Our History: A Timeline
School’s Out Washington – A Brief History
1987-2010
1987 School’s Out Consortium is born as a pilot project of the City of Seattle
1988 Moves under auspices of the YWCA of Seattle–King County
1989 Coordinates first state school-age care conference
1991 Helps develop a statewide membership organization, the Washington School-Age Care Alliance; provides training and technical assistance throughout King County
1993 Expands services to all of Washington
1994 Develops quality standards for parks and recreation programs
1995 Is selected as one of three cities for the DeWitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund’s national MOST Initiative, gains national prominence
1997 Develops and launches Reading Is Cool! Curriculum
1998 Coordinates National School-Age Care Alliance Conference in Seattle
1999 Initiates Washington Regional Afterschool Project (WRAP) to increase access to training and support in each region of state
2000 Starts or expands 24 middle school afterschool programs throughout WA through Youth Connections
2001 Began to award Feed Your Brain grants to help communities develop enrichment activities with summer food programs; changes name to School’s Out Washington
2002 Implements Better Outcomes for Out-of-School Time (BOOST) Learning Initiative to help afterschool programs and schools work to support academic success
2003 Builds Washington Afterschool Network; coordinates Pacific Northwest annual Bridge from School to Afterschool and Back conference; releases Math Is Cool! curriculum
2004 Produces state-wide plan, Afterschool in Washington: A Smart, Strategic Investment
2005 Designs and field tests Science Is Cool!
2006 Starts regional Science Leadership Teams to bring training and support to area programs; distributes grants totaling $1.9 million in 19 years to afterschool programs throughout Washington
2007 Celebrates 20 years of training, advocacy and leadership. Lead a statewide advocacy effort that resulted in a state investment of 3 million dollars to support 21st Century Community Learning Centers and others resources to support afterschool programs.
2008 Adds the Refugee School Impact Grant to our roster of projects and completes the Afterschool Youth Development (AYD) Study: “A Well-Prepared Workforce brings out the best in our kids”
2009 Completes the Supply and Demand Study: “Afterschool Programs in Washington”. Named one of 6 "States on the Move" by the Afterschool Alliance based on the 2009 America After 3 study, funded by the J.C. Penney Afterschool Foundation.
2010 Completes the Washington State Core Competencies for Child and Youth Development Professionals that identifies the knowledge and skills the work force needs to know.