: Interviews, alums’ personal friendship networks and social media provided information about the lives of more than 700 CYCLE alums. Although I expected to hear many reports of alums’ rewarding personal and professional lives, I found the extent of these positive life accounts stunning. All but a handful of CYCLE participants enjoy productive middle class lives today, and former participants credit CYCLE for this success. CYCLE represents an extraordinary return on investment!

Q: Several years ago, you led qualitative research on the San Francisco Beacons. To conduct this research, you hired youth ethnographers. This was very unusual at the time. Why did you choose to conduct research in this way and what were the benefits? 

A: It seemed to me that youth would be especially perceptive observers of Beacon activities and contexts, as well as effective interviewers of youth about their Beacon experiences--better in many instances than Stanford researchers and graduate students! Stanford researchers interviewed youth and staff, observed, and reviewed record data as part of the Beacons research. The youth ethnographers’ reports and perceptions brought important ‘validity’ and insight to our work. In several instances youth ethnographers pointed out features of program settings we did not see or fully understand—particularly around staff/youth interactions. For instance, youth ethnographers considered the Beacon center that the quantitative [survey] research deemed ‘best’ not all that attractive. They preferred the Beacon center that quantitative research deemed disorganized; it was their choice because they found it welcoming and supportive in ways the other more by-the-schedule Beacon was not.

Q: In 1994, you wrote a book entitled Urban Sanctuaries, in which you describe how urban leaders create and sustain youth programs in spite of enormous challenges. Based on what you've seen and learned since then, have any of your views changed or been altered? 

A: When we began the research that led to Urban Sanctuaries in the mid-1980s, the term “positive youth development” was not widely in use among youth practitioners, if at all. Greg Darnieder, CYCLE’s founder, certainly had never heard of it! Thirty years ago, successful out-of-school programs like CYCLE generally were the work of committed, passionate individuals like Greg. Little organized support existed to foster systems or networks dedicated to providing or expanding youth development opportunities. The advice offered in Urban Sanctuaries to create more CYCLES was “go find a wizard!”  Today, however, many more resources are available to promote and enable effective OST programs. This encouraging development changes my recommendation about how to enable more effective youth programs from ‘go find a wizard,’ to advocacy for efforts that coordinate youth-focused funding streams and resources within and across local, state and federal policy systems, and so provide productive system contexts for those wizards and the youth they serve.

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Milbrey McLaughlin, Ed.D. is the David Jacks Professor of Education and Public Policy, Emerita, at Stanford University and the Founding Director of the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Communities. She also is Co‑Director of the Center for Research on the Context of Teaching, an interdisciplinary research center engaged in analyses of how teaching and learning are shaped by teachers’ organizational, institutional, and social‑cultural contexts.

McLaughlin has focused throughout her career on the various institutional contexts and policies that shape youth outcomes—schools and community-based institutions most particularly. The Gardner Center embodies McLaughlin’s interest in identifying and understanding the cross-institutional issues that shape with settings within and through which youth move, and in advancing a youth sector stance to inform policy and practice.

Maker Spaces in Expanded Learning Programs

By Sam Piha

Ilya Pratt

The Maker movement is not new. In fact, one of the founders of the Maker movement, Dale Dougherty, was featured at our How Kids Learn III conference in 2013. However, with the growing interest in growth mindsets, STEM, and social emotional learning, maker spaces are being incorporated in both schools and expanded learning programs. 

Below is an interview we conducted with Ilya Pratt. Ilya was a Maker Leader for Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) Project Zero, Agency by Design, and currently the Director of Park Day School’s Design+Make+Engage program and the Innovation Workshop. Ilya and her colleague, Paula Mitchell, will lead a Bay Area Speaker's Forum on May 7, 2018 in Oakland. 

Photo Credit: http://ideas.demco.com/

Q: Can you briefly describe the "maker movement" and how this relates to "maker spaces"? 

A: Over the last 8-10 years there has been a revival of interest in making and repairing things for oneself or others. Early on in the movement, the question “Can I fix this broken thing rather than just throw it away?” was asked—and along with this, there was a rejection of the consumer habits so common to our larger culture. In addition, engineering companies in particular realized that their engineers lacked intuitive understanding of the materials and concepts critical to their field. This missing knowledge base was described as that which you learn through tinkering—more often in dad’s garage and while playing in nature, for example. 

