Deeper_Dive_into_Afterschool

The AfterZone in Providence, Rhode Island, is a different example of community partnerships.The AfterZone model is a citywide afterschool initiative; the program is offered at multiplecommunity facilities within a specified area, allowing students to take part in afterschoolactivities located at the “anchor” middle school or at libraries, art centers, museums and othercommunity organizations. 107 The Providence After School Alliance (PASA) led the initiative,which also had strong support from Providence’s mayor at the time, David Cicilline. MayorCicilline brought together the city’s departments and the school district to redirect resources tosupport the AfterZone initiative. To support sustainability efforts, PASA worked with public andprivate stakeholders, including community-based organizations (CBOs), to oversee and manageAfterZone sites. PASA contracted with local CBOs to hire and supervise site staff, handle theprogram’s daily operations and manage grants associated with the sites.“Community members/leadersinvolved with the park project nowunderstand, in my opinion, the powerthat youth can create as well asunderstand that youth are the voicesof the future. If it weren’t forprograms in our small ruralcommunity such as 4-H, [KentuckyFamily Resource & Youth ServicesCenters], Community Education, Gifted& Talented, Gear Up [sic], Migrant,Champions, [Kentucky Agency forSubstance Abuse Policy] and othernon-for-profit groups and state andfederal programs, our youth would nothave as many opportunities as they donow. These programs strive to serveand involve youth as much as possibleto promote youth and adultpartnerships as well as to give youthfocus and develop their leadershipabilities.”– 4-H Survey RespondentEffective Family PartnershipsLA’s BEST understands the valuable role parentsplay in their child’s education, and incorporates astrong parent engagement component into theirprogramming. 108 All LA’s BEST staff participate intrainings that teach them how to best buildrelationships with parents. LA’s BEST also holdsparent orientations, one-on-one parentconferences and open forum parent meetings toestablish and grow the rapport between theprogram and parents. Each site has a specificspace where parents can gather to facilitate asense of community.LA’s BEST also works to establish that parents’voices matter in their program—a position ontheir Advisory Board is reserved for a parent; theprogram distributes annual parent surveys askingfor feedback on the program’s direction, policiesand quality; and the program encourages theformation of parent committees that help planand carryout LA’s BEST community events. Theprogram works to be inclusive in their outreach,sending a quarterly newsletter to parents in bothEnglish and Spanish, as well as translatingsurveys for non-English-speaking parents.28