Defining Program Quality
High quality afterschool and summer programs promote students' intellectual, emotional, and creative development in safe environments.
National research defines the specific elements and indicators of high quality programs:
- Environment and Climate
- Relationships
- Programming and Activities
- Administration and Organization
- Staffing and Professional Development
- Linkages Between Day and Afterschool
- Youth Participation and Engagement
- Parent, Family and Community Partnerships
- Program Sustainability and Growth
- Measuring Outcomes and Evaluation
Research from ChildTrends indicates that only high quality afterschool programs create positive student outcomes. Children who attend a low quality program show no more improvement in academics, risky behavior, or social development than students who attend no program at all.
Because only high quality programs change children’s lives, Dallas AfterSchool Network is committed to helping local afterschool sites improve the quality of the programs they deliver for the benefit of the children they serve. Our Program Quality Initiative is designed to help local sites become certified to national quality standards. Use the links to the left to learn more.
Research on program quality:
ChildTrend’s Research Brief “How Out-of-School Time Program Quality is Related to Adolescent Outcomes” August 2010.
University of Minnesota Extension Center for Youth Development "Quality Matters in Afterschool Programs" May 2008
