About Us

Boston After School & Beyond is a public-private partnership charged with supporting, strengthening, and expanding Boston's out-of-school time system.  It informs the priorities of policy-makers, funders, schools, and networks of youth development agencies through research and information, advocacy and communications, and incubating initiatives.  By aligning school and out-of-school efforts, Boston Beyond seeks to advance the development of a unified system of high quality and engaging opportunities that meets the needs of Boston's youth.

Our Mission

To catalyze a partnership with the City of Boston, the philanthropic community and the city’s business, non-profit and civic leadership to design and implement a successful youth development strategy for all the children of Boston.

Our Model

Boston After School & Beyond marshals a wide range of resources and services to help achieve our mission:


Advocacy

Boston Beyond advocates for out-of-school time (OST) programs and OST needs as part of an overall youth development system by organizing and supporting the public and private stakeholders in the field.

Networking

We bring together stakeholders in the youth development field (OST program providers, other non-profit organizations, training organizations, researchers, private foundations, city programs and schools) and actively enlist them in crafting strategies to enrich the lives of the young people of Boston.

Special Initiatives

Our strategic initiatives help leverage public/private partnerships and pilot promising practices. We also seed emerging networks to further organize and deploy stakeholders’ resources to address unmet needs. 

Knowledge Management

We work to identify information needs, conduct research and evaluation, and compile findings to better understand the current state of the field and promising practices.

Resource Development

Boston Beyond provides a comprehensive, regularly updated Resource Development database of tools and information that help program providers and others identify and secure funding and other resources. We also serve as an advocate for adequate funding of OST programs.

Communications

Communications is a key tool to carry out Boston Beyond’s mission. Using communications vehicles such as our e-newsletter Beyond Imagination, our resource-rich, regularly updated website, periodic convenings of stakeholders to address various issues, media outreach and widely-distributed publications, Boston Beyond compiles and shares information that empowers and energizes the OST community.