Still looking for a summer program?

There is still time to find a safe and engaging summer program. BOSTONavigator offers the most up-to-date information on nearly 900 summer opportunities. Recent improvements allow one to search for programs by any combination of age, activity focus, and summer availability -- within a 1/4 mile radius! You can now e-mail the search results and find all programs offered at a particular site.

Neighborhood Resource Guides

New Neighborhood Resource Guides provide a sample of programs listed in BOSTONavigator in every Boston neighborhood. For each program, the guides include contact information, location, days offered, gender and ages served, and cost. Pre-sorted by type of activity, these guides are designed to assist in parent outreach efforts.

Neighborhood networks launch public websites

Four neighborhood-based networks of youth serving organizations are launching public web sites this summer. The new web sites include information on more than 100 programs offered by 57 organizations through Jamaica Plain Unidos/United, East Boston Youth Task Force, Lower Roxbury Youth Collaborative, and GOTCHA (Dorchester). A common technological framework and shared database of youth records allow youth workers to serve teens across multiple programs and organizations. These sites also enable the public, schools, and other organizations to refer youth to a network in these neighborhoods. These collaborations are supported under the banner of the Teen Initiative.

Environmental groups step up on summer jobs

The Boston Youth Environmental Network organized 12 park stewardship organizations to hire an additional 125 youth this summer, with support from the Mayor’s Youth Fund. New youth crews are allowing organizations to tackle long-neglected projects. With engaging “green” work sites ready to provide meaningful employment for teenagers, an anonymous private foundation is providing the financial support to hire supervisors, many of whom are graduates of Boston youth environmental programs. This public-private initiative is adding environmental organizations to a strong group of environmental employers that collectively hire over 800 young people each year.

State Budget Maintains Support for OST

In a difficult revenue climate, the Governor and Legislature maintained core support for youth line items. Notably, however, the youth Mentoring Matching Grants (line item 7061-9634) is among the Governor’s vetoes. The House and Senate still can vote to override this veto in the coming days with a two-thirds roll-call vote in each chamber. Download a summary of the line items, prepared by Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership to learn how the FY2010 budget will affect after-school and out-of-school time opportunities in Massachusetts.

Common Outcomes Framework

In partnership with the Boston Public Schools DELTAS and the City of Boston, Boston After School & Beyond seeks to identify the measures of success most important, predictive and powerful for young people. Strategy Matters is leading this process in order to identify indicators and other data elements that are common among initiatives. Over time, the project seeks to develop a framework that includes shared goals and indicators among youth program providers and funders. To ensure that this process benefits from a broad range of stakeholders, we invite you to share ideas, questions and resources on a project listserv. To join, e-mail lisa@strategymatters.org.

New Research

Dollars and Sense: A First Look at Financing A New Day For Learning

This Cross & Joftus publication focuses on how communities can organize resources to support expanded learning, including connecting programs and services to schools by building bridges for students to connect school and out-of-school time activities; creating community networks to expand learning outside the school environment; and extending the traditional school day or school year to provide more structured time for learning and involve community partners who can share their resources and expertise. December 2008.

The Federal Role in Out-of-School Learning

Four decades of research demonstrate that it is necessary to redefine learning—both where and when it takes place—if the country is to achieve the goal of educating all of its children. This report from Harvard Family Research Project makes a research-based case for federal provision of out-of-school complementary learning supports, so that all students gain the skills necessary for success in the 21st century. This report was commissioned by the Center for Education Policy and presented at a forum on Capitol Hill in November 2008. February 2009.