Meanwhile, digital fabrication has become more accessible to school and home due to simplified programming options and consumer-scale machines. This convergence has drawn attention to the fact that an immense amount of learning, sharing knowledge and cooperation are a part of making. At its best, this learning is about children developing agency—a belief that they can make change in their world. It is very in sync with our democratic ideals! And of course kids, with few exceptions, love making things. Which has led to the question, if there is so much learning—and social emotional learning—happening while making, how can we provide students with these opportunities? 

Why maker spaces? They offer dedicated space, materials and tools to support these interactions. Their ethos is reminiscent of the neighborhood garage or corner coffee shop—there is an open invitation to come on in and pursue your dreams!

Q: We believe that the expanded learning space is perfectly positioned to offer strategies related to maker spaces. Do you agree and if so, why? 

A: Absolutely! Expanded learning programs are perfectly positioned. They offer blocks of time unencumbered by state curriculum standards and standardized testing! To some degree, making has already been happening in many expanded learning programs, more often in the form of simple crafts. One push we need to make is to increase the complexity of the offerings. Students can do amazing things when they have the resources. Give them simple electricity parts and they will figure out how to light up a bulb and make their own flashlight. More importantly, there is subtle work on the part of teacher education that needs to be done. Shifting adults’ mindsets that all students will make the same thing to one of open-ended expectations is critical. Recognizing the leadership that students can bring to the group and each other—rather than the teacher always leading--is a game-changer!

Photo Credit: gainesvillems.pwcs.edu

Q: Can you briefly describe what you think are the major benefits of offering young people opportunities to create within "maker spaces"?

A: Opportunities to pursue their own passions, to lead, mentor and collaborate. To learn with their hands and develop an intuitive sense of how the things in their world are made—including increasing their understanding of materials properties and physics, electricity and electronics concepts that naturally come up when making. There are also opportunities to explore coding and physical computing—interacting with the computer in ways well beyond its typical and basic use as a productivity tool. There is so much more.

Q: Within the K-12 range, do you believe that maker spaces are appropriate for all ages? Or just some? 

A: ALL. If you’re worried about safety, please, please accept that with proper training, kindergarteners (and middle schoolers!) handle sharp tools very appropriately! Maker spaces are, in fact, excellent places to learn how to be safe and to learn the repercussions of violating community safety rules. 

Generally, there are opportunities for all ages to do so many things—and often with students younger and older than themselves.

Q: Of the "We are, we belong, we can" SEL categories, which do you think maker spaces best address? 

A: I believe maker spaces can support all three categories well. Maker spaces demand from their users a high degree of self awareness, and an awareness and support of others. There is an emphasis on community. “We can” is at the heart of the spaces. We can figure out how to do what we set out to do. We will learn what we need to learn to make it happen and learn from our mistakes along the way.

Q: The California Quality Standards for Expanded Learning Programs have identified six point of service standards. Which are best served by maker spaces? 

A: Maker spaces score 6 out of 6 of the Point–of-Service Standards. Yup, no question about it. That list could have been written in response to a survey of maker spaces!

Q: There is both a growing emphasis on STEM and on building the skills of girls. How are these served by young people participating in maker spaces?

A: The hands-on learning that happens in maker spaces is a terrific foundation supportive of STEM skills. Math, for example is everpresent in making. Engineering as well. Many maker spaces prioritize coding and digital fabrication in their programs. There are “fablabs” that are all about digital fabrication. These maker spaces, and any space that provides access to digital design and fabrication resources, should have the supportive ethos common to maker spaces. Everyone is in learning mode—figuring things out both independently and together. Risk taking is rewarded and failures are perceived to be learning moments. 

Q: For expanded learning programs that want to learn more, what do you recommend? 

