Local Government Strategies for Impactful Afterschool Programs: An Interview with Ann Durham

The Economic Mobility Catalog’s Strategy Guide on Afterschool Programs shares best practices on designing and implementing high-quality afterschool and OST (Out-of-School Time) programs. It was created in partnership with experts and practitioners in the education and OST fields, including Ann Durham, former Executive Director of the Providence Afterschool Alliance, a non-profit organization which provides logistical support for out-of-school programming for Providence, RI public school students. PASA works with schools, families, city agencies, and over 50 community-based organizations to create a high-quality afterschool and summer learning system.

In this edited Q&A, Ann draws on her experience in Providence and working with OST programs across the country to share how local governments can design effective OST programs that meet community needs and create positive outcomes for youth.

How do you develop an effective theory of change to create impactful afterschool programs?

Before you think about designing a curriculum or specific programs, local leaders have to start by acknowledging a fundamental truth: systemic problems require systemic solutions. The challenges that OST (Out-of-School Time) providers are trying to address – whether that’s academic disparities, program shortages, or a lack of a youth development focus in youth-serving spaces – will never be fully solved by individual community groups working alone.

Those individual, grassroots organizations providing OST programs are absolutely crucial. They conduct outreach, create a sense of community for kids, and they offer a variety of opportunities to meet the diverse needs of young people. They are the essential delivery mechanism. However, behind all those wonderful programs, there has to be a robust, coordinated system. The core of PASA’s theory of change is creating that system to reduce administrative burden, ensure universal access, and drive continuous quality improvement across the entire OST landscape. That's really why an organization like PASA was created – to build that connective tissue and help those community providers amplify their impact.

It’s also important to define your outcomes for an afterschool program. There's a lot of conversation right now about the goals of OST. Is the primary goal to reinforce classroom learning? Is it about closing the opportunity gap? A theory of change must explicitly define if the desired outcomes are academic, about youth enrichment, or both. If it’s focused on academic outcomes, a program cannot just rely on community-based providers – it must embed the school system, educators, and curriculum experts into the OST system.

What are some key features of an impactful afterschool program?

Start by identifying gaps in afterschool and youth programming. For example, in Providence at the time of PASA’s founding, we were fortunate to have a strong community of youth serving organizations, but we noticed that OST opportunities for middle schoolers were lacking.

The most important design component is making OST programs appealing to youth. If you are not making it a place they want to be, they are not going to show up. Afterschool shouldn’t just feel like more school — especially if the program is located in a school. Effective programs provide hands-on, experiential learning. For the most part, the American public education system doesn’t include that experiential learning that gets people excited, so that’s a great way to distinguish the program and keep youth engaged.

Transportation is also a critical component. There’s a national bus driver shortage and transportation costs can be a huge expense for programs. Designing a program includes thinking about transportation availability. That starts by figuring out how students will get home. Having buses available for all students is a crucial safety consideration so students can get home safely in the evening. In my experience, that’s a huge concern for families. Transportation is also important in curriculum design because it impacts a program’s ability to offer offsite programs. If transportation is constrained, more of the program is going to be held within school buildings, making it even more important that the programs feel distinct and engaging.

How can you design afterschool systems and programs that are responsive to youth and community needs?

Primarily, local leaders need to center youth voices. We historically disenfranchise young people, and don't allow them decision making power in the things that impact their own lives – especially in public schools. This is an opportunity for OST programs to distinguish themselves by including young people’s input in program design, curriculum development, and ongoing decision-making at the program level. This places an emphasis on valuing their feedback and allowing them to become leaders within the program.

Local leaders must continuously monitor community needs because those needs are constantly evolving. In my 11 years at PASA, the percentage of students in Providence schools identified as multilingual learners (English Language Learners) increased by 15%. Those demographic changes have huge implications for community needs, which then shapes our community engagement strategy, staffing priorities, and which community-based providers we partner with.

When you’re designing or operating out of school systems, who needs to be in the room and what are their roles?

Start right at the top with the mayor or executive of a jurisdiction. Make sure they understand the significance of OST and how it can work alongside investments in youth employment or parks and recreation to positively impact young people's lives. Elected officials can also facilitate partnerships with local agencies to provide facilities or resources for OST programming.

Families are also crucial. Relationship building with parents starts even before students are enrolled. Request parent feedback on the enrollment process, and share updates with parents once their kids are enrolled. We don’t want the only time parents talk with us to be when there’s a problem, and they want to know when their kid is doing well. It's really important that they feel engaged and secure, especially about their children getting home safely. This goes hand in hand with the engagement of youth themselves, which we already discussed.

Program providers themselves are also crucial in the designing and operating of the OST system. These leaders - ranging from large organizations to grassroots groups to individual youth workers - already operate within the community and do crucial work with young people. The system needs to work for them and not in opposition to them.

Finally, school leadership and staff. You cannot function effectively in a school setting without the support of your principals and custodial team. This means forging relationships with individual principals or staff at schools where a program is held or where a program’s youth attend.

What sorts of implementation best practices should local leaders keep in mind for OST programs?

To achieve those positive outcomes for youth, afterschool programs must focus on quality over quantity. Quality programs require adequate funding, including the resources for lower adult-to-youth ratios – a ratio of one to 13 for me is a non-negotiable. These operational elements are as crucial as the curriculum itself.

Local leaders and administrators should not dictate content. I am not an expert at basketball, or coaching basketball. I don't know how to put on a theater production. Instead, establish the design framework for the program and the intended outcomes for youth. Collaborate with community members and existing community organizations who already run these programs to determine the most relevant outcomes. Ask providers to explicitly detail how they will achieve these outcomes, and then use research-backed tools to observe and measure quality through a youth development lens.

For families, program awareness is as important as program availability. PASA created a one-stop-shop to centralize offerings and streamline enrollment. As a single point of entry, we can raise awareness for all of our programs instead of providers competing for parents’ attention. This means we can make it easy for families with children who have different interests to enroll through us.

How do you ensure that OST programs are high quality?

Start with a strong framework, like the Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality Improvement (YPQI) or the National Institute for Out-of-School Time Afterschool Program Assessment System (APAS), which provides a comprehensive, evidence-based model for quality assurance. Crucially, these frameworks include assessing the extent of youth voice and choice at the program level.

The full program observations are incredibly labor and time intensive to the point that, at PASA, we couldn’t observe every program. PASA ultimately developed a walkthrough tool that's a very light version of the YPQI, allowing us to efficiently gauge basic quality indicators across more sites.

Beyond direct observation, PASA looks at key outcome and participation indicators. For example, they monitor program attendance, how that attendance changes over time, and program attrition. Low attendance or high attrition can signal underlying quality issues that need to be addressed. The combination of structured, evidence-based observation tools with engagement data enables them to create a system for quality assurance and continuous improvement.