National Afterschool Matters
Practitioner Fellowship
The National Institute on Out-of-School Time at
Wellesley College in partnership with The
National Writing Project with funding from the
Robert Bowne Foundation launched the National
Afterschool Matters Practitioner Fellowship.
This Practitioner Fellowship addresses a critical
need in the Out-of-School Time (OST) field:
To provide professional development for seasoned
practitioners that promotes leadership and increases
their capacity for program improvement and
development.
Other goals include:
Supporting
a community of practitioners to engage in inquiry and writing
to explore effective practices and investigate the structures in which
effective practice happens – at the program, activity, curriculum, and
individual level.
Disseminating
and sharing a variety of program improvement strategies.
End products might include: position papers, curriculum, or points of
action of effective practice as well as articles for professional journals.
Creating
opportunities for in-service training and project development
which will then be brought back to programs.
The Practitioner Fellowship has been established in 6 cities:
New
York, New York
San Francisco, California
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Seattle, Washington
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
City
New York
Year(s)
2003-2007, 2011-current
Writing Project
New York Writing Project
Bay Area/SF
2008-2009
Bay Area Writing Project
Philadelphia
2008 – 2011*
Philadelphia Writing
Project
Minneapolis
2009 – 2011*
Twin Cities Writing Project University of MN
Extension Center for
Youth Development
Seattle
2010 – Current
Puget Sound Writing
Project
School’s Out Washington
Pittsburgh
2011- 2012*
Western Pennsylvania
Writing Project
University of Pittsburgh
Graduate School of
Education
*On hiatus
Community Partner
NYC Department of Youth
and Community
Development
SF Department of
Children, Youth and their
Families
Out of School Time
Resource Center at the
University of Pennsylvania
Partner Roles
•
Writing Project Sites:
-Helps to locate WP facilitator
- Helps to identify funding, conduct fundraising
-Outreach to and recruitment of fellows
•
Community Partners:
-Outreach to and recruitment of fellows
-Identifies potential OST facilitators, supports and supervises facilitators
-Identifies or provides funding, donates space, and other in-kind services
•
National Institute on Out-of-School Time:
-Selects Fellowship sites in collaboration with the National Writing Project and prospective
funders
-Handles all contracts and fiscal issues
-Recruitment and outreach for Research Roundtables
-Manages application process
-Coordinates all site meetings
-Supports facilitators, collects and develops project content and quality control
National Writing Project
-Identifies potential NWP sites
-Administers flow-through funding for sites
-Manages local logistics
Facilitators
- Create syllabus, develops materials
- Facilitates fellowship, writing retreat and research roundtable
•
•
TYPICAL FELLOWSHIP STRUCTURE
10-15 fellows are selected by application, and meet monthly in a
facilitated group for a year. Activities include:
•
•
•
•
Readings on action research, inquiry methods, or general
articles about the OST field;
Instruction on and practice in using inquiry methods and
design of inquiry projects at participants’ own sites;
Two day writing retreat during the spring
Research Roundtable, at which Fellows present on their
work to a wider audience of youth agency staff, funders,
governmental officials and policy makers and other
researchers.
Fellowship Models
Traditional: Out-of-school time practitioners from
a range of afterschool/summer youth programs
Mixed Model : Combining in-school teachers and
out-of-school time practitioners
Content Specific: Focusing inquiry in a particular
content area, such as STEM
Age Specific : Focusing inquiry on a particular age
group, such as older youth
Evaluation of the Fellowship
2010-2011
Methods: Pre/Post Fellowship online survey of participants
in all of the sites (Seattle, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and
Philadelphia) and focus groups with participants of mixed
model site in Seattle.
Findings:
The benefits of participation:
• Belonging to a professional community
• The opportunity to step back and reflect on work
• The opportunity to work with colleagues in a supportive environment
• Improved programs
• Increased knowledge of inquiry and action research
FELLOWS’ INQUIRY TOPICS (2003-2010)
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
NATIONAL AFTERSCHOOL MATTERS PRACTITIONER FELLOWSHIP
TIMELINE
Month
Activity
Recruit fellows
Send out application
April – December
Select Fellows
Notes
-Recruitment and selection of fellows is done in collaboration with
NIOST
-The sessions are 2x month until Dec.
Begin monthly Fellowship meetings (September)
Fellowship Continues
-Fellowship begins to meet 1x a month (writing groups may meet an
additional time during the month)
Fellowship Continues
-Plan for writing retreat and research roundtable
January - February
March - April
May
-Going semi-public event (optional)
Writing Retreat
Fellows submit their final product (i.e. a portfolio, paper, report, etc)
June
Research Roundtable
September or October
-Send out announcement/invitation for research roundtable
For more information about the National Afterschool
Matters Practitioner Fellowship, contact:
Ellen Gannett, Executive Director, National Institute on Out-of-School
Time, Wellesley College
egannett@wellesley.edu
781 283 2547