Alignment Initiative
School’s Out Washington has partnered with the Seattle Public Schools since the inception of the district’s Community Alignment Initiative led by their Office of Community Leadership (OCL). The efforts of this special collaboration bring afterschool programs and schools together with an intentional focus to better serve children, youth and their families.
First launched in the spring of 2001, the Alignment Initiative is a framework for how schools, afterschool providers, families and communities work collectively to ensure that children and youth meet or exceed learning standards and that school and afterschool activities holistically reflect the developmental needs of children and youth.
Alignment does not mean that afterschool programs duplicate what is happening during the core school day. Rather, the goal is for programs to provide an array of activities that reinforce learning through play, the arts, problem solving, team projects and inquiry-based lessons.
The Learning Partners Group (LPG), a multi-disciplinary advisory committee to the OCL, is comprised of staff from SOWA, City of Seattle, Seattle Parks Department and other community-based organizations. This group meets monthly to address challenges and opportunities at both the systems and site levels to identify strategies and resources to support these valuable partnerships.
The OCL is responsible for overseeing the responsibilities of the partnership including compliance with the lease agreements. In addition to serving on the LPG, SOWA provides training and technical assistance to the school/afterschool teams at alignment sites and develops trainings and resources for effective partnerships.
For questions about these services, please email our Professional Development Coordinator, Emily Emerson, or call her at 206.336.6921.