Sample Program Plan

Making After School Programs Better

Huang & Dietel (2011)
The 5 KEY focus areas that the quality after school programs are designed around are:
GOALS

LEADERSHIP

STAFF

PROGRAM

EVALUATION

1) GOALS

Setting clear goals and desired outcomes is a cornerstone of afterschool program

success. They are vital in the overall structure of afterschool and according to Huang
and Dietel, it is also important for these goals to involve and consider student voices
in order to maintain student engagement and overall excitement about the program.
Key Findings: The best programs had.
1. Clearly defined goals in a written plan.
2. Achievement focused programs that often linked afterschool with regular
school.
3. A specific emphasis (for example science, technology, community
involvement etc.
Sample Program Plan:
The goals for my program plan are to have an after school program that is
engaging, active, and effective. I want my students to be motivated and genuinely
want to attend my after school site by having fun with their time being spent. As
students will be staying for up to 4-5 hours, it is imperative that they are being
productive in that time and are simultaneously relishing in it as well. My program
will offer not only academic enrichment in all core subjects along with homework

support and private tutoring, but will also serve as a place where students can come
to explore different extracurricular activities and aspects of themselves. As stated in
Can After-School Programs Help Level the Academic Playing Field for Disadvantaged
Youth?, the broader aims of after-school programs are to provide youth with regular
access to a safe and enriching environment during the non-school hours (Gardner,
Roth, Brooks-Gunn, 2009). My program will do just that by offering a highly
comfortable setting for students to express themselves and discover novel talents,
skills, and hobbies.
I will develop these goals with my fellow staff members and ensure that I
receive everyones opinions and inputs to create the best after school program plan.
I will definitely make it a goal to plan my program around not just the input of my
staff members, but also my students as well. Most programs recognize the
importance of considering student voices when making decisions regarding
program activities and as a result, students are engaged and excited
to be in their afterschool programs (Huang & Dietel, 2011). I plan to have weekly
staff meetings and hand out quarterly student surveys where children can answer
what they like and dislike about my program. My goals will definitely align with my
students and will be written on large posters and posted in every single classroom
so students are constantly reminded of their duties. My ultimate goal is to have
students ultimately leave my program every day with enhanced and expanded
minds wanting to come back to learn more.
Source:

Gardner, Margo, Jodie L. Roth, and Jeane Brooks-Gunn. "Can After-School Programs
Help Level the Playing Field for Disadvantaged Youth?" Can
After-School Programs Help Level the Academic Playing Field for
Disadvantaged Youth? (2009): 4-7. Http://www.equitycampaign.org/.
A Research Initiative of the Campaign for Educational Equity
Teachers College, Columbia University, Oct. 2009. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
Huang, Denise, and Ronald Dietel. Making Afterschool Programs Better (2011): 1-15.
Cse.ucla.edu. University of California Los Angeles. Web.
2) LEADERSHIP

Program coordinators demonstrate leadership by usually have many years of

experience in afterschool programs and always sharing decision-making with their
staff across afterschool goals, programs, and evaluation. Valuing the opinions and
inputs of their staff members ensures the best outcome from these programs.
Key Findings: The best programs had.
1. Leaders who articulated a clear program mission, vision statement, and
goals.
2. Leaders who provided all staff with professional development opportunities
that improved individual and team skills.
3. Leaders and staff across high-quality programs who maintained good
relationships with the day school personnel.
Sample Program Plan:
As the coordinator of my program plan, I will make sure that my program is always

aligning with my goals. I will have excellent communication with students and especially

parents and be very understanding towards any circumstance that may arise. I will be a
caring and nurturing towards the children, but make sure to be authoritative and strict
when necessary.
In Seeing Eye-to-Eye: A Study of Afterschool Alignment and Academic Achievement,
afterschool programs have the potential to build a connection between schools, parents
and community partners. Each area of service is composed of well-qualified adults that are
more than capable of successful program delivery (Bennet, 2012). In order to make my
program the best that it can be, I will only hire the most qualified staff and ensure that they
specifically know my programs goals before entering my after school site. I will verify that
they clearly know what these goals are before accepting anyone, to guarantee the success
of my teachers and overall experience that my students will receive. Applicants must have
some type of experience with kids and must know how to be patient, responsible, caring,
and respectable. I will constantly be communicating with my staff members and will hold
weekly meetings where I will be open to any suggestions, constructive criticism, and
feedback. Additionally, student surveys will be handed out quarterly where I will be able to
get an understanding of my kids perspective on the program. This will notify me the
positive and negative aspects as well as help further develop and better my program if
needed.
Source:
Bennett, Tracy. "Seeing Eye-to-Eye: A Study of Afterschool Alignment and
Academic Achievement." After School Alignment and Achievement
(2012): n. pag. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.
3) STAFF

According to Huang and Dietel, high quality programs recruit qualified staff and
create collegial environment supporting their programs missions. They are often a
role model for students who create a norm of high expectations, appropriate student
behavior, good school attendance, effective work habits, and positive attitudes
towards learning.
Key Findings: The best programs had.
1. Staff with high educational levels (47% Bachelors Degree, 24% Masters
Degree).
2. Staff who had positive relationships and interactions between the staff and
the students particularly in terms of expectations for student performance,
disciplinary issues, and democracy.
3. A lower turnover rate with staff remaining in the same site for three years or
more.
Sample Program Plan:
As the program site leader, I will ensure that my students will be provided
with staff members who can represent themselves as passionate, responsible,
professional leaders. My staff members must be respectable and patient people who
are passionate and knowledgeable in the field of education and with kids. They must
have some type of experience with children and must be non discriminant and
biased. According to Core Competencies for After School Educators, the ability to
relate to and work well with diverse children and youth is listed as a core
competency that should be existent in educators at after school programs (C.S. Mott
Foundation, 2009). He or she needs to be comfortable with all races and types of

kids in order to make the students at my program feel comfortable themselves.