A: Check out the resources at Makered.org. They have been working hard to gather resources supporting maker space development, curriculum, etc. There are many other online resources now, as well as some good books that provide curriculum ideas and educational reflection on approach and learnings. My favorite book is Maker-Centered Learning: Empowering Young People to Shape Their Worlds (Clapp, E., et al) because it both covers the teaching and learning strategies common to maker spaces, and it offers educators a framework to use to explore the thinking dispositions of makers and designers.  

Q: For expanded learning programs that want to integrate maker strategies, what are the greatest challenges? 

A: Two challenges stand out: First, do you have a key program staff member who has a making passion that they can share and build upon? Do you have a teacher who can say, “I don’t know, we’ll find out how to do that together? Let’s look on the internet!”

Second is the obvious—Resources. Making things takes stuff, and some stuff just has to be purchased. We can do a lot with recycled materials such as cardboard and food containers, but you’ll also need scissors, steak knives or another type of cardboard cutter, and connectors such as tape or zip ties.

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About Ilya Pratt: At the heart of Ilya’s educational practice is a deep curiosity about how things work, whether it is a child’s approach to problem solving or an engineering design solution. Ilya has worked with children and educators for over three decades, in school and non-school settings. As the director of Park Day School’s Design+Make+Engage program and the Innovation Workshop, Ilya provides integrated and collaborative programming supporting STEM, community service and social justice curricula. 

In addition, Ilya is a member of the Agency by Design Oakland leadership team, facilitating a teacher fellowship in maker-centered learning classroom practices. Ilya was a Maker Leader for Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) Project Zero, Agency by Design, a research project exploring the promises and practices of maker-centered learning. She has also been an instructional coach for the HGSE online course, Thinking and Learning in the Maker-Centered Classroom. 

HEARTSET: Transforming Teaching & Learning

By Guest Blogger, Stu Semigran, President and Co-Founder of EduCare Foundation

Stu Semigran

Have you ever thought that the challenges that educators face today are different from any in modern time?  With political and social unrest creating a stressful environment, how can we best uplift ourselves and assist our young people deal with life and learning? 

Here’s an idea for you to consider: If we deeply intend to give the best to our students and teach them so they are prepared for going out into the world, what if the first ones to give to and teach is ourselves?  What if, in order to take care of others, we must first take care of ourselves? And in taking care of ourselves, we automatically promote and influence positive change around us.

This is not necessarily a new idea. I’m sure you’ve heard, "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me." How many people do you know whose email signature includes, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”?

But how do we take care of ourselves such that we and our young people benefit? I suggest that we develop a positive, Growth HEARTSET in ourselves so that we can support those we teach in developing theirs.

EduCare's Growth Heartset Professional Development

What is a HEARTSET? 
Most people are familiar with the idea of a mindset- a frame of mind that has a significant correlation to one’s motivation, effort, and approach to life’s challenges.

HEARTSET is a frame of heart. 

Have you ever walked into a room or a group, where listening to different points of view is the norm? Where mistakes are tolerated and understood as part of a learning process? Where support and encouragement is common among people? Where there's joy, acceptance, consideration, and kindness? Where love is felt and shared—it's in the air? It is these foundational elements of a Growth HEARTSET—that lay the nurturing soil from which the seeds of vibrant curriculum and impassioned teaching and learning sprout. 

A Growth HEARTSET is a kindness of heart. It establishes an energy field of self-awareness, non-judgment (acceptance), peace, caring, positivity, giving, forgiving, and compassion that allows us to more freely and proactively be a force of good. A Growth HEARTSET creates an emotional environment in which we and the young people we teach can flourish in spite of the uncertainties and challenges that are so prevalent today.

EduCare's ACE Program

Recently, after one of EduCare’s ACE (Achievement and Commitment to Excellence) students success programs that promote Growth HEARTSET, a high school principal shared, "Well, you've opened my students’ hearts and now we can capture their minds." He recognized that when the heart is “set” in a healthy and compassionate place, the mind is more open and prepared to learn.  

How do we create a Growth HEARTSET? 

We can set or reset the "heart" through self-awareness, a clear intention, and practicing habits of a Growth HEARTSET. There are many effective teaching approaches and ways to assist you in moving along that trajectory that will be the subject of subsequent blogs and articles. 

