Stronger School Engagement, Healthier Kids: The Power of Comprehensive Afterschool Programs.
The Denver Afterschool Alliance has released a new evaluation report to examine the impact of comprehensive afterschool programs on youth experience and school engagement(PDF, 677KB). The report evaluates more than 5,000 youth who regularly attended Out-of-School Time programs in the 2022-2023 school year. It reveals several key findings, including the significant and lasting positive effects of regular participation in such programs on school attendance across all age groups and demographics. Additionally, comprehensive afterschool programs are shown to enhance youth’s social and emotional skills such as building connections with peers and emotional regulation.
Denver Families Need Afterschool and Summer Programs
In August 2023, the Denver Afterschool Alliance surveyed over 1300 Denver residents spanning every City Council about the importance of afterschool and summer programs. Ninety percent believe afterschool and summer programs are necessary services for working families. Read the community survey report(PDF, 2MB)
A Sample of Summer 2023 Services and Outcomes
Summer programming is essential in ensuring youth have a safe, supportive, and enriching place to be while caregivers work. Summer programs also helps to mitigate the effects of summer slide and the loss of academic skills. During the summer of 2023, the Denver Afterschool Alliance worked with 21 city and district affiliated organizations to measure the impacts of their programs. These organizations provided a variety of summer programming options, models and dosage levels to meet the needs of young people, families and communities around Denver. Read the Summer 2023 summary(PDF, 1MB)
Evaluation Brief: 2021 Summer Services & Outcomes
After nearly 18 months of limited out-of-school time (OST) activities due to Covid-19, summer 2021 provided the first opportunity for many youth to engage in a variety of in-person OST programs. To understand the impact of OST programs on Denver’s youth and families over the summer, the Denver Afterschool Alliance, the City and County of Denver's Office of Children's Affairs and Denver Public Schools partnered on the first collective evaluation of Devner’s OST field in at least two years. Read a summary of the evaluation’s findings and recommendations(PDF, 5MB).
Report: Putting Equity & Inclusion into Practice
“Putting Equity and Inclusion into Practice”(PDF, 9MB) provides insight into the City & County of Denver's Office of Children's Affairs (OCA) funding process for out-of-school time (OST) and youth violence prevention (YVP) programs. Since 2015, OCA, which serves as the Denver Afterschool Alliance’s lead agency, has invested $2M annually in OST and YVP programs through competitive funding opportunities. Click here to read a new report that examines how OCA ensures that it funds OST and YVP organizations that reflect the communities they serve and are working in Denver’s limited opportunity neighborhoods.
New Report: The OST Industry’s Impact on Denver’s Youth and Families During COVID-19 and Beyond
The Denver Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with 10 youth service organizations, is proud to release “The Unseen Essential Industry: The Out-of-School Time Field’s Role in Serving Denver’s Youth and Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond,”(PDF, 2MB) a new report that reflects on the collective impact created by out-of-school time (OST) providers over the past year, while looking ahead to how the OST industry can help address many post-pandemic challenges that youth face.
Using data and stories, the report provides insight into and examples of how the OST industry has been nimble, innovative, and decisive during a time of crisis and uncertainty, Also, it offers a set of recommendations for funders, advocates and partners to consider as we work together to ensure OST providers have the resources needed to best support the well-being of Denver’s youth and families. Read the full report.(PDF, 2MB)