Knowing how to handle unruly kids and having the ability to act properly in difficult
situations with parents and/or kids is necessary. Staff members also have to be able
to integrate their students into my program plan while aligning their teachings with
the goals of the after school site. I will always be looking to see if my staff members
are effective and making a difference in the minds of my students and most
importantly will confirm that they are also well liked by parents and kids alike. By
constantly watching over my staff, I will make sure that they are fulfilling their
duties as a teacher and role model. If at any time I see a staff member deviating from
his or her job, I will allow a maximum of 4 warnings before I dismiss them.
According to Granger, the most important resources in an after-school setting are
the people (staff and youth), and their talents and values should be considered in
the change process (Granger, 2008). This is extremely true and professionalism is
the key and extremely vital quality that I will search for. I will have weekly staff
meetings where I will require them to come prepared with a weekly report of their
experiences and opinions on the programs plan. I will require each member to
provide one positive and one negative feedback at these meetings and openly take
into consideration any suggestions and input.
Source:
"Core Competencies For Afterschool Educators." (2009): 11-13. After
School Professional. C.S. Mott Foundation, Mar. 2009. Web. 15 Dec.
2014.
Granger, Robert C. "After-School Programs and Academics: Implications

for Policy, Practice, and Research." Social Policy Report Giving Child
and Youth Development Knowledge Away XXII.2 (2008): n. pag. Web.
16 Dec. 2014.
4) PROGRAM

A majority of programs offer three or more activities each day. Most

programs include homework help or tutoring, with other activities ranging from
academics to enrichment, and recreation. Students are receiving adequate
afterschool time for learning and skills practice and are engaged, attentive, and
enjoying the activities.
Key Findings: The best programs had.
1. Employed unique and innovative strategies to engage students in the afterschool
setting, placing a particular emphasis on making learning fun.
2. Social or character development in their curriculum as well as a community
involvement component.
3. Fieldtrips to enhance student learning and motivation.
Sample Program Plan:
My program will be extremely centered around the enhancement of students
academic achievement and the exploration of the arts. The key activities and
curriculum I would implement would be homework support in all core subjects, art
(ceramics, drawing, crafting), singing, dancing, acting, and sports. Noams article
states, What is important is that programs aim to create some
across-learning opportunities, achieve integration of some learning

goals, and deepen childrens exploration and skill acquisition programs divide the
time into nonacademic activities, such as sports and crafts.homework support
(Noam). My program will do exactly this and serve as a discovery place where kids
can feel comfortable to explore different sides of themselves where they can learn
new skills and hobbies in areas they may never have known. Children will have a
self-growth experience where they will be given as much opportunities as possible
to explore themselves in the general field of art and sports. Students will come to my
site prepared to be productive with their time and will firstly receive homework
support during homework time. An example of a daily schedule I would utilize
would be 2:45-3:15 pm Homework Time, 3:15-3:45 Reading Time, 3:45-3:55 Break,
3:55- 4:25 Singing, Dance, Acting, Sports Lesson, 4:25-5:25 Art lesson, and 5:25-6:00
pm Free/Extra Time to finish up any homework/Pick-Up. Every quarter or
semester, kids will get the opportunity to switch activities or classes if they are
unhappy with it or simply want to try out all types of classes offered at my program.
This will not only enable them to collaborate with their peers, but also let them truly
get the most out of their experience. I will also implement a rewards system where I
would have stickers/stamps be given each time a student behaves well or finishes
all homework. After collecting a certain number of these tokens, kids can either
enter in a monthly drawing for a large prize or purchase their own prizes at the
prize station. Holiday parties and birthday gifts will also be given. This
reinforcement system will tie into my goals of keeping students motivated,
entertained, and most importantly of having positive experiences.
Source:

Noam, Gil G. Learning with Excitement: Bridging School and After-School

Worlds and Project-Based Learning. New Directions for Youth
Development 2003.97 (2003): 124. Web.
5) EVALUATION

Evaluations are necessary to measure program performance and for

making continuous improvements. It needs to be ongoing and it is important to have
internal and external evaluations with the key focus being on improvement of
the program.
Key Findings: The best programs had.

1. Internal and external evaluations conducted.

2. Pre-post testing or classroom evaluations, comparison groups, surveys, focus
groups, observational assessments, or a combination of methods.
3. An external evaluator.
Sample Program Plan:
According to Huang and Dietel, interviewees from the majority of programs
reported positive results from external evaluations (Huang and Dietel, 2011). With this
knowledge, I hope that my external evaluations that I plan to implement into my program
will be successful as well. The three key questions that my evaluations will address would
be Are students genuinely enjoying and having positive experiences?, Are teachers being
effective and engaging with their students?, and Are students showing improvement in
academic achievement at school?. In order to measure the success of these questions, I will
hold weekly staff meetings where I will require my staff members to come prepared with
reports on their overall experiences that week with at least one positive and one negative

feedback. During teachings, I will also require my staff members to keep a log on each of
their students with a record of notes on behavior, achievement, and improvements. That
way, I will be able to know that teachers are doing their duties while also being able to see
every students progress at my program. As the site coordinator, I will also be constantly
surveying my site always observing my students and teachers and making sure my
program is aligning with the goals. I would also communicate with parents to get their
opinions and also hand out student surveys every quarter to also get their perspectives on
the program.
Source:
Huang, Denise, and Ronald Dietel. Making Afterschool Programs Better (2011): 1-15.
Cse.ucla.edu. University of California Los Angeles. Web.