MEMORANDUM

TO: FROM: SUBJECT: DATE: The Honorable John Kerry; The Honorable John Edwards; Teresa Heinz Kerry; Elizabeth Edwards; Cameron Kerry; Joan Wasser Gish; Heather Higginbottom Eric Schwarz, President and Co !o"nder, Citizen Schools How to Create National Networks of Qualit After!S"#ool $ro%ra&s #"g"st $%, &''(

High )"ality a*ter school learning +rograms are +ro,en to enco"rage good citizenshi+ among both ad"lts and children and to +re+are yo"ng +eo+le *or the &%st Cent"ry economy- They bring added reso"rces, attention, and s"++ort to st"dents in need, hel+ing them close the achie,ement ga+ with their more *ort"nate +eers- Parents and *amilies.who in *ar greater n"mbers today than a generation ago are wor/ing when their children are dismissed *rom school.need high )"ality a*ter school +rograms that +ro,ide their children with sa*e and learning *illed en,ironments in the a*ternoon#t their best, a*ter school +rograms achie,e all o* these things- 0et signi*icant obstacles bloc/ the a*ter school *ield *rom *"l*illing this great +otential- 1any +rograms str"ggle amid high t"rno,er and limited training among sta**, +oor retention among st"dents, "nreliable streams o* *"nding, di**ic"lty boosting academic res"lts, and the lac/ o* a clear ,ision tied to +ower*"l o"tcomes2"tstanding a*ter school +rograms can be a ,ehicle to strengthen #merican citizenshi+, close the achie,ement ga+ among di**erent gro"+s o* children, as well as e**ecti,ely +re+are yo"ng +eo+le *or the modern com+etiti,e economy- We need to e3+and and im+ro,e )"ality +rograms that hel+ st"dents b"ild essential s/ills, access higher le,el ed"cational o++ort"nities, and become leaders in their comm"nitiesWe recommend that the *ederal go,ernment commit to a new *i,e year strategy to create high )"ality a*ter school +rograms *or all /ids who need them- 4n doing so, we can b"ild a stronger #merica, boosting citizen +artici+ation and accelerating learning- S+eci*ically, we recommend si3 +olicy initiati,es5

Put 100,000 professional educators in after-school programs. Provide incentives for all citizens to be volunteer teachers, tutors, and mentors in after-school programs. Create an After-School Gro th and !nnovation "und. #everage After-School #earning as a Strateg$ to Prepare $oung people for %1st Centur$ careers. Commission a rigorous stud$ to measure the impact of after-school programs Create a professional path a$ for after-school educators. .

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7elow yo" will *ind *"rther details on these +olicy ideas, as well as s+eci*ic ways to *"nd them- 1any o* the ideas can be *"nded "sing e3isting or +romised dollars, "sing a broad +ool o* reso"rces to e3+and and strengthen a*ter school learning in #merica$oli" Re"o&&en'ations Put 100,000 professional educators in after-school programs The Clinton #dministration committed to +"tting %'',''' co+s on the street in the %88's to red"ce crime- 1"ch the same thing can be accom+lished 9/ee+ing /ids sa*e and o"t o* tro"ble, as well as boosting s/ills: by de+loying a +ro*essional cor+s o* %'',''' yo"ng ed"cators to wor/ in high need schools hel+ing as t"tors and o"treach wor/ers in the morning and r"nning )"ality a*ter school +rograms in the a*ternoon#*ter school is +lag"ed by +oorly trained, "nder +aid sta** and *re)"ent t"rno,erPro*essionalizing the *ield will go a long way toward im+ro,ing )"ality and integrating a*ter school and in school learning- S"ch a +rogram wo"ld also achie,e signi*icant scale- # cor+s o* %'',''' talented college grad"ates interested in careers as a*ter school ed"cators co"ld e**ecti,ely wor/ with % ; & million children a*ter school, as well as mobilize more than a million ad"lt ,ol"nteers- What i* %'',''' yo"ng ed"cators *anned o"t across &',''' schools with the highest needs nationwide e3tending the school day, +ro,iding mentoring and t"toring, and mobilizing % million ,ol"nteer Citizen Teachers to do what ad"lts sho"ld do, and care *or and ed"cate yo"ng +eo+le<
!=>?4>G-

