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This descriptive study explored the relationship between sustained attendance in high-quality 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC)-- funded programs and key child outcomes. The key hypothesis was that high-quality programming is associated with the development of social and emotional skills, which in turn may be related to academic skills such as literacy. The study found that growth in five social and emotional skills measured by the Survey of Academic and Youth Outcomes the teacher version (SAYO-T)--self-regulation, perseverance, critical thinking, engagement in learning, and leadership--was greater for children who were enrolled in higher-quality programs, attended more regularly, or both. In turn, growth in these skills was significantly related to improvement in the number of words children could read on the Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) test.

Out-of-school time (OST) programs can play an important role in fostering the development of literacy skills among children and youth. To investigate the variety of literacy skill-building strategies OST programs use, researchers from the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) examined the practices of 31 programs in Massachusetts. This exploration was part of a larger four-year project (2016-2020) with the American Institutes for Research, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DESE) and the Minnesota Department of Education, funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. This study, Quality to Youth Outcomes, followed two cohorts of elementary-aged children during two years of sustained participation in 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) programming at 54 centers in Massachusetts and Minnesota to investigate the relationship between high-quality OST programs and the development of social-emotional and literacy skills. Findings from this larger study are under review and will be reported later in 2022. This article describes a sub-study focused specifically on literacy activities. The authors went beyond the comprehension and vocabulary skills typically measured by elementary-age reading assessments to incorporate writing and speaking skills in their investigation. The resulting compendium of literacy-building strategies can help OST programs consider how to grow intentionally as literacy-rich learning environments.

More and more jobs involve STEM, yet women are still underrepresented in many STEM fields, particularly engineering and computer science (National Science Foundation, 2019). Rural students in particular have historically faced numerous obstacles to entering STEM fields, including low educational aspirations, lack of STEM role models, and lack of access to advanced STEM curriculum (Versypt & Ford Versypt, 2013). GEMS (Girls Excelling in Math and Science), founded in 1994, strives to ensure that each participant sees herself "as a change agent or a problem-solver, a possible technology entrepreneur, engineer or a scientist, and a person who makes a difference" (GEMS, 2019). GEMS aims to reach girls who might otherwise not have broad exposure to formal STEM opportunities and role models, such as girls from rural areas and other underserved communities. Through its website, GEMS offers online support, including activity ideas, teaching tips, and other resources, to anyone interested in starting a GEMS club or in doing STEM activities at home. GEMS currently operates in more than 150 locations around the world. As a research partner to GEMS, the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) conducted an investigation of girls' experiences at GEMS clubs in rural Pennsylvania between September 2019 and February 2020, with funding from the McElhattan Foundation. The authors observation data suggests that GEMS activities successfully fostered cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement with STEM in participating girls.

Across the country, school administrators and educators struggle to find time for children to engage in physical activity while still giving them enough time in academic instruction. The steep rise in childhood obesity in the U.S. (National Center for Health Statistics, 2011; Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2014) suggests that the concern is urgent. However, the need to meet accountability standards puts pressure in the direction of more "seat time" rather than physical activity time. Research suggests that the tension between physical activity and academic achievement rests on a false dichotomy. Physical activity can and does support children's learning: Providing children with opportunities for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity can help them improve their academic performance. In keeping with this research, this article describes a before-school physical activity program called BOKS (Build Our Kids' Success) launched during the 2009-2010 school year with a pilot program at one elementary school in the Natick Public School district in Natick, Massachusetts. The authors then describe a three year investigation of how a before-school physical activity program like BOKS can support the positive development of young children and support school learning. In particular they examined whether program participation was associated with "executive functions" such as working memory and the ability to shift between tasks.

More than 30 percent of American children are either overweight or obese, with a body mass index (BMI) in the 85th percentile or above. Although prevalence varies by age, sex, and ethnicity, all groups are affected. Risk of serious health problems increases with increasing BMI. Childhood obesity, characterized by BMI in the 95th percentile or above, affects 16.9 percent of two- to nineteen-year-olds; it is associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. Childhood obesity also increases the risk of obesity and chronic disease during adulthood. Out-of-school time (OST) programs, which serve over 8 million children per year, are a promising setting for nurturing healthy eating habits. OST programs can be part of the solution to the growing epidemic of child obesity. A first step is to understand current practices and learn about supports for--and barriers to--providing nutritious foods in afterschool programs. The authors used qualitative research methods to explore healthy eating concepts among OST program administrators. They examined their perception of the importance of the childhood obesity epidemic in relation to their mission. They also explored perceived barriers to serving healthful foods and the potential utility of guidelines and other managerial supports in helping programs adopt healthy eating practices.