By creating a Growth HEARTSET—first in yourselves so it infuses your relationships and teaching—a greater “field” or culture of caring and loving can be known, felt, and shared. This Growth HEARTSET then serves as the foundation for effective teaching and social-emotional learning (SEL) that not only enriches your teaching experience but also captures and expands the hearts, minds, and imagination of your students. 

View EduCare's Program Impact infographic here.

Stu will be leading a Speaker's Forum on Growth Heartsets in Fresno, CA (April 18, 2018) and Modesto, CA (April 19, 2018).

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Stu Semigran is the co-founder and president of EduCare Foundation and the executive director of EduCare’s ACE (Achievement and Commitment to Excellence) Student Success Program. Currently serving more than 45 high schools and middle schools in Southern California, EduCare also is the grant manager for the ASSETs after school programs at 17 LAUSD Beyond the Bell high schools and 1 middle school. Over 30,000 students are served each year through EduCare afterschool and youth development programs.


Stu’s book, Making the Best of Me: A Handbook for Student Excellence and Self-Esteem is used in schools worldwide. He currently serves on the CA Department of Education Expanded Learning Division’s SEL Planning Team and LAUSD’s Beyond the Bell’s “Take Action Campaign” Steering Committee. In 2012, Stu was recognized as a David Chow Humanitarian Award Foundation recipient for his service to youth. 

In the Aftermath of Parkland: What is the Role of Expanded Learning Programs?

By Sam Piha

We were shocked and dismayed by another mass shooting, this one at  Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. As a field that promotes safety, youth voice, and youth civic engagement, we commend the students that have spoken up about gun violence. 

Photo Credit: Rolling Stone

Since the shooting, we have heard a lot about school safety, but little about the role of expanded learning program providers. To gather perspective on this, we created a survey and distributed to our stakeholders. Below is what we learned. 

We received 29 responses from leaders representing state and national expanded learning intermediaries, educational organizations (principals, county offices of education, school districts, and higher education), expanded learning program providers, program trainers, and expanded learning advocates. We asked the respondents what age level of youth they focus on. They reported Elementary age children (75%); Middle school age children (54%); and High school age youth (36%). (Note: The percentages cited in this report exceed 100% as many respondents selected more than one option.) 

We asked respondents to identify what actions expanded learning programs should take. Of the options we provided, respondents selected:

• Review safety plans with larger school or organization (93%)
• Develop/review safety plans and train adult staff (89%)
• Develop/review safety plans with youth participants (85%)
• Facilitate discussions with youth regarding any feelings about the recent school shooting (78%)
• Assist program participants in becoming civically engaged to voice their thoughts on school safety (78%)
• Assist program participants (if they desire) in communicating directly with school shooting survivors (56%)

Photo Credit: cnn.com

Additional Write In Action Items (33%) included:

Continue to develop our professional skill set for connecting with students and providing them with the opportunities to build deeper, authentic connections with one another.


Create a Youth Voice Advocacy team for Peer to Peer Support through school day and provide safe place for youth to share.


Engage families and community organizations in all of the above! 


We are focused on STEM and our instructors don't have a lot of training in social-emotional learning.


Train adult staff in building strong and supportive school and program cultures and create consistent opportunities for inclusion amongst all youth.


Offer strategies to prevent and/or reduce youth violence (life skills, character education, bullying prevention, social emotional learning, etc.).

We allowed respondents to express their own recommendations. Some of these are cited below. 

I know how challenging our work may be at times, but being there when our children need a caring person makes a tremendous difference. As our society is grappling with essential issues such as gun control and caring for mentally ill persons, we need to also keep in mind our basic human connection, including between adults and kids. I am reminded to take time to connect and "see" one another — to stop and see even those students who may want to remain invisible as they dangerously slip through the cracks and have forgotten that they are valued and loved. My invitation is for us to keep "seeing" their goodness. Please acknowledge yourselves for who you are and all you do. I thank you for your dedication to young people.

Align safety plans with district/ school day; promote emotional safety by focusing on SEL and positive school climate; and collaborate with school-day to responsive solutions for at-risk youth.

Be informed of the signs of mental instability and report to proper agencies; have an emergency protocol that is rehearsed; create opportunities for youth to discuss their opinions and feelings about and experiences with gun violence.

