[PDF] Arts Enrichment In Afterschool Metlife Foundation Afterschool Alert Issue Brief eBook

Author : Afterschool Alliance
Publisher :
Page : 8 pages
File Size : 48,36 MB
Release : 2012
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The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the second in its latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief explores afterschool and arts enrichment. The arts have the remarkable ability to positively affect a child in his or her entirety--influencing his or her developmental, behavioral, social and intellectual capacities. Afterschool programs are helping schools and communities ensure that their children have access to the arts and are able to benefit from all the arts have to offer. The role afterschool programs play in providing arts education and enrichment becomes increasingly important as the arts curriculum finds itself pitted against the pressures of standardized tests. Afterschool and summer programs draw on the expertise of arts organizations, arts education organizations, and school arts and music educators, offering broad exposure to the variety of existing art forms and offering dedicated time for deeper learning in the arts. Opportunities for arts education and enrichment, both in school and out-of-school, can help excite children about school, engage them in academic subjects, improve their focus and spark their creativity. The absence of the arts from a student's life is a lost opportunity to inspire change and individual growth. Across the country, afterschool programs are providing a nurturing environment and strengthening students' relationships to the arts and thereby supporting overall student success. (Contains 25 endnotes.) [For the related reports, see "Afterschool: An Ally in Promoting Middle School Improvement. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 55" (ED539794); "Afterschool: A Key to Successful Parent Engagement. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 57" (ED539790); and "Digital Media & Learning in Afterschool. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 58" (ED539789).].

Author : Afterschool Alliance
Publisher :
Page : 8 pages
File Size : 47,71 MB
Release : 2012
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ISBN :

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The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the first in its latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief explores afterschool and school improvement. In communities across the country, afterschool programs are proving their worth in supporting school improvement efforts. Working with community partners, afterschool and summer learning programs are able to complement the learning that takes place during the school day and year and bring new teachers and mentors to the school improvement table. With a wide range of backgrounds, expertise and content area knowledge, afterschool and summer staff are connecting with students and motivating kids to stay on track to school success. One school at a time, afterschool programs are helping kids and schools succeed and building the case that afterschool is a key ally in school improvement. (Contains 20 endnotes.) [For the related reports, see "Arts Enrichment in Afterschool. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 56" (ED539785); "Afterschool: A Key to Successful Parent Engagement. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 57" (ED539790); and "Digital Media & Learning in Afterschool. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 58" (ED539789).].

Author : Afterschool Alliance
Publisher :
Page : 8 pages
File Size : 48,32 MB
Release : 2013
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The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the final issue brief in its latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief explores afterschool and digital learning. At the core of effective digital media and learning is the principle that instructional strategies should be personalized and flexible and that technology is a tool that supports effective teaching and learning practices. There is no one formula for success, but rather a multitude of ways that technology can be effectively applied to support the academic, social and emotional needs of middle school youth. Digital learning does not require educators to be experts on technology, but rather enables them to be facilitators in an environment where youth are encouraged to explore and find the answers on their own. Learner-centered strategies need staff who are invested in both the children and the program, and these strategies are most effective when educators are passionate, supportive and willing to experiment with new technology and new ways of teaching. The lower-stakes environment and higher degree of instructional freedom within afterschool settings allows these programs to more easily develop and test innovative models of technology-enabled learning. These elements of effective digital learning, along with the fact that afterschool programs already excel at providing interest-driven learning opportunities, contribute to afterschool being an ideal setting for digital learning and an excellent partner to schools. (Contains 1 figure and 16 endnotes.) [For the related reports, see "Afterschool: An Ally in Promoting Middle School Improvement. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 55" (ED539794); "Arts Enrichment in Afterschool. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 56" (ED539785); and "Afterschool: A Key to Successful Parent Engagement. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 57" (ED539790).].

Author : Afterschool Alliance
Publisher :
Page : 7 pages
File Size : 16,33 MB
Release : 2012
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The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the third in its latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief explores afterschool and parent engagement. There is little dispute regarding the benefits that parent engagement brings to a child's academic success. Policy makers, school administrators and teachers are conscientiously working to ensure parents are involved in their child's education. However, these endeavors are challenged by existing obstacles between parents and schools, such as limited resources and time, language barriers, and levels of trust. Afterschool programs are able to transcend these divides, offering an environment where parents can feel at ease; providing parent-related activities and family services during times more accessible to working parents; offering resources to help parent-child communication; and providing parents with the tools to become more empowered in their involvement with their child's education. Together with schools, afterschool programs are strengthening parent engagement efforts and helping provide the foundation necessary to make sure that children are on the path to educational success. (Contains 23 endnotes.) [For the related reports, see "Afterschool: An Ally in Promoting Middle School Improvement. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 55" (ED539794); "Arts Enrichment in Afterschool. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 56" (ED539785); and "Digital Media & Learning in Afterschool. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 58" (ED539789).].