We see two ways to s"++ort the e**ort o* +"tting %'',''' a*ter school ed"cators in high need schools- !irst, yo"r call to ram+ "+ #mericor+s co"ld in +art ma/e this goal a reality- We recommend *oc"sing @',''' new #mericor+s ,ol"nteers, hal* o* all new #mericor+ slots yo" ha,e committed to, to a*ter school learning, t"toring, and mentoring +rogramsSecond, yo" ha,e +ro+osed *"lly *"nding the &%st Cent"ry Comm"nity Aearning Centers +rogram, increasing the b"dget by B%-@ billion to a total o* B&-@ billion- We recommend allocating one third o* the new monies yo" will commit to this +rogram, B@'' million, *or the salaries o* a*ter school ed"cators, which sho"ld then be matched by another B@'' million *rom schools "sing their Title 4 *"nding- This co"ld +ro,ide a B&',''' sti+end *or each o* @',''' members in a new +ro*essional cor+s o* a*ter school ed"cators to wor/ in schools and with st"dents with the highest needs- The balance o* the costs *or s"+er,ision, training, and +ro,iding additional s"++ort co"ld be co,ered by +ri,ate sector +artnersProvide incentives for all citizens to be volunteer teachers, tutors, and mentors in afterschool programs E,en %'',''' +ro*essional ed"cators in a*ter school will not be eno"gh- We need all citizens to "nderstand that they can be teachers- 0o"ng +eo+le learn *rom ad"lts in myriad ways, C"st by obser,ing and interacting with them- !ormalizing the teaching relationshi+ ad"lts ha,e with yo"ng +eo+le can be a +ower*"l way to engage whole comm"nities in learning, ma/ing teaching a center+iece o* #merican citizenshi+We recommend yo" con,ene a national s"mmit o* to+ cor+orate leaders to de,elo+ awareness and incenti,es *or +ro*essionals all across this co"ntry to ,ol"nteer in a*ter

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school +rograms- S"ch a s"mmit can hel+ mobilize a large +ool o* ,ol"nteer DCitizen Teachers,E wor/ing in a*ter school +rograms to hel+ yo"ng +eo+le boost their academic s/ills as well as teach them &%st Cent"ry s/ills.teamwor/, comm"nication, +roblem sol,ing, leadershi+!or e3am+le, com+anies ranging *rom 471, !idelity, 7an/ o* #merica, and dozens o* law *irms and architect"ral *irms ha,e enco"raged their em+loyees to ,ol"nteer as Citizen Teachers in the Citizen Schools a*ter school a++renticeshi+ +rogram- These ,ol"nteers commit to teaching hands on +roCects to middle school st"dents & ho"rs a wee/ *or %' wee/s4ndeed, there is increasing interest among cor+orate leaders in the necessity o* a*ter school +rograms- 4n J"ne &''(, Cor+orate Foices *or Wor/ing !amilies iss"ed a +olicy +a+er addressing the high le,el o* interest and in,estment in a*ter school +rograms among #merican com+anies- 7"siness sees a*ter school +rograms as a cr"cial com+onent o* de,elo+ing the *"t"re wor/*orce and *or s"++orting the needs o* the c"rrent wor/*orceCreate an After-School Gro th and !nnovation "und The a*ter school sector is wea/ened by *ragmentation.)"ality +rogramming in some areas is o**set by s"b +ar +rogramming in others- This can be o,ercome by b"ilding new networ/s o* )"ality +rogramming, ones that are re+licable and that share and broadly disseminate best +racticesWe recommend yo"r D2+en GTill Si3E initiati,e incl"de an #*ter School 4nno,ation !"nd, which wo"ld be designed to in,est in )"ality, re+licable, scalable, and s"stainable +rograms- The 4nno,ation !"nd sho"ld in,est in +rograms with a +ro,en trac/ record o* res"lts, demonstrate +romise on a broad array o* st"dent o"tcomes and e**ecti,e sta**ing and im+lementation models, and ha,e a record o* s"ccess in +artnering with high need schools to e3tend the e3+erience o* learning *or o"r yo"ng +eo+le!=>?4>G-