Create safe spaces for children and foster relationships with them and their families. Additionally, we need to give students voice by teaching them how to positively express their view points as students from Parkland have been able to do. They are eloquent and their arguments are sound without being disrespectful.

Implement trauma-informed policies and practices in the programs, in coordination with school and district efforts around trauma.

Protect our youth, provide activities and lessons that promote self regulation, educate students on the effects of bullying, and watch for red flag behavior.

Raise awareness and promote safety in Expanded Learning programs. Receive any necessary training to know what to do in a crisis situation. Make sure the youth have a voice and that they feel like they are in a safe and supportive environment.

We acknowledge that the number of responses were small and that we only had one youth from an expanded learning program respond. We invite adult stakeholders and youth participants to share their views in a second round at this link.

Below are some resources that may be useful: 

• Some California districts are downplaying the National School Walkout as others embrace it 
• Can Schools Discipline Students for Protesting?
• #MarchForOurLives: They provide information on how to join local marches or create your own event on March 24th.
• Youth in Front: Urgent Advice about Youth Activism for Students and Teachers
• Youth In Front: This website offers advice on leading change from experienced youth activists and allies

ELPs and the Classroom Teacher Shortage, Part 2

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

With the last economic recession, school districts across the nation and in California laid off large numbers of teachers. The recent uptake of the economy and increased tax dollars for education, districts are now experiencing a large shortage of teachers. We also know that the number of college students who have enrolled in education courses has dropped significantly. 

How can expanded learning programs (ELPs) contribute to solving this shortage? We believe ELPs are perfectly positioned to allow young workers and future teachers the opportunity to learn skills that are very important to classroom work.

In part 2 of ELPs and the Classroom Teacher Shortage, we offer interview responses from young adults who have migrated from ELPs to the teaching profession (René Ly, Graduate Student in Education and Substitute Teacher) and Anna Zimmerman (Graduate Student in Education and Future 4th Grade Teacher). In Part 1, we offered interview responses from ELP leader (Alec Lee, Aim High) and a teacher training leader (Mike Snell, California Teaching Fellows Foundation).

We also want to share this valuable and brief video that features René Ly and other young teachers who have migrated from youth work to teaching careers. 

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Q: Can you say something about why you chose to become a classroom teacher? 

RL: I chose to be a classroom teacher because of the unique experience. As a classroom teacher, I am able to be with my students and have the ability to be in community with them as well as witness their tremendous development throughout the school year. 

AZ: Becoming an educator has always been a passion of mine.  When I was in high school, I joined an ROP class called Careers in Education, I knew that this is what I wanted to do.  Being a classroom teacher is not only about loving children.  It is about loving to see growth in the youth and loving to see the changes that these young lives are going through.  Being an educator means you are a mentor and a role model for the youth.  I chose to become a classroom teacher because I am passionate about making a difference in the lives around me.  

Q: Based on your experience, why are afterschool and summer youth programs well-positioned to serve as good training grounds for young people who want to be teachers? What do they offer that the traditional student-teacher experience doesn't?

RL: Within the afterschool and summer program experiences, I was able to develop lesson plans based off of interests and hobbies all while aligned with the state standards. I remember conducting science experiments, teaching art and dance as well as reading units. Teaching in afterschool capacities allowed me to teach with less pressure in terms of institutionalized expectations. It allowed me to be creative and thoughtful throughout my planning. 

AZ: These programs allow you to experience what its like to be responsible for a group of students.  You learn that not every day is going to go as planned and you learn to be flexible.  One of the greatest lessons I learned in the after school program was to be resilient.  It is so important to know that if a lesson is not as great as you wish it was, or if a student is struggling or being a distraction, it is important to implement classroom management skills that are well suited for the environment you are in.  As an educator you must learn to be resilient and allow yourself to fail so that you can learn from that mistake.  These programs for early teachers are great for supporting teachers in the making and giving them hands on experience with the kids.  While sitting in a lecture class you can learn a lot of valuable information, however, you truly learn the most by working with the kids and learning that each kid learns and retains information differently.  By working hands on in a classroom you are allowing yourself to experience an element of what its like to be a teacher.  

