The After School Evaluation
Symposium, June 2001
Rarely do evaluators, practitioners, funders, and policymakers
talk to each other except in the high stakes environment of
program design, evaluation, and grant- and policy-making.
In June 2001, Harvard Family Research Project held the first
After School Evaluation Symposium in Washington, DC. This
meeting brought together evaluators, practitioners, funders,
and policymakers in the out-of-school time field to exchange
ideas, share knowledge, and build the knowledge base about
evaluation in this important, growing field. Harvard Family
Research Project's goal for this Symposium was to open a space
for invested people to come together to understand new and
different perspectives, and, from common understanding, build
the field.
Sessions at the two-day meeting were designed to surface
challenging issues and facilitate discussion among the stakeholders
in the out-of-school time arena. In addition to hearing from
some of the "big names" in research and evaluation
of after school programs, participants heard the voices of
local program practitioners and evaluators. These diverse
perspectives were brought together in dialogue through panel
presentations, round table discussions, and informal networking
sessions, specifically designed to encourage the participants
to meet and converse across positions and perspectives.
Panelists and participants at the Symposium represented national
organizations and initiatives, local programs, state-level
organizations, universities, national and regional foundations,
technical assistance providers, evaluators, and people who
make policy and those who attempt to influence it. Within
the after school realm, programs at the national, state, and
local levels were represented, along with youth development
programs, prevention programs, mentoring programs, charter
schools, extended day programs, systemic initiatives, and
state and national professional networks.
At the two-day Symposium, 51 speakers shared their insights
about after school evaluation with over 120 Symposium participants
from across the country. We realize that 120 participants
is a small fraction of those who are committed to building
the field of out-of-school time through after school programming
and evaluation. With this in mind, we decided to professionally
record 12 of these presentations to share with a broader audience
through our website. Anyone can listen to these recordings
online or download transcripts of the presentations.
These presentations include:
- A broad conceptualization of the field and the importance
of using a continuous improvement model of evaluation to
move the field forward.
- National evaluators discussing the ways in which national
and local evaluations can inform one another.
- Local evaluators talking about their experiences in the
field.
- The important connections that can be made between youth
development frameworks and evaluation of out-of-school time
initiatives.
To access information about the After School Evaluation
Symposium follow the links below:
The Symposium and its related
webpages have been funded through a grant from:
The Charles Stewart Mott
Foundation
The Nellie Mae
Education Foundation
|
