About Us
School’s Out Washington is an intermediary agency which provides services and guidance for organizations to ensure all young people have safe places to learn and grow when not in school. School’s Out is dedicated to building community systems to support quality out-of-school time programs for Washington’s 5-18 year olds through training, advocacy and leadership.
We were founded in 1987 and our history reflects the emergence and development of the afterschool and youth development (AYD) professional field. All along the way, we have played a key role in supporting AYD professionals and programs in their work. Our mission, vision and values reflect our deep commitment to the advancement of the AYD field, the individuals who work in the field, and the children, youth, families and communities served by the field.
Through a range of training and professional development services, we promote quality standards and offer opportunities for AYD program providers to develop skills, receive support and network with peers. We disseminate research on the benefits of programs and mobilize children's advocates to take action on issues impacting the AYD field. Our grant programs support quality programs in a variety of ways. We also facilitate communication among AYD professionals, schools, law enforcement officials, policymakers, civic leaders, foundations and other partners to establish accountability and a system of support for Washington's young people.
We develop a strategic plan to help guide our work, identify goals and benchmarks, and provide us with a means for marking our progress. We also publish an annual report each year.
We are currently engaged in exciting work with community members in Washington to develop a statewide professional development system and have also been organizing AYD field stakeholders statewide to advise the Department of Early Learning in their current re-write of the school-age licensing regulations. School's Out continues to lead the Washington Regional Afterschool Project (WRAP), which provides training and assistance for AYD programs throughout the state.
With support from the Aspen Institute's Roundtable on Community Change, School's Out has also recently engaged in addressing issues of racial equity and structural racism within the AYD field. While our focus has always been on addressing racial equity, anti-racism, and anti-oppression, we are now at a place where we are compelled to take a deeper look at our work with a racial equity lens in order to ensure equity, opportunity and success for all those involved in and served by the AYD field.
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