Q: Based on your experience, do you think afterschool and summer youth programs are well-positioned to encourage young people to consider the teaching profession as the next step in their career? Why? 

RL: I believe afterschool and summer youth programs are great stepping stones for young people to explore the route of teaching. Both programming provide opportunities to develop your craft, share it with students and most importantly practice. The leadership within the programs are also beneficial in terms of guidance and mentorship. 

AZ: These programs allow the future teachers to be in the classroom and working with the students in whole class discussions as well as small group. Also, these programs allow the future teacher to experience what its like to see a child's "lightbulb" go off when they grasp a concept.  These are all important concepts for a teacher to see and experience.  Not only is it beneficial to work hands on with the students, but these programs also offer a lot of guidance and structure when going through classes.  The most encouraging and beneficial part for me, was that I was able to connect and build relationships with the staff and administration through different school sites.  These people became friends, mentors, and also an amazing example of what teaching is all about. 

Q: In your own words, can you say something about the value of the Aim High and the Teaching Fellows program to your development as a young teacher? 

RL: Aim High's attention and care of their staff is the first and foremost of my development as a young teacher. I had the pleasure of working with veteran teachers who were open, kind, and willing to share their best practices. Aim High also gave me the opportunity to develop all aspects of my craft as a young teacher. From lesson planning to creating community, Aim High provides a space for that. My biggest take away from Aim High is that learning is FUN, CREATIVE, and MEANINGFUL. A recipe I will carry with me throughout my teaching career. 

AZ: California Teaching Fellows provided me with more than just a classroom setting to work in. This program allowed me to gain a better understanding of the education field and also a foundation for what to expect as a new teacher. Because of this program, I am confident in accepting a position as a 4th grade teacher. I feel confident in my ability to not only deliver meaningful lessons to my students, but also how to manage my classroom and how to build relationships with each of my students.  This program has helped me make connections with valuable people in the field of teaching and it has taught me the professional side of being an educator.   

Dependable Funding? It's Up To Us!

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

The afterschool movement first went to scale in the 1990s with allocation of public tax dollars: federal funding of 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) by the federal government and the release of tax dollars for California afterschool programs, mandated by Proposition 49. People assume that these funds are stable, but in fact they are threatened by legislators seeking to reduce these funds. 

We strongly believe that every program provider and program leader should understand the history of public funding for afterschool programs and be involved in advocacy efforts to preserve these funds (for a background on the funding of afterschool programs in California, see Examining California’s Afterschool Movement Post Proposition 49). 

Bruno Marchesi,
Project Manager,
Center for Collaborative
Solutions

We asked an important leader in afterschool, Bruno Marchesi, Project Manager for the Center for Collaborative Solutions, to share his perspectives on this issue. 

Q: Afterschool and summer programs became widely accessible to families with the investment of public dollars. Can we assume that this funding is now safe and dependable?

A: Even though funding authorized for afterschool and summer learning programs have remained constant for the past 6 years through 21st Century Community Learning Centers at the national level, and constant since its initial implementation through the After School Education and Safety (ASES) legislation in California since 2006, the afterschool and summer learning field (or Expanded Learning as it is also known in California) should not assume that funding is currently safe and dependable.

I have served as the Co-Chief Reader for 21st CCLC grants for the past 3 cohorts and the reality is that the current need far exceeds the amount of funding available for these programs. In the last few 21st CCLC cohorts, it was stated that most likely 1 out of every 10 programs that applied for funding were approved. This does not even take into account the many organizations and school districts that chose to not apply for funding based on the previous year's shortage of funding. 

Although federal funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers has remained relatively constant over the past few years, every year there have been proposals to reduce the total amount, repurpose the dollars for other uses or consolidate the funding with other federal education dollars into block grants.

In California, we are probably in a better funding position, since ASES was voter approved and therefore it would need to be brought back to the voters to cut or take away the $550 million dollars per year allocated for these programs under Prop 49. Even though this is the case in California, the funding levels to sustain high quality programs have not gone up to reflect the rising operating costs of running these programs since the amount was first established in 2002 at $7.50 per child per day.

