Club Participation and <strong>Teens</strong>’ Outcomes 25Table 9The Relationship Between Club Attendance and Changes in Academic OutcomesOutcome(scale from1=low to 4=highunless otherwisespecified)Average at BaselineSurveyWinter 2006Attend52 <strong>Day</strong>sChange by Level of Club AttendanceAttend122 <strong>Day</strong>sAttend244 <strong>Day</strong>sAttend366 <strong>Day</strong>sSignificanceSchool liking 2.76 0.02 0.05 0.10 0.15 Not significantSchool effort 3.10 0.03 0.06 0.12 0.18 +Importance of school 3.39 0.01 0.03 0.05 0.08 Not significantTeacher connectedness 3.26 0.01 0.02 0.04 0.07 Not significantAcademic confidence a 3.34 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 *(at 52 ormore days)Report card grades(1=As and 5=Fs)Number of times skippingschool in past 12 months(0 =not at all and 4=4 ormore times)Number of times being suspendedin past 12 months(0 =not at all and 4=4 ormore times)2.14 -0.00 -0.01 -0.02 -0.03 Not significant0.21 -0.09 -0.22 -0.44 -0.66 *0.35 -0.03 -0.06 -0.12 -0.18 Not significantNote: Results presented in the table are from a series of Ordinary Least Squares and Poisson regression analyses with number of daysattended from October 2005 through March 2008 as predictor, controlling for demographics, Winter 2006 level on the specified outcome,academic risk, delinquency risk, five variables that were predictors of participation and the Club youth attended. The changespresented for each level of attendance are averages after adjustments for the other variables in the regression. n = 322.+ p
<strong>Making</strong> <strong>Every</strong> <strong>Day</strong> <strong>Count</strong>: Boys & Girls Clubs’ Role in Promoting Positive Outcomes for <strong>Teens</strong> 26own, without a tutor, said it was useful to study atthe Club in case they had a question or needed touse a Club resource, such as a computer.Informal ApproachesClub staff felt that, particularly as youth move intomiddle school and high school, specific, structuredprogramming was often less effective than individualstaff/youth relationships because it was hard to getteens to participate in the structured academic programming.When asked about specific strategies forsupporting academic success, staff identified positiverelationships as the crux of what they do to helpteens. “I think the main thing is they have relationshipswith us,” explained one staff member. “We’reasking, ‘What are you doing today?’ We’re in theirface, so they know people are paying attention.”Staff often used these one-on-one relationships totake a more active role in helping youth with school.They mentioned examples such as exploring highschool options with middle schoolers, meeting withguidance counselors, finding outside programs forstruggling students and helping them choose classes.However, while these experiences might play significantroles in the lives of certain youth, they were notimplemented consistently for all Club members. Staffgenerally responded enthusiastically and helpfullyto youth who reached out for support, but found itmore challenging to actively monitor and providesimilar support to all members.<strong>Teens</strong>, like staff, pointed to the importance ofClub relationships in helping them in school andacademic pursuits. The majority of youth reportedthat staff asked them about school, but did so inan informal, sporadic manner. More than offeringspecific advice, youth said that staff frequentlyencouraged them to succeed in school, to set highexpectations and to aim for college. As one teensaid, “They’re always saying, ‘Oh, make sure you setgoals for yourself and try and accomplish one ofthose goals each day or one of the goals each week.’And so that’s what I’ve been trying to do.” <strong>Teens</strong>also pointed to their relationships with Club peersas a type of academic support. They mentioned thatthe older teens helped them with homework (sincethey had taken the same classes in the past), gavethem advice about classes or teachers, or just madethem feel more comfortable about transitioning toa new school with older students.This is an area to which Clubs hope to devote moreattention. One Club recently created the positionof a teen-specific education coordinator, and twoare beginning to adopt a grade-tracking system forteens. However, as one Club director explained,setting policies does not always translate into practice.“We were so disappointed [with last year’sgraduates’ lack of college or career plans],” sheexplained. “We have a requirement that teen staff[teens who work with younger youth at the Club]must have a 2.0 [grade point average] to work here,but we never checked up on that. We didn’t reward[them] or suspend their jobs to help motivate themto raise their grades. Just little things like that sothey have more expectations for themselves….Maybe we can start helping with finding schoolsor jobs. We are taking little steps towards this; it’simportant to do the little things.”In contrast to staff’s overwhelming emphasis onrelationship building and their across-the-boardbelief that developing good character and citizenshipskills is woven into the fabric of the activitiesand interactions with youth, the message from staffand youth about academic development is not asdominant. In general, formal academic developmentis not done as consistently across Clubs orwith large numbers of teens. In addition, whileinformal opportunities for supporting characterdevelopment are frequent, academic support doesnot fit as seamlessly into informal conversations.There are not as many teachable moments. Theareas where we did see outcomes—confidence,effort, not skipping school—are areas that Clubstaff can influence through praise, recognition andtalking about the importance of going to school.In fact, the relationship between participation andoutcomes in these areas may be the best way Clubscan support academic success among teens. Otherresearch on Clubs has found that discrete programscan be beneficial for specific academic outcomes; 32this study suggests that overall participation in theClubs may make a meaningful difference for teenson at least some academic outcomes—those thatmay keep them going to, and connected to, schools.
Change language