ELO Brief 1- Older Youth FINAL

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ELO R EsEaRch, POLicy   and PRacticE 

Helping Older Youth Succeed Through Expanded Learning Opportunitie

Brief No. 1

 A ugust 2011 What Are Expanded Learning Opportunities?

Expanded learning opportunities (ELOs) oer structured learning environments outside the traditional

school day, through beore- and ater-school; summer; and extended-day, -week or -year programs. They provide a range o enrichment and learning activities in various subjects including arts; civic engagement;and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). They also oer academic support, mentoring andmore. High-quality ELOs oten engage participants through innovative learning methods and complement what students learn during the school day. ELOs are part o a range o supports that can help youth suc-ceed, along with positive inuences rom amily, riends, school and other enrichment activities.

The Role of Expanded Learning Opportunities in School Success for Older Youth

ELOs work with schools, amilies and communities to help keep middle and high school youth engagedin learning. Sustaining the interest o older youth in learning is particularly critical given that nearly onein our students ails to graduate rom high school on time.1 Research indicates that regular participation

in quality ELOs can help keep older youth on a positive academic trajectory and support their successulgraduation and transition into college and/or career. Outcomes related to high school success and collegereadiness include the ollowing.

Citizen Schools (CS) provides ater-school educational

enrichment, career exposure, and high school and

college preparation to middle school students na-

tionally. In Boston, ormer CS participants had higher

high school attendance than nonparticipants. In ad-

dition, ormer participants in CS’ 8th Grade Academy

were more likely to be on track toward graduation.4

 The national Promising Ater-School Programs Study  

examines the efects o high-quality ater-school

programs on the cognitive, academic, social and emo-

tional development o youth in high-poverty com-

munities. The study ound that middle school studentswho regularly participated in high-quality ater-school

programs had greater gains than their peers in sel-

reported work habits in school.7

1. Higher rates of school attendance and lowerdrop-out rates.  Attending school is a basic actorin student success, but it proves difcult or many youth who are struggling academically. ELOscan help keep youth in school, sometimes simply by requiring students to be in school in order toattend expanded learning activities. Also, as dis-cussed below, ELOs help keep students interested

in learning. A number o large-scale, multi-siteprograms have noted improved school attendanceamong program participants.2 In addition, partici-pants in some ELOs are less likely to drop out andmore likely to be on track to graduate on time.3 

about school.5 In addition, attending programsregularly has been shown to help students put moreeort into and develop confdence in their aca-demic studies.6 

This is the rst in a

ries o bries created 

by Harvard Family 

Research Project 

and the National 

Conerence o State

gislatures to address

topics in expanded 

arning opportunities

ELOs). This series will 

highlight research

vidence on ELO best practices and efects

on youth and discuss

e policy implications

ated to this research.

or more inormation,

visit www.hrp.org/ 

NCSL-Bries.

3. Stronger connections to adults and peers. Rela-tionships with adults and peers matter immensely in ELOs. When implemented well, programs canprovide youth with positive role models and strongrelationships with caring adults.8 These role modelscan help keep older youth engaged in their educa-tion, making them more likely to stay in school

and graduate. Participation in ELOs also can osterstronger peer groups,9 which can encourage youthto stay connected to school.

2. Improved attitudes toward school. Many olderyouth drop out o school because they eel discon-nected rom school, their teachers and what they are learning. ELOs can engage youth in learningby providing hands-on, interactive learning oppor-tunities in line with youth’s interests but outsidethe scope o topics studied in school. Youth whoparticipate in these programs show an improvedsense o belonging at school and positive eelings

 The Beacon Community Centers Middle School Initiative 

ofers programming in academic enhancement, lie

skills, career awareness, civic engagement, recreation

and art to middle school-age youth in New York City.

Activities observed at a subset o Beacon sites were

ound to oster positive relationships among youth

and between youth and staf.10

National Conerence o State Legislatures

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National Conerence o State Legislatures

4. Improved health and ability to make healthy choices. Because youth who are in good health bothphysically and mentally are better prepared to attendschool ready to learn, they are better positioned oracademic success than their less healthy peers.11 ELOsthat target health aim to promote physical activity and nutrition and prevent obesity. Programs also oten

ocus on preventing unhealthy behaviors—includingdrug use, sexual activity or violence.12 This is particu-larly important or older youth, who ace increasedpressure rom peers.

 Ater School Matters provides teens in underserved com-

munities in Chicago with a network o out-o-school

opportunities, including apprenticeship and drop-in pro-

grams. Compared to their peers, program participants

engage in ewer problem behaviors, especially gang

activity and selling drugs.13

 The Caliornia 21st Century High School Ater School Saety 

and Enrichment or Teens (ASSETs) Program unds school–

community partnerships to establish out-o-school-time

programs that provide Caliornia high school students

with academic support, enrichment and amily activities.