Q: Do program leaders have a responsibility at the local level to ensure that these funds are safe and dependable? Can program leaders support the work of advocates at the federal and state levels? 

A: Each and every person at all levels in the Expanded Learning field has a responsibility to address the funding for these afterschool and summer programs. Line staff have the responsibility to provide high quality programs. It is important that these programs operate at capacity each and every day so that students are engaged and continue to attend. This ensures that they maximize the funding allocations. 

Site Coordinators and program leadership have the responsibility to build champions in their local communities. From building partnerships with school principals and districts to create joint use agreements to work together. By working together, they can ensure that the afterschool program complements the regular school day goals and objectives through the Learning in Afterschool & Summer activities that are active, collaborative, meaningful, supports mastery, and expands horizons.

Site Coordinators and program leadership should stay informed at what is happening, not just at the local level, but also statewide and nationally when it comes to best practices, policy and funding. They are a critical component to support the work of advocates at the state and national level because the folks operating programs have access to the key stakeholders in their communities. These include the students, the families, school leadership, local businesses, etc. Because of these interactions they understand their community need, challenges and opportunities that could play a crucial role in helping to shape the agenda and key talking points for advocating organizations. 

Q: What organizations are advocating for the preservation of these funds at the federal level? 

A: Organizations like the Afterschool Alliance are doing a great job in advocating for the preservation of these funds by providing information about the impact of high quality programs around the country, creating awareness with legislators and key stakeholders to build champions not just in Washington, DC, but also at the local level through their Lights On Afterschool efforts and their America After 3 p.m. report. Organizations like the Afterschool Alliance are crucial to the preservation of these funds.

Q: What organizations are advocating for the preservation of these funds at the state level? 

A: Organizations like the California Afterschool Advocacy Alliance (CA3), the Partnership for Children and Youth (PCY), the California School Age Consortium (CalSAC), among others are leading the way in advocating for the preservation of after school and summer learning program funding and sustainability.

In California, we have a large network of technical assistance providers like the California AfterSchool Network (CAN) who keep the field informed. CAN serves as a vehicle to get information from the California Department of Education (CDE) down to the program level for implementation, and highlight the voice of the field back to CDE through its statewide initiatives and committees. 

Q: What can program providers and leaders do? 

A: There are many things that program stakeholders can do to continue to help to ensure that these funds continue to stay safe and dependable.

1. High quality programs: Make sure that you continue to operate high quality programs that support maximum attendance and complement the regular school day goals and objectives. 

2. Host program visits: You can host community partners or legislative visits. Many in your community may not be aware of your afterschool or summer program and the wonderful opportunities there may be to partner or build champions at the local or state level.

3. Participate in current advocacy efforts: There are multiple opportunities to provide voice and leadership at the statewide level through the CalSAC Challenge event, through any of the multiple California AfterSchool Network committees or share your knowledge and expertise at one of the many regional or statewide conferences and events.

4. Lights On Afterschool: Participate in the Lights On Afterschool Event by hosting an event at your site. You can also participate in the national movement by signing up your event through the Afterschool Alliance’s website and staying active in promoting the event through your social media channels. 

5. Create Partnerships: Find ways to create partnerships to leverage your funding and opportunities. Connect with your local food bank to bring in extra resources for your students and families, reach out to local businesses to match donations or serve as volunteers in your program. There are many local and statewide organizations that have multiple resources to offer for the exact population that you serve in your programs each day. 

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For information on federal policy follow the Afterschool Snack blog posts at: http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/afterschoolsnack/ASnack.cfm and also follow the Afterschool Alliance on Facebook and Twitter.

To register your Lights On Afterschool site and to get event tools and kits go to: http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/loa.cfm

To learn more about supply, demand and parent satisfaction with afterschool across America and in your state go to: http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/AA3PM/
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Bruno Marchesi serves as Project Manager for the Center for Collaborative Solutions. He has more than 18 years of after school and summer programs experience at all levels including frontline staff, Site Coordinator, Program Manager, and most recently as Program Director of the California AfterSchool Network at the UC Davis School of Education. Bruno's passion and drive come from his own core values of humility, integrity, and service.