0o"r +ro+osed Citizens Patriot !"nd is a great way to in,est in dozens o* creati,e a*ter school +rograms- We recommend allocating a +ortion o* this new seed money *or a*ter school +rograms that are lin/ed to rigoro"s e,al"ation and that hel+ b"ild the o,erall a*ter school mo,ement# critically im+ortant and related idea to is to create an in,estment *"nd to scale "+ e3isting high )"ality initiati,es in the *ield- We there*ore s"ggest a +"blic +ri,ate in,estment in a new #*ter School Growth and 4nno,ation !"nd- We recommend *oc"sing another third o* the new monies a,ailable *rom the &%st Cent"ry Comm"nity Aearning Centers +rogram, B@'' million, to create a new national com+etiti,e % to % matching grant +rogram- With the +ri,ate sector +"tting "+ an additional B@'' million, B% billion each year *or *i,e years can wor/ to im+ro,e the reach and )"ality o* @' +l"s high im+act a*ter school +rograms- Grantees wo"ld ha,e to demonstrate a +ro,en trac/ record o* res"lts and commit to rigoro"s, long term e,al"ation This "ni)"e, *i,e year, B@ billion +"blicH+ri,ate in,estment *"nd wo"ld allow +rograms that ha,e been +ro,en in one neighborhood or comm"nity to +artner with others to scale "+ their ser,ices- 4t wo"ld also allow national networ/s li/e the 7oys and Girls Cl"bs and the 01C# to re+licate +ro,en initiati,es *rom their a**iliate sites-

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#everage After-School #earning as a Strateg$ to Prepare &oung People for %1st Centur$ Careers P"blic schools, b"ilt to +re+are yo"ng +eo+le *or ind"strial age Cobs, ha,e *ailed to meet the demands o* a &%st Cent"ry economy- The s/ills needed *or a middle class career ha,e changed- #t the Citizen Schools s+onsored Ie imagining #*ter School Sym+osi"m at the Har,ard Grad"ate School o* Ed"cation in #+ril &''(, noted researchers Iichard 1"rnane 9Har,ard =ni,ersity: and !ran/ Ae,y 91-4-T-: s"mmarized their *indings a*ter st"dying c"rrent and historical trends in #merican economic and social li*e- Their research showed that em+loyers re)"ire their em+loyees to ha,e higher le,el e3+ert thin/ing and com+le3 comm"nication abilities, as well as other Dnew basic s/ills,E beyond what was needed C"st a *ew decades ago- !"rthermore, their research re,ealed that a large n"mber o* yo"ng +eo+le are not grad"ating high school with the *o"ndation o* s/ills they need to attain or stay in the #merican middle classWhere elementary school is the ideal ,en"e *or teaching children basic academic s/ills, middle school is the o+timal time to reach yo"ng +eo+le with &%st Cent"ry learningWor/ing on hands on +roCects, collaborating with +eers in small gro"+s, sol,ing com+le3 +roblems, +rod"cing something o* ,al"e to their comm"nities; these are not only s/ills needed *or the &%st Cent"ry wor/*orce, they are also the best ways yo"ng +eo+le in the middle grades learn, +er*orm, and s"cceed- They are the best ways to enable high need, disad,antaged, or at ris/ yo"th to close the achie,ement ga+4n ad,ocating *or a*ter school as a strategy to ad,ance o++ort"nity *or "nderser,ed yo"th, yo" will *ind a strong ally in not only Citizen Schools b"t also the Partnershi+ *or &%st Cent"ry S/ills- The Partnershi+ is a +"blic +ri,ate organization *ormed to de*ine and incor+orate into learning the s/ills that are necessary *or e,ery st"dentJs s"ccess in the &%st Cent"ry- The Partnershi+ co"nts as its collaborators and contrib"tors com+anies s"ch as ?ell, 1icroso*t, #++le Com+"ter, Cisco Systems, and S#P; ed"cation associations, s"ch as the >ational Ed"cation #ssociation; and +ri,ate charities, s"ch as the Time Warner !o"ndationWe recommend the =-S- ?e+artment o* Ed"cation o**er a new B@' million in,estment in de,elo+ing &%st Cent"ry S/ills.teamwor/, comm"nication, +roblem sol,ing, leadershi+ .thro"gh a*ter school +rogramming *or middle school st"dents 7y +ro,iding o++ort"nities *or hands on learning, meaning*"l a++renticeshi+s, and real world +roCects with ad"lts, the ?e+artment o* Ed"cation can greatly ad,ance its goal to +re+are a &%st Cent"ry wor/*orce by ens"ring yo"ng +eo+le, at a critical time in their learning and de,elo+ment, are set "+ *or s"ccess!=>?4>G-

