BASQ Initiative

BOSTnet After School Quality Initiative

For twenty years, BOSTnet has focused on after school quality as well as parent engagement in after school programming.  With their latest four year Engaging Families Initiative, BOSTnet, United Way of Massachusetts Bay and the Harvard Family Research Project, worked with after school programs in Boston to find and measure best practices in family engagement. They found that there are three levels of family engagement and involvement, with the advanced level incorporating some form of parent leadership and input into the program. The National AfterSchool Association's (NAA) Accreditation process fits perfectly with BOSTnet's vision of high level family engagement in quality after school programming.

The basic principle around the NAA's After School Accreditation is that it leads to sustained program improvement. The process promotes a team approach to program improvement, engaging staff, parents, children and youth to play significant roles in the work. Programs are expected to complete a self study, participate in coaching or training, establish an Assessing School-Age Quality (ASQ) team, and plan an endorser's visit. This ultimately leads to a better trained workforce, greater stability and better outcomes for children and youth. In most instances, program directors are too busy with the day to day needs of the kids and programming, and don't have the chance to take a step back and look at the overall structure and operation of their program. The BOSTnet AfterSchool Quality Initiative (BASQ) forces directors to step back, take stock, engage families, and set goals toward quality improvement. 

The NAA's Standard for School-Age Quality is a hallmark of after school quality indicators. While other assessment tools might incorporate a survey for families and/or youth, the NAA model incorporates parents as active decision makers in the programming of their child's after school care. Organizations go through a seven-step process, implementing the NAA Standards for Quality School-Age Care in their program and creating an Assessing School Age Quality (ASQ) Team. The ASQ Team brings parents and staff together to observe the after school programs and recommend changes based on the NAA Standards.

The ASQ Team is made up of parents, staff, and program leaders that use an in depth observation tool to analyze the program's activities, space, and staff against the NAA Standards. Using these observations, the ASQ Team then creates an action plan to move the program towards NAA Standards for Quality. This ASQ team is a great opportunity to involve parents in a leadership position within the after school structure. On the other hand it is also a great challenge. Most after school staff and directors are cautious when involving parents at this level because they are worry that parent engagement might result in getting feedback that they might not like or be able to implement.  However this is often the kind of feedback that promotes improvement. Once programs engage families at the ASQ level, they find valuable information about how they can improve their program.

Originally the BASQ was a partnership between NAA (formerly NSACA) and Massachusetts School Age Coalition (MSAC). When MSAC restructured, the logical move was to locate the project with BOSTnet. Since January 2007, BOSTnet has been providing one-on-one technical assistance to organizations to move them towards accreditation through the BOSTnet After School Quality Initiative. There are four programs in Boston planning to submit their letter of intent to NAA this fall, with the goal of getting accredited by end of 2007:

  • Greenwood Shalom After School Program,
  • Hattie B. Cooper Community Center After School Program,
  • Ellis Memorial Berkeley After School Program, and
  • South Boston Neighborhood House After School Program.

Another four programs are working to create their ASQ Teams this fall with the hope of achieving accreditation by the summer of 2008:

  • Ellis Memorial Tent City,
  • Ellis Memorial Madison Park,
  • United South End Settlements After School Program, and
  • Little House After School Program.

There are also four more programs who have expressed interest in the accreditation process but do not yet have the capacity.  It is important to note that Ellis Memorial will be the first Multi-Sited program in Boston to become nationally accredited. 

For more information about the BASQ Initiative please visit http://www.bostnet.org/. For more information about the National AfterSchool Association visit http://www.naaweb.org/.

BOSTnet’s mission is to enhance the quality and increase the capacity of the out-of-school time field. Currently celebrating its twenty-year anniversary, BOSTnet continues to implement multiple strategies to promote out-of-school time (OST) program quality and accessibility for all families. BOSTnet's network includes over 500 before and after-school programs in Boston. BOSTnet leads the field in providing the only on-going professional network through its Leadership Roundtable. Additionally, BOSTnet is the leader in promoting inclusion of youth with disabilities in OST programs through trainings, intensive technical assistance, and sharing of best practices. BOSTnet also offer the only consolidated citywide program information in BOSTnet’s Guide to Boston’s Before and Afterschool Programs, featuring over 500 OST programs.