DAAadvocate

The Denver Afterschool Alliance promotes equitable, inclusive policies that enhance the quality and accessibility of afterschool experiences. Our goal is to secure the funding, resources and visibility needed to ensure that all Denver youth have access to afterschool programming that keeps them physically and emotionally safe, inspires them to learn, and prepares them for the future.

As afterschool leaders and experts with experience working as program providers, the Denver Afterschool Alliance team offers insight, experience and support to organizations looking to influence issues, understand trends and develop strategies for increasing afterschool access and improving program quality. In addition, we work alongside providers to help strengthen their organizational capacity and implement afterschool safety standards and other promising practices.

New 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. Click here to read a summary of the evaluation’s findings and recommendations(PDF, 5MB).

New Report: The OST Industry’s Impact on Youth & Families During COVID-19 & 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 & 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 organizations over the past year, while looking ahead to how the out-of-school time (OST) can help address many post-pandemic challenges that youth face. 

Afterschool Advocacy Toolbox
Does your organization need to demonstrate how afterschool and summer programs keep youth safe, inspire them to learn, and prepare them for the future? The Denver Afterschool Alliance (DAA) has compiled the highest-quality local and national resources to help youth-serving organizations and advocates inform funders, policymakers and other potential partners about the value of afterschool and summer programming and the state of the field. Access the Afterschool Advocacy Toolbox.(PDF, 133KB)

The DAA’s Role in Supporting the OST Community
According to our most recent afterschool impact report, Denver Thrives,(PDF, 1MB) the DAA is helping more than 400 afterschool organizations to improve their program quality and provide more safe, supportive, engaging and interactive experiences to nearly 20,000 Denver youth. These youth say their afterschool programs helps them do better in school and make friends and connect with others. In addition, youth who attend afterschool programs have better day-school attendance and perform better in English Language Arts and Math than their non-attending peers.