We see this as an essential new e3+ansion o* school to wor/ and wor/*orce de,elo+ment *"nding +rograms'easure the !mpact of After-School Programs and 'a(e !nformation Available to Parents and "amilies #*ter school +rograms ha,e had mi3ed res"lts *or im+ro,ing academic achie,ement!"rthermore, there has been no e**ecti,e meas"rement o* the broader social, economic, and comm"nity im+ro,ements res"lting *rom ha,ing yo"ng +eo+le engaged in learning a*ter school instead o* being elsewhere in "nstr"ct"red en,ironments-

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?es+ite this, we ha,e seen some +romising o"tcomes- 4n 7oston, the Citizen Schools a*ter school +rogram has dramatically increased the ability o* middle school st"dents to a++ly *or and get acce+ted into +"blic college trac/ high schools- #n inde+endent, )"asi e3+erimental, longit"dinal st"dy o* the Citizen Schools a*ter school a++renticeshi+ +rogram cond"cted by Policy St"dies #ssociates has also shown a signi*icantly larger n"mber o* st"dents in the +rogram com+ared to a control gro"+ o* st"dents reaching the tenth grade on time, an e**ecti,e +redictor o* com+leting high schoolThere is more we need to meas"re- The Partnershi+ *or &%st Cent"ry S/ills, in collaboration with its cor+orate, ed"cation, and *o"ndation +artners, is c"rrently engaged in a +rocess to *"rther de*ine and assess &%st Cent"ry s/ills- This +roCect will wor/ to identi*y critical s/ills *or s"ccess in the new economy, how they are lin/ed with basic academic s/ills, and how they can be best assessed both in school and o"t o* schoolWe also need to better in*orm +arents and *amilies abo"t what wor/s- We need to create *or"ms *or disseminating in*ormation abo"t the )"ality o* a*ter school +rograms so that +arents and *amilies, as children!=>?4>G-

