About Boston Beyond
Boston After School & Beyond is a public-private partnership that seeks to realize Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s goal of ensuring that every child in Boston has the opportunity to develop to his or her full potential. Boston Beyond's role is to expand learning and skill development opportunities for students.
Boston Beyond catalyzes partnerships among program providers, philanthropy, business and higher education, and the City of Boston, especially the Boston Public Schools. Boston Beyond advances student learning by leveraging the strengths of program providers, both large and small, through a coordinated approach to school and community partnerships. This coordinated approach is at the core of every Boston Beyond initiative.
Boston Beyond approaches its work through strategic functions:
- Convening and Communication.
- Policy Development and Coordination.
- Research and Analysis.
- Program Demonstration and Partnerships.
History
Boston After School & Beyond was founded in 2005 as the successor to two flagship initiatives -- the Boston 2:00-to-6:00 After-School Initiative, the first-in-the-nation municipal after-school office, and Boston's After-School for All Partnership, a collaboration of 15 local funders and the City of Boston that raised $32 million for out-of-school time efforts.
The legacy of this public-private partnership has proved to be both enduring and catalytic: It has allowed a variety of programs to flourish in school buildings, enabled new programs to take shape, and helped connect the learning that takes place during the school day with learning that takes place beyond the school day. This leadership has put Boston at the forefront of the nation in after-school programming and innovation, in schools and in the community.
