After-school programs: an investment that pays off: after-school programs can be an exceptionally cost-effective approach to supporting school district goals, such as improving student achievement and building vital community partnerships

Leadership, March-April, 2003 by Andria J. Fletcher, Wayne Padover

Federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants are in the process of being transitioned to state administration. Even so, they are limited to five years in duration and therefore require that funding he replaced fur programs to continue after that time. To date, this challenge has been daunting for those relying on this as a single source of financial support.

Similarly, programs that depend on state and national foundation grants to fund operational costs are often faced with one to two year limitations and must spend considerable time and money in ongoing grant writing processes. As a result, it makes sense to treat 21st Century Community Learning Centers and related, time-specific funding as sources for enhancing the quality of programs rather than funding their base operating costs.

Local partnerships throughout California have demonstrated that the money for community investments is less limited by the availability of resources than by the willingness of local stakeholders to use resources for this purpose. Despite perceptions to the contrary; every community has the capacity to create the kind of balanced and diversified funding described above.

Sources of funding most commonly come from one or more of the following: Title 1 and Title 1 Supplemental Funding, Pupil Promotion and Retention, Community Bilingual Education Training, intensive Reading Program, Core Summer School, Mandatory Proficiency Summer School and others. In some cases, dollars earned from increases in attendance that can be attributed to after-school programs are set aside for this purpose, as are monies saved through a reduction in school vandalism.

Taking a pro-active role

Whatever the source of school district and/or individual school site funding for after-school programs, taking a pro-active role in developing local partnerships makes sense. This approach secures balanced funding for after-school programs while paying both immediate and long-term returns to investors and communities. It is equitable and affordable. It provides a solid foundation for growth and sustainability: It sparks a new way of thinking, a reconsideration of stake holder roles and responsibilities in the community as a whole, and a different way of doing business. Perhaps most importantly, in a time of serious budget challenges, it is one of the very few local opportunities that produces both significant economic efficiencies and positive social outcomes.

The California AfterSchool Partnership is a public-private partnership of the California Department of Education, the Foundation Consortium California's Children and Youth and the Governor's Office of the Secretary for Education. The Partnership works with stakeholders across the state to build effective, sustainable after-school programs and to provide a policy voice for the field.

Andria J. Fletcher is director of program development for the California AfterSchool Partnership. Former superintendent Wayne Padover is senior consultant for the California AfterSchool Partnership, www.afterschoolpartnership.org.