Participation in ASSETs led youth to consider and act on

postsecondary education options they had not previ-

ously considered, according to adults involved with theprogram.17

How Are High-Quality Expanded Learning Opportunities that Serve Older Youth Structured?

Not all programs have the necessary elements to achieve these results, however. In addition to elements o quality thatmatter or all ELOs (e.g., appropriate supervision and structure, well-prepared sta and intentional programming),research also highlights several eective strategies or working specifcally with older youth. The strategies o successulprograms include:18

• Providing a variety o leadership opportunities so that youth have a voice and a sense o belonging and ownership.

• Supporting the specifc developmental needs and interests o older youth (e.g., programming that helps youthachieve concrete goals, choices in activities).

•  Allowing or exibility in recognition o the act that older youth oten have otherresponsibilities, including work and amily obligations.

• Employing sta who can orm strong rela-tionships with youth participants and whodemonstrate that they care about them.

• Oering a sae and nurturing environmentthat creates a sense o community.

• Providing opportunities or intentionaland meaningul peer interaction.

Policy Implications and Examples

• Increasing exibility o high school credit-earning opportunities can engage older youth and reduce dropout ratesthrough individualized, interactive credit-bearing ELOs. New Hampshire, or example, has piloted extended learn-ing opportunities in which students earn credit toward high school completion outside the classroom and school

5. More opportunities to learn about and choosecollege and career options. Through ELOs, youthoten have opportunities related to potential collegemajors and careers that typically are not explored dur-ing the traditional school day.14 They might discovera passion or robotics or that they excel in music, orexample. Youth can also make plans and prepare or

college through programs that organize college visits orpair youth with college students or mentors who helpyouth navigate the college application and entranceprocess.15 All o these experiences can help youth tobetter ocus on their possibilities or the uture.16

For more information on the research discussed here, see:

• Engaging Older Youth: Program and City-level Strategies toSupport Sustained Participation in Out-o-School Time ,online at www.hrp.org/EngagingOlderYouth  

• Research Update 7: OST Programs Serving Older Youth,online at www.hrp.org/RU7-OlderYouth  

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National Conerence o State Legislatures

day. In a 2011 evaluation report, those involved in the initiative—including youth, school sta, and community partners—considered these extended learning opportunities to be valuable and elt they should continue.19 

• In addition to helping policymakers meet academic and school attendance goals, ELOs can be used as a tool tomeet other objectives or older youth that support student success. As discussed above, these include advancingyouth’s social-emotional skills, improving their health, and preventing them rom participating in delinquent ac-tivities.

• The burden o paying or ELOs oten alls on states, communities and parents. With ongoing state budget gaps,unding or ELOs has become increasingly scarce. One tactic policymakers can use to sustain or increase theseprograms is to make use o programs already established in state education codes. A 2009 National Conerence o State Legislatures survey o education codes showed the areas in which unds can be used.20 

• Creation o state ELO task orces and commissions can help assess the supply and demand o ELOs, map stateand local unding streams, build community partnerships, and identiy barriers and gaps to serving youth throughELOs. In 2005, the Massachusetts legislature created the Special Commission on Ater School and Out o SchoolTime to better understand the eects o out-o-school-time programs. In 2007, the commission issued a reportthat included policy recommendations.21

 AcknowledgmentsHarvard Family Research Project (HFRP) and the National Conerence o State Legislatures (NCSL) grateully acknowledge

the fnancial support o the C.S. Mott Foundation or this series o bries.

This brie was written by Erin Harris (HFRP), Sarah Deschenes (HFRP) and Ashley Wallace (NCSL).

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National Conerence o State Legislatures William T. Pound, Executive Director

7700 East First PlaceDenver, Colorado 80230

(303) 364-7700

444 North Capitol Street, N.W., #515 Washington, D.C. 20001

(202) 624-5400 www.ncsl.org

Harvard Graduate School o Education3 Garden Street

Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138Tel: (617) 495-9108Fax: (617) 495-8594

 www.hrp.org

Since 1983, we have helped stakeholders developand evaluate strategies to promote the well being o children, youth, amilies, and their communities.

Notes

1. Robert Stillwell, Jennier Sable, and Chris Plotts, Public school  graduates and dropouts rom the Common Core o Data: School Year 2008–09 (NCES 2011-312) (Washington, D.C.: National Center or EducationStatistics, U.S. Department o Education, 2011), 3–7.

2. See, or example: Jennier Birmingham and Richard N. White,Promoting Positive Youth Development or High School Students Ater School:Services and Outcomes or High School Youth in TASC Programs (Washing-ton, D.C.: Policy Studies Associates, 2005), 4–5, 18; Robert Goerge et al.,

 Ater-school Programs and Academic Impact: A Study o Chicago’s Ater School  Matters (Chicago: Chapin Hall Center or Children, 2007), 2–4; and LeeM. Pearson, Juliet Diehl Vile, and Elizabeth R. Reisner, Establishing aFoundation or Progress Toward High School Graduation (Washington, D.C.:Policy Studies Associates, 2008).

