United Way of Massachusetts Bay
United Way of Massachusetts Bay
Last summer, when United Way distributed one-year, $10,000 grants to eight after school programs in Boston, the organization had its eye on one critical but often elusive element of after school programming: communication between schools and their after school partners. "We decided we would put a stake in the ground around improving relationships," says Lisa Pickard of United Way, who led the initiative. "That's really where the rubber meets the road in terms of kids' success." With the help of a consultant, the organizations used the grant money to coordinate resources, increase joint planning and programming, and improve ongoing communications with their partner schools, all in an effort to smooth the connection between school and after school and, by extension, teachers, after school staff, parents, and students.
Although the after school programs encountered some of the hurdles one might expect, like difficulty coordinating the opposite schedules of teachers and after school staff, the "mini grants" have led to tangible gains. Tenacity has instituted a new policy for staff to be located in the schools on a weekly basis, and three of the participating organizations have landed standing seats on various committees, site councils, etc. at their partner schools, ensuring that the after school program will always be represented. In addition, United Way has hired the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) to integrate the lessons learned into a product (possibly a database) that will help the field as a whole.
United Way has already received a second year of funding from Nellie Mae, which funded last year's grants. In keeping with the theme of relationships, Pickard hopes to spend part of the fall coordinating United Way's ongoing efforts with other community organizations.