Author : Afterschool Alliance
Publisher :
Page : 12 pages
File Size : 35,94 MB
Release : 2014
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The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the first in their latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This series explores afterschool and: the Common Core State Standards, students with disabilities and other special needs, data utilization to improve programming, and keeping children safe and supported. With the goal to equip their students with the knowledge and skills they will need in college and in the workplace, currently 45 states have adopted the Common Core State Standards. As the Common Core begins entering more classrooms across the country, students and parents need additional help to understand the standards and familiarize themselves with the standards, and teachers and schools require additional support to ensure they are able to raise student achievement to meet the standards of the Common Core. Afterschool programs can be--and in many places, already are--an integral source of support for teachers, schools, children and parents. This issue brief discusses assessments of U.S. students' math and reading skills compared to their peers globally, the call for a focus on 21st century skills, the goals of the Common Core to help raise students' ability to complete on a global stage, and the variety of ways afterschool programs are working with students, teachers, and schools to support learning under the Common Core. [For the related reports, see "Afterschool Supporting Students with Disabilities and Other Special Needs. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 64" (ED546847); "Keeping Kids Safe and Supported in the Hours after School. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 65" (ED546850).].

Author : Afterschool Alliance
Publisher :
Page : 6 pages
File Size : 15,55 MB
Release : 2011
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The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the third in a series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief focuses on service-learning opportunities for middle schoolers. Pairing service with academic enrichment can support youth success in many ways. Middle schoolers in particular can benefit greatly from the improved self-confidence and learning gains afforded by service-learning opportunities. Afterschool programs interested in providing service-learning for students must be mindful of the important blend of providing community service opportunities along with an academic component. Whereas community service activities allow youth to develop and apply their skills and knowledge to real-life situations and enhance their ability to become productive, contributing adult citizens, including an academic component by allowing youth to lead the service project ties youth development goals to actual gains in the classroom. All of this leads to better students and a brighter future, and highlights an example of how afterschool benefits children, schools and their communities. (Contains 15 endnotes.) [For the related reports, see "Aligning Afterschool with the Regular School Day: The Perfect Complement. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 50" (ED522625); "Afterschool: A Strategy for Addressing and Preventing Middle School Bullying. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 51" (ED539793); and "Literacy in Afterschool: An Essential Building Block for Learning and Development. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 53" (ED539788).].

Author : Afterschool Alliance
Publisher :
Page : 9 pages
File Size : 42,7 MB
Release : 2014
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The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the final issue brief in their latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief explores afterschool and data utilization to improve programming. The afterschool field has made great gains in providing supports and an environment that helps their students succeed in school and beyond. Students are discovering an interest in science, gaining confidence in their speaking abilities, missing school less, connecting with caring adults and more when participating in quality afterschool programs. A distinctive benefit of afterschool programs is that their focus and scope of activities is wide-ranging--they are able to meet the unique needs of their community, which could be to offer a dance program in an area where arts have been scaled back during the regular school day or aligning programming with the Common Core State Standards to serve as an additional source of support for students, teachers and schools. The variety of focus areas also means that there are a number of measures--both inputs and outputs--that can be relevant to their programming. Therefore, it is critical that programs have a clear and focused set of goals, gather and synthesize data that are connected to those goals, and implement a continuous improvement cycle that uses the data in order to build on lessons learned and ensure that they are providing their students with the supports they need. Fortunately, more and more programs are recognizing the critical role of data and more resources and tools are becoming available to help programs put the data to use in order to best meet the needs of their students.

Author : Afterschool Alliance
Publisher :
Page : 9 pages
File Size : 17,44 MB
Release : 2014
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The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the third issue brief in their latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This series explores afterschool and: the Common Core State Standards, students with disabilities and other special needs, data utilization to improve programming, and keeping children safe and supported. More than 15 million students are alone and unsupervised between 3 and 6 p.m, the peak hours for juvenile crime and a time of concern for working parents. Afterschool programs are giving working parents peace of mind and providing an environment where students can go to feel safe, find staff and mentors who they trust, learn to tackle challenging circumstances, avoid risky behaviors, and work on communicating effectively with their peers and interacting positively with others. This MetLife Foundation issue brief explores the variety of ways afterschool programs are helping keep middle schoolers safe, keep them engaged in learning, and help them take advantage of their full potential as they navigate school, peers and their surroundings. [For the related reports, see "Afterschool and the Common Core State Standards. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 63" (ED546845); "Afterschool Supporting Students with Disabilities and Other Special Needs. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 64" (ED546847).].

Author : Afterschool Alliance
Publisher :
Page : 4 pages
File Size : 12,91 MB
Release : 2008
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In the current climate of increased academic assessments, the discussion of student success in school is frequently limited to academic achievement. However, data show that when examining student success, components such as social development and prevention of risky behaviors significantly impact academic achievement. These outcomes form a comprehensive picture of student success and underscore the fact that student success outside of the classroom is an important piece of student success inside the classroom. When students feel connected, supported and safe, they are more likely to make healthy choices for themselves, including avoiding risky behaviors and staying in school. Afterschool programs provide children and youth not only with academic support, but a safe, nurturing environment that can help bolster social and emotional development, critical to academic success. Afterschool also offers students enrichment activities that they might not otherwise have access to, such as art, music, world cultures and sports that can motivate and engage them during the regular school day, leading to improved academic performance and success. (Contains 18 endnotes.).

Author : Afterschool Alliance
Publisher :
Page : 5 pages
File Size : 33,59 MB
Release : 2010
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Afterschool programs across the country provide critically needed services to the nation's children and families; however, many afterschool providers find it difficult to serve youth once they enter middle school. Middle school youth have a unique set of social, emotional and academic needs, and afterschool successfully weaves these together, using enriching and engaging activities to support the whole child. Afterschool offers multiple benefits to these young adolescents, but only if the barriers to participation are removed, and youth are given the opportunity to meaningfully participate. (Contains 11 endnotes.).