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Expanded Learning: What does this really mean?

By Elizabeth Devaney

Until recently, Elizabeth was the Deputy Director of the Providence After School Alliance. She now works as a consultant and resides in Tacoma, WA. Elizabeth will be presenting as part of a panel discussion plenary session on Expanded Learning Opportunities facilitated by Priscilla Little.

What exactly is expanded learning? The phrase is being used to describe a whole variety of activities but no one clear definition or model has emerged. That is because we as a field are grappling with an age-old challenge – how to reengage young people in learning in a way that excites them, stimulates their curiosity, and connects them to new experiences. Expanded learning could represent a new way to do that and there is both excitement and a healthy dose of apprehension among youth development advocates about what it should look like. Some emergent themes are worthy of note. Expanded learning is about more intentional connections between the community and schools, not necessarily only through academic content, but through programmatic linkages and real world experiences. It is about taking the best of the out of school time world and combining it with the best of what schools have to offer. And it is about helping young people to be successful through relevant learning that addresses all of their needs – academic, social, emotional and physical.

A variety of models are starting to take shape around the country. In some communities, expanded learning is driven by schools. The school day is extended by an hour or two allowing teachers to spend more time with additional learning activities designed to bolster academic success and community agencies are invited to provide enriching activities several days per week. In other communities, like Providence, RI, and those served by members of the Collaborative for Building After School Systems (CBASS), expanded learning is shaping up as a partnership between schools and the community. The work is early, but the results are promising.

This past summer in Providence, 10 teams of community educators and school teachers co-designed and delivered a 4-week summer curriculum focused on STEM to 150 middle school youth. This program brought youth from the classroom, to community field locations, and back to the classroom where they could make real-world connections to the math and science they were learning. For example, in one cohort, students at the Community Boating Center learned to sail, but they also took measurements of daily wind speed, temperature, and air pressure. When they got back into the classroom they graphed those figures over time and talked about the impact of each on the velocity of their boats.

The Providence school district funded the Providence After School Alliance (PASA) to run this program in place of a traditional summer school program because they believed it would be more effective. And it was. Both types of educators were able to draw on their strengths to excite youth about what they were learning and how they could apply it. And in a study of the program’s impact, both reported that the experience improved their teaching practice. When the study is complete, we’ll know if the program had a positive impact on students. Most likely, in 4 weeks, it will not have moved their test scores. But we are confident it improved their confidence in their own skills and their curiosity about the world around them, setting them up for greater success in school.

Not every community will define expanded learning this way or use this particular model. Each school district and set of community partners and contexts is unique. The point is to create intentional links between the two worlds, to draw upon the best of what each has to offer, and to excite both youth and teams of formal and informal educators about learning from and with each other.

Supporting Refugees In and Out of School

by Pang Chang, Refugee School Impact Grant Proejct Director, SOWA

• "Starting Again: Stories of Refugee Youth" Presented by Jimena Quiroga & Jhumpa Bhattacharya, ThrivePoint Group. Screening of School’s Out Washington’s documentary about four refugee youth from Bhutan/Nepal, Burma, Russia, and Somalia, with the brand new film guide written by ThrivePoint Group. The guide includes discussion questions for educators, afterschool providers, students, and the general public.

• "Acculturation and Adjustment of Refugees and Refugee Mental Health Services" Presented by Dr. Dina Birman, University of Illinois at Chicago – Session will cover issues and interventions related to supporting refugee students in their adjustment.

• "The Refugee Project: Walk in My Shoes" Presented by Sandra Van der Pol, World Relief-Seattle – This 3-hour experiential simulation will help you understand the refugee journey.

• "What Research Tells Us about Effective Instruction for English Language Learners" Presented by Dr. Theresa Deussen, Education Northwest – The workshop will highlight best practices in instructing ELLs as they learn English and academic content.

• "It’s More than Just Talk: Expanding Opportunities for English Language Learners" Presented by Jennifer Kobrin, Foundations, Inc. – The presentation will include strategies for helping ELLs learn English, academic language, and literacy skills in afterschool and youth development programs.

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Updates & Announcements

We are pleased to announce that Jackie Jainga-Hyllseth has transitioned into a new role at School’s Out Washington as our Quality Initiatives Director. Jackie has worked at SOWA since 2008 overseeing the Pathway to Excellence Project and leading efforts to build a professional development system in our state, including coordinating a statewide collaborative effort resulting in creation of the Washington State Core Competencies for Child & Youth Development Professionals. In her new role, Jackie will lead statewide efforts to establish a policy/advocacy agenda that promotes program quality, increase the use of quality assessment and improvement processes in afterschool and youth development programs, develop and implement the state and local infrastructure that facilitates sustained quality improvement for youth agencies and create continuing demand for high quality afterschool and youth development programs. If you would like to learn more about the quality initiative work that Jackie will be overseeing, please contact her at (206) 336-6929 or by email. 

School’s Out Washington will again be awarding Quality Enhancement Grants in 2012 for afterschool programs in Washington State licensed or certified through the Department of Early Learning. Programs may apply for up to $3,000 to implement a quality improvement project. Click here to learn more about this funding opportunity and download the grant application. You may also apply online. Grants will be due back to School’s Out Washington by Friday, November 4^th.