The =-S- ?e+artment o* Ed"cationKs 4nstit"te o* Ed"cation Sciences co"ld in,est a +ortion o* its nearly B%(' million b"dget *or research, de,elo+ment, and dissemination in a new nation wide, com+rehensi,e e,al"ation o* a*ter school +rogramsThe e,al"ation sho"ld "se rigoro"s methodologies to trac/ st"dent s"ccess o,er time and e3amine m"lti+le indicators o* s"ccess 9standardized test scores, grade +romotion, social s/ills, grad"ation, college entrance, etc-:- The st"dy sho"ld also e3amine the e**ecti,eness o* a*ter school teaching +ractices, *"nding and sta**ing models, and re+licabilityThe =-S- ?e+artment o* Ed"cation co"ld also b"ild o** its *"nding *or the >ational Partnershi+ *or L"ality #*terschool Aearning, an initiati,e led by the So"thwest Ed"cational ?e,elo+ment Aaboratory to doc"ment and disseminate best +ractices in a*ter school +rogramming- The ?e+artment sho"ld s"++ort a related e**ort to +"blish a catalog o* a*ter school +rograms- The +"blication wo"ld ser,e as a reso"rce *or +arents, *amilies, and schools to C"dge the )"ality o* +rogram o**erings- The catalog sho"ld be de,elo+ed "sing a trans+arent and incl"si,e +rocess that establishes realistic )"ality metricsCreate a professional path a$ for after-school educators Classroom teachers will always remain the most essential element o* a childKs ed"cation in #merica- 7"t as we wor/ to im+ro,e the +ro*essional de,elo+ment o++ort"nities *or in school teachers, we sho"ld also wor/ to raise the standard o* )"ality *or a*ter school ed"cators- Creating new, *ormalized training o**erings and +ro*essional +athways *or a*ter school ed"cators can enco"rage yo"ng, idealistic ed"cators to stay in the *ield *or longer +eriods o* time than they are now7"ilding and +ro*essionalizing the *ield o* a*ter school will re)"ire greater access to high le,el training in best +ractices *or teaching, learning, and yo"th de,elo+ment- We recommend enabling colleges and "ni,ersities to b"ild or enhance +rograms *or teaching in the *ield o* o"t o* school time- #s an e3am+le, Citizen Schools has +artnered with Aesley =ni,ersity in Cambridge, 1# to o**er a two year masterKs degree

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in ed"cation to a*ter school ed"cators.Teaching !ellows.who hel+ r"n Citizen Schools a*ter school +rograms- This +rogram +ro,ides a*ter school ed"cators with a +romising career +ath and +"ts their s/ills more on +ar with in school teachers, increasing the ability o* a*ter school ed"cators to integrate in school and a*ter school learning!=>?4>G-

Thro"gh its BM% million Title 444, Part # com+etiti,e awards *or strengthening +ost secondary instit"tions, the =-S- ?e+artment o* Ed"cation can o**er schools o* ed"cation across the co"ntry seed money to de,elo+ or enhance their ed"cation degree and certi*ication +rograms that *oc"s on o"t o* school time learning()#at *f+ We belie,e we can le,erage o"r nationKs *inancial 9+"blic and +ri,ate dollars: and h"man 9Citizen Teachers: reso"rces toward a concentrated *i,e year e**ort to greatly increase the n"mbers o* )"ality a*ter school ed"cators and +rograms in #merica- This bold new ,ision o* a*ter school learning in will o**er o"r nationKs yo"ng +eo+le a more com+lete ed"cationWhat i* by &'%', %'',''' idealistic recent college grad"ates were de+loyed aro"nd the co"ntry to hel+ o"t in high need schools and r"n a*ter school +rograms< What i* & million additional st"dents were ser,ed in )"ality a*ter school +rograms each year< What i* % million ,ol"nteer Citizen Teachers.lawyers to mechanics to ban/ers to retirees.too/ res+onsibility *or +artici+ating in learning and strengthening comm"nities< What i* +arents /new their children were sa*e and engaged in s"+er,ised learning *or a larger +art o* their wa/ing days< What i* a*ter school led the way in &%st cent"ry learning< What i* we increase the n"mber o* a*ter school +rograms a,ailable to low income, "nderser,ed /ids so that they ha,e the same le,el o* o++ort"nities *or learning o"t o* school as their more *ort"nate +eers< What i* schools across the co"ntry +"t a new *oc"s on a*ter school, ma/ing a*ter school learning an e3tension o* in school learning *or a more com+lete learning e3+erience *or children< What i* st"dents had access to a broad learning e3+erience that +re+ares them *or a &%st Cent"ry wor/*orce< #ll o* these goals are well within reach- #ll can be accom+lished with targeted and coordinated in,estments and a new dedication to ma/ing a*ter school a center+iece o* #merican citizenshi+ and a critical element o* learning *or the &%st Cent"ry-

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