Finding the right hook: strategies for attracting and sustaining participation in after-school programs

School Administrator, May, 2005 by Sherri Lauver, Priscilla M.D. Little

Many middle school and high school youth recognize the value of participating in organized activities outside school, yet too often they limit their involvement because of busy schedules and family lives, disinterest in existing activity choices, lack of motivation to attend organized activities or the lure of freedom or relaxation over structured activities.

However, it is during the critical transition from elementary to middle school--a period in youths' lives when they continue to need opportunities to learn new skills, time to socialize and attention from caring adults--that interest seems the lowest. School administrators can play a critical role in ensuring that the school-after-school link is strong, creative and productive to promote higher attendance in after-school programs.

We have discovered important insights for attracting and sustaining youngsters' participation based on more than 60 recent evaluations of out-of-school time programs in the Harvard Family Research Project Out-of-School Time Program Evaluation Database, which identified recruitment and retention strategies especially relevant to school leaders. (See resource box, page 28.)

A Brighter Future

Recruiting students to participate regularly in after-school programs is a marketing challenge. A critical first step in selling after-school programs is helping youth and their families understand the benefits of frequent participation. Benefits of after-school programs for elementary and middle school-age children include not only a safe, supervised environment, but a chance for them to receive homework help from teachers and to participate in enrichment activities.

A diverse set of enrichment activities ensures there is something for everyone to enjoy. The Fort Worth, Texas, Independent School District's 21st Century Community Learning Centers program includes an engineering club, small group instrument lessons, a Tae Kwon Do club, a hip hop dance club and an arts club. Every club is involved in competitions, exhibitions or tournaments, which allow children to demonstrate the skills they've learned.

While the opportunity to try new activities may be a selling point for elementary and middle school after-school programs, older teens often must be convinced their participation will lead to a brighter future: better education and employment opportunities or an advantage in the job market. Toward that end, they may be enticed by community service activities, assistance in completing college applications and help with job-seeking skills.

School administrators can make informed decisions about developing and marketing after-school programs by conducting a needs assessment to determine the interest in, need for and availability of various activities in the community or school. Simply put, a needs assessment helps define the gap between the need for a service and the existing efforts, resources and programs currently in place.

School administrators can assess needs in various ways, including surveying youth to see what they would like to do in their nonschool hours and/or meeting with parents to understand what experiences they would like their children to have after school.

It also is important for those developing and marketing after-school programs to understand what else is available to young people in the community in the afternoons.

Building Connections

School administrators can increase and sustain participation in after-school programs by helping the program staff develop buy-in from and relationships with school-day teachers and parents. An article by Christopher Wimer, Margaret Post and Priscilla Little in the Spring 2004 issue of Afterschool Matters suggests the first step in developing positive school-after-school relations is to help the school-based after-school program establish a real presence in the building.

Other key strategies that will promote these relationships may include: employing a few school-day teachers in the after-school program to provide continuity from school to after-school; including after-school program members in school-wide meetings where they can share information about their activities and opportunities; asking the after-school program director to participate in other schoolwide teams and committees; and allowing participants in the after-school program to demonstrate skills learned in the program during school performances, exhibitions or other outlets.

As a result of these efforts, teachers and other school staff members made aware of the program can encourage students to participate in the variety of activities available in the after-school programs.

Involving school-day teachers in the program as staff members has both strengths and weaknesses. On one hand, school-day teachers and students are able to interact in a more informal setting in after-school programs, enabling close relationships that may transfer to the school day. On the other hand, the school-day teachers' involvement in after-school programs may suggest they are an extension of the school day, thus deterring student participation. Our review of the literature suggests that including both teachers and other community members as after-school program staff provides the needed balance.