Establishes Strong Links to the School Day

Performance Level 1

The site director and principal(s), school administrator(s), and/or designated liaison(s), and teachers have not met or had a meaningful conversation.

Performance Level 2

The site director and principal(s), school administrator(s), and/or designated liaison(s), and teachers meet at the beginning of the year. Communication is random and mainly focuses on or occurs when there are problems.

Performance Level 3

The site director and principal(s), school administrator(s), and/or designated liaison(s), and teachers regularly communicate through conversations, meetings, and in writing to ensure the afterschool program runs smoothly and succeeds in meeting the established goals.

Performance Level 4

The site director and principal(s), school administrator(s), and/or designated liaison(s), and teachers of the schools attended by program participants develop a yearly plan for regular communication, which includes scheduled meetings throughout the program period to ensure that the afterschool program runs successfully. They work together as a team on program planning, goal setting, and decision-making to ensure the program meets individual and shared goals for participants and families.

Performance Level 1

The program has separate and independent goals and activities that do not complement learning standards for the different age groups served.

Performance Level 2

The program has independent goals and activities that sometimes complement learning standards for the different age groups served.

Performance Level 3

Program and school staff members work together to understand their missions, goals, and approaches to learning in an effort to integrate and complement learning for participants. Program and school staff members share data in compliance with FERPA to identify participant strengths and needs to support participants effectively. Program and school staff members work together to integrate state and local performance standards and benchmarks into afterschool program activities.

Performance Level 4

Program and school staff members share curricula, resources, and data in compliance with FERPA. They work collaboratively to decide how instructional practices are effectively integrated to enhance both school day and afterschool learning. Examples of this partnership are evident because the program provides authentic opportunities for participants to learn and practice skills in real life situations. For example, embedding math skills into a cooking class, or improving language arts skills through writing advocacy letters about participants’ areas of interest to newspapers or local officials.

Performance Level 1

Program and school staff members operate independently and do not share participants’ academic and behavioral progress information.

Performance Level 2

Program staff members communicate individually with school staff members around participants who are having academic or behavioral problems.

Performance Level 3

Program and school staff members regularly communicate to share the academic and behavioral strengths, growth, and challenges of participants. Discussions and information sharing focus on supporting participants’ achievements and related positive behaviors. Communication highlights strategies that are promising and working, and aims to refine practices that need to be changed to assist the participants effectively.

Performance Level 4

Formal and informal structures are in place for program and school staff to regularly communicate in multiple ways and share the academic and behavioral strengths, growth, and challenges of participants. Ongoing discussions and information sharing focus on supporting participants’ achievements and related positive behaviors. Communication highlights strategies that are promising and working, and aims to refine practices that need to be changed to assist the participants effectively. The participants and their family member(s) are often part of the conversations with all partners who are working together to support the participants’ growth and success.

Performance Level 1

The program does not offer homework help, study hall, or tutoring as a regular part of the activity schedule. Homework help is only available if school administrators, teachers, parents, or participants ask for it. There is no dedicated space for studying; therefore, students who wish to complete their homework must do so in a multi-purpose space alongside other distracting activities.

Performance Level 2

The program offers homework help, study hall, and/or tutoring but not on a daily basis. Additional time for homework help is available if school administrators, teachers, parents, or participants ask for it. There is limited space(s) for studying.

Performance Level 3

A portion of the daily activity schedule is dedicated to homework help, study hall, and/or tutoring which is led by trained staff members and/or teachers. Additional time for homework help may be added if school administrators, teachers, parents, or participants ask for it. Appropriate space(s) for studying is available and conducive to a positive learning environment.

Performance Level 4

A portion of the daily activity schedule is dedicated to homework help, study hall, and/or tutoring which is led by trained staff members and/or teachers. Additional time for homework help may be added or based on staff’s consultation with teachers or parents, or if participants ask for it. Space allocated for studying facilitates a positive learning environment, supported by access to reference materials, textbooks, and computers.

Performance Level 1

The afterschool program is not currently represented in school(s) planning efforts.

Performance Level 2

The afterschool program is not currently represented in school(s) planning efforts, but planning committee members from the school sometimes report back planning updates to afterschool program leadership.

Performance Level 3

The afterschool program is represented in the planning efforts of the school(s). An afterschool program representative shares information about afterschool curricula, teaching methods, and policies with the school(s) planning committee members.

Performance Level 4

The afterschool program has a regular representative who is part of the school(s) planning committee and shares information about afterschool curricula, teaching methods, and policies with the school(s). The program representative works with the school(s) to develop action steps to support participants’ learning and needs. The school(s) values and encourages the sharing of information about both school curricula and afterschool curricula/program learning goals to ensure participants’ achievement.

Performance Level 1

The program does not have an educational coordinator.

Performance Level 2

The program has an educational coordinator who is experienced working in afterschool but does not have the required experience in curriculum development, lesson planning, and staff training for the educational coordinator’s role.

Performance Level 3

The program has an educational coordinator who is a certified teacher with some experience in curriculum development, lesson planning, and staff training. The coordinator observes afterschool activities for quality and provides staff with feedback for continuous improvement. The coordinator reviews most lesson plans to ensure they are age and/or developmentally appropriate for the participants served.

Performance Level 4

The program has an educational coordinator who is a certified teacher and a faculty member from the school. The coordinator is experienced in curriculum development, lesson planning, and staff training. The coordinator observes afterschool activities for quality and provides staff with feedback for continuous improvement at least monthly. The coordinator reviews all lesson plans to ensure they are age and/or developmentally appropriate for the participants served.

Performance Level 1

The program does not collaborate with the school administration on a joint professional development plan for teachers and program staff.

Performance Level 2

Both teachers and program staff are invited periodically and randomly to attend joint professional development training. These trainings are not part of a formal joint professional development plan between the school and the afterschool program.

Performance Level 3

School day and afterschool staff develop an annual joint professional development plan to ensure consistency of instructional and learning practices. The plan is implemented and joint professional development occurs periodically throughout the year.

Performance Level 4

School day and afterschool staff develop an annual joint professional development plan to ensure consistency of instructional and learning practices. Professional development is structured in a manner where school day and afterschool staff have opportunities to generate ideas for the program and share promising practices related to positive youth development, academic support and enrichment, behavior management, and individual participant goals and progress. The application of the knowledge and skills learned through the joint professional development opportunities is assessed through program activity observations and is aligned with continuous improvement plans to maximize overall staff performance.