3. See, or example: Goerge et al., “Chicago’s Ater School Matters;”Pearson, Vile, and Reisner, “Establishing a Foundation;” Erikson Arcaira,

 Juliet D. Vile, and Elizabeth R. Reisner, Achieving High School Graduation:Citizen Schools’ Youth Outcomes in Boston (Washington, D.C.: Policy Studies

 Associates, 2010), i–iv, 20–23.4. Ibid.5. See, or example: Joseph A. Durlak and Roger P. Weissberg, The 

Impact o Ater-School Programs that Promote Personal and Social Skills (Chi-cago: Collaborative or Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, 2007),5–9, 18–19.

6. Amy Arbreton et al., Making Every Day Count: Boys & Girls Clubs’ Role in Promoting Positive Outcomes or Teens (Philadelphia: Public/PrivateVentures, 2009).

7. Reisner et al., Charting the Benefts o High-Quality Ater-School Program Experiences: Evidence rom New Research on Improving Ater-School Opportunities or Disadvantaged Youth (Washington, D.C.: Policy Studies

 Associates, 2007), 3–9.8. See, or example: Arbreton et al., “Making Every Day Count,”

17–19; Beth Miller, Critical Hours: Aterschool Programs and Educational Success (Quincy, Mass.: Nellie Mae Education Foundation, 2003), 10–16.

9. See, or example, Jennier A. Fredericks and Jacquelynne S. Eccles,“Extracurricular Involvement and Adolescent Adjustment: Impact o Dura-tion, Number o Activities, and Breadth o Participation,” Applied Develop-mental Science 10, no. 3 (2006):132–146; Durlak and Weissberg, “Impacto Ater-School,” 7–8, 19, 23–28; Sherri Lauver, Priscilla M. D. Little, andHeather B. Weiss, “Moving Beyond the Barriers: Attracting and Sustaining

 Youth Participation in Out-o-School Time Programs,” Issues and Opportu-nities in Out-o-School Time Evaluation (Harvard Family Research Project)no. 6 (July 2004): 1–16; and Sarah N. Deschenes et al., Engaging Older 

Youth: Program and City-Level Strategies to Support Sustained Participation inOut-o-School Time (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Family Research Project,2010), 22–24, 33–36.

10. Christina A. Russell et al., The Beacon Community Centers Middle School Initiative: Report on Implementation and Youth Experience in the Ini-tiative’s Second Year (Washington, D.C.: Policy Studies Associates, 2010), 6.

11. See, or example, Jean Baldwin Grossman and Zoua M. Vang,The Case or School-Based Integration o Services : Changing the Ways Students,Families, and Communities Engage With Their Schools (Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures, 2009), 1–7; Steven A. Haas and Nathan Edward Fosse,“Health and the Educational Attainment o Adolescents: Evidence romthe NLSY97,” Journal o Health and Social Behavior 49, no. 2 (  June 2008):178–92; and Charles E. Basch, “Healthier Students Are Better Learners: A Missing Link in School Reorms to Close the Achievement Gap,” Equity 

 Matters: Research Review, no. 6 (New York: The Campaign or EducationalEquity, 2010), 4–8.

12. Priscilla M. D. Little, Christopher Wimer, and Heather B. Weiss, Ater-school Programs in the 21st Century: Their Potential and What It Takes to Achieve It (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Family Research Project, 2008),4–5.

13. Barton J. Hirsch et al., Ater-School Programs or High School Students: An Evaluation o Ater School Matters,Technical report (Evanston,Ill.: Northwestern University, 2011).

14. Jerome Hipps and Marycruz Diaz, ASSETs Final Evaluation Re- port: Caliornia 21st Century High School Ater School Saety and Enrichment  or Teens (ASSETs) Program (San Francisco: WestEd. 2007), 72.

15. Deschenes et al., “Engaging Older Youth,” 35–36, 73–74.16. See or example, Arbreton et al., “Making Every Day Count,”

27–28, 33–34.17. Jerome Hipps, Marycruz Diaz and Greg Wingren, Caliornia 21st 

Century High School Ater School Saety and Enrichment or Teens (ASSETs)Program Independent Evaluation: Interim report (San Francisco: WestEd,2006), 65–71, 80.

18. Deschenes et al., “Engaging Older Youth,” 16–25.19. Ivana Zuliani and Steven Ellis, The New Hampshire Extended 

Learning Opportunities Evaluation: Final Report o Evaluation Findings (Hadley: University o Massachusetts Donahue Institute Research andEvaluation Group, 2011), 37–46.

20. Ashley Wallace, “Learning Beyond the School Day,” Legisbrie  (National Conerence o State Legislatures) 17, no. 42 (October 2009).

21. The Massachusetts Special Commission on Ater School and Outo School Time, The Report o the Massachusetts Special Commission on Ater School and Out o School Time ( Boston: November 2007).

©2011 by the National Conerence o State Legislatures. All rights reserved.

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