In many fields, the concept of professional development for workers at varying levels is well entrenched. At the heart of professional development is the desire to expand the "toolbox" of workers' skills. However, for out-of-school time (OST) staff and youth workers, experiences with professional development can vary widely, from high quality to no quality. Findings from the Massachusetts Afterschool Research Study (Miller and Hall, 2007) showed that, in a large sample of afterschool programs, staff development had a significant relationship with program quality. Programs with more highly educated and trained staff--both program directors and direct service workers--demonstrated higher quality staff engagement, youth engagement, activities, and homework time. Other studies show that professional development initiatives have had a major impact on afterschool and youth work staff, particularly since these workers are often without pre-service training or academic degrees (Costley, 1998; Harvard Family Research Project, 2004). Across the country, states are conducting key work in the areas of professional development, training, certification, and credentialing. Much can be learned from this work about how to build from existing models, link credentialing to core competencies, create an infrastructure to support a credential, and attend to accessibility and affordability. Massachusetts, like several other states, has begun to pilot credential programs. This article provides the example of two pilot credentials in Massachusetts--The School-Age Youth Development Credential (SAYD) and the Professional Youth Worker Credential (PYWC)--which aids in understanding the importance of establishing credentials and what accomplishments can be expected. This knowledge can guide the next steps in establishing a national credential for afterschool and youth workers.

The process of establishing a healthy male identity can be difficult for many boys. The limited definitions of masculinity available to boys and men are generally characterized by competition, repression of fear and emotion, and physical and emotional strength. Boys of color and those of lower economic status tend to encounter even fewer healthy alternatives for defining their maleness than do their white and better-off counterparts. Boys who need support in choosing positive and healthy pathways could benefit from an intervention that gives them space and time to share information, to work and play cooperatively, and to grow healthy identities. While inclusive grouping is an important part of building community in a youth development program, common-interest groups such as girls' or boys' empowerment groups can help members grow and support one another. In this article, the authors describe the results of a case study they conducted of one such group, an afterschool empowerment group for middle school boys. Using elements of ethnographic study, the authors examined participants' reactions to the work they did together in the empowerment group and explored the characteristics that made the group leaders effective in facilitating that work. The authors' goal was to discover how a boys' empowerment group could help participants avoid risky behaviors such as joining a gang or engaging in interpersonal violence, while instead making healthier choices that could lead to positive growth. Their findings on the benefits of participation in a boys' empowerment group suggest that these steps are valuable and worthwhile. Boys in the empowerment group they studied lived daily in a delicate balance between safety and harm across a host of domains--physical, emotional, social, academic. The authors saw some of them experience dramatic changes in their attitudes toward school and relationships. When a boys' empowerment group is done right--and has the right leadership--it can change lives.

Current legal discourse puts forward socio-legal collaborations, integrated social work and legal practice and medical/legal partnerships as innovations from the legal sector aimed at resolving clients' intertwined legal and social issues. In doing so it has generalised and diminished the specific contribution in these programmes of highly skilled social work staff. This article sets out a study of Australian socio-legal collaborations to re-establish the significant contribution made by social workers in this sector. It argues that social workers are the dominant social service profession and provide integral practice and leadership contributions. It argues that further research in Australia and internationally is required to support social work to stand in leadership alongside lawyers, not only in these programmes but also in the discourse and sector that surrounds them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Out-of-school-time programs, especially arts-based programs, can be critical players in a community's efforts to prevent school dropout. This research review suggests the following approaches for arts-based programs: (1) recruitment and retention of target populations with multiple risk factors; (2) long-term skill development that engages youth behaviorally, emotionally, and academically rather than a drop-in culture; (3) an emphasis on the critical ingredient of real-world applications through performance; (4) staff development and mentoring; (5) a strategic community-level plan for dropout prevention; (6) and program content reframed toward competencies that underlie better school performance and prosocial behavior, such as communication, initiative, problem solving, motivation, and self-efficacy.

This article describes a qualitative study examining two interrelated facets of the school-to-work transition among urban high school students: their relationships with important adults within that transition and the ways they experience the subjective aspects of social class and class-related constructs in those relationships. Participants were 27 urban adolescents participating in a school-to-work program or otherwise employed after school. We analyzed data generated from participants' elaborations on their scaled responses to adapted Relational Health Index items pertaining to supervisors and other important adults at work. Qualitative analysis identified four thematic categories of how social class is experienced in urban adolescents' relationships at work: Navigation of Identity; Perceptions of Similarity, Difference, and Being Understood; Receipt of Mobility Encouragement; and Awareness of Stratification. Results suggest that the first two of these categories represent the ways that participants work to find balance between the dual realities of Mobility and Stratification.

In the past two decades, economic, technological, demographic, and political forces have stimulated major change in the learning and working landscape for young people. Understanding how to use computers and other technology for learning, productivity, and performance has become as fundamental to a person's ability to navigate through school and career as traditional skills like reading, writing, and arithmetic. As educators consider approaches to integrating twenty-first-century skills into the youth development experiences for older youth, this article proposes how it is important for them to recognize the gender and race differences in technology access and use. Understanding these differences will contribute to the development and implementation of appropriate youth service strategies around technology integration. In addition, this article examines the particular challenges that at-risk teens face and the possible learning resource role that technology may play. Finally, this article proposes several approaches for integrating technology into youth development experiences. (Contains 47 notes.)