Latino Youth in Expanded Learning Time Programs

Latino Youth in Expanded Learning Time Programs

By Marcela Montes

www.nclr.org

ROUNDTABLE Series 2009

Introduction

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Over the past few years, the expanded learning time (ELT) movement has gained much momentum in the educational reform debate. The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) recognizes the positive effects of ELT programs on the academic achievement and social and emotional development of Latino youth.

Currently, NCLR has prioritized ELT work through research, professional development resources for Affiliates, and network building with Affiliates.

In the past, NCLR has successfully leveraged networks, such as its early childhood or K–12 school networks, to improve its Affiliates’ capacity to provide high-quality services for children and come together to speak with a stronger voice in advocating for them. The newly formed NCLR Expanded Learning Time Network is no different, and it serves as an important building block for the rest of NCLR’s work in this field. The network is composed of NCLR Affiliates who provide a wide range of out-of-school services to youth, including before-school, after-school, and summer learning programs. The network is meant to: • • •

Provide information to policymakers and funders on the needs of ELT programs serving Latino students.

Give providers tools to enhance and sustain their programs.

Boost efforts to build a Latino voice on ELT issues while ensuring that program needs are included in a comprehensive policy agenda.

During the 2009 NCLR Annual Conference in Chicago, NCLR hosted a series of roundtable discussions with ELT providers who serve predominately Latino youth. Information for this report draws on conversations with 30 Affiliate after-school providers from 22 different organizations throughout the United States. Participants work with children in California, Texas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Illinois, Minnesota, Delaware, Ohio, and the District of Columbia. The content of these discussions was grouped into three categories that are important to ELT providers serving Latino youth— parental engagement; cultural competency and the needs of English language learners (ELLs); and advocacy and program promotion—which were chosen based on responses to a survey sent to 85 NCLR Affiliate after-school providers in 2007.

The next sections highlight the challenges and corresponding recommendations raised by participants in each of the roundtable discussions.

This overview was authored by Marcela Montes, After-School Projects Coordinator. Josef Lukan, Education Policy Analyst, Erika Powell, After-School Projects Coordinator, and Blanca Anchondo, Community Engagement Coordinator, provided significant guidance throughout the process. Gregory Wersching, Assistant Editor, and Rodrigo Alvarez Muñoz, Graphic Designer/Production Coordinator, provided overall technical support and prepared this document for publication.

LATINO YOUTH IN EXPANDED LEARNING TIME PROGRAMS Parental Engagement Purpose of roundtable: To provide participants with a forum for assessing their current efforts in the area of family engagement, an important aim that is difficult to achieve Challenges: •

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Recommendations:

It is difficult to maintain consistent relationships with parents because many parents of ELT program student participants hold multiple jobs and have other obligations that hamper their ability to participate in program-sponsored activities.

Many Latino parents face language and literacy barriers, which impede their involvement in their child’s academic life or their ability to communicate with staff who only speak English.

Program staff often find it difficult to communicate the value of ELT programs that include enrichment activities to parents who view them mainly as services to keep their children safe when a guardian isn’t home or ensure that their children get their homework done.

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Parents who cannot attend regular family nights or parent meetings should be provided with a selection of meeting times. Providers can also go to parents when parents can’t come to them. For example, many of the roundtable participants consider home visits an effective strategy and incorporate them into their program. One provider established a partnership with the local Catholic church and recruited program participants by making announcements during Sunday mass.

Programs should determine which incentives get parents involved. Participants mentioned providing meals, transportation, and child care as the most effective methods.

Establishing clear and open lines of communication with parents was cited as a successful strategy for engaging parents. Staff should be properly trained to promote the goals of the programs in ways that are most accessible to parents, including through clear language, the parents’ native language, and language that reflects parents’ values. In addition, parents who are actively involved in the program can be effective spokespersons to reach those who are not.

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The Cultural and Linguistic Needs of Latino Youth Purpose of roundtable: To help increase participants’ awareness of the cultural and linguistic needs of Latino youth in expanded learning time settings

ROUNDTABLE Series 2009

Challenges: •

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Providers often do not have the capacity to properly identify or assess ELLs and even in instances where they do, staff are not properly trained to successfully integrate the needs of ELLs into the curriculum.

Accessing dedicated resources to invest in staff development on the needs of ELLs is often not given priority.

Programs frequently have limited capacity to create activities that are responsive to students’ own cultures and build students’ awareness and appreciation for cultures that are different from their own.

Recommendations: •

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Programs should communicate with schools and parents to gather information about the academic performance of English language learners. Various program providers mentioned that their programs have designated staff members who interface with the program, the school, and the parents.

The expanded learning time field should engage in more concerted efforts to advocate for the needs of ELLs to policymakers and private foundations.

Programs should hire staff from within the community and former program participants to effectively promote culturally responsive programs.

LATINO YOUTH IN EXPANDED LEARNING TIME PROGRAMS

Advocacy and Program Promotion Purpose of roundtable: To build awareness of the importance of effectively promoting programs to key community stakeholders, including policymakers and funders, as well as to train participants on how to develop and advance an issue agenda Challenges: • •

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Participants were generally unfamiliar with the rules that nonprofit organizations have to abide by in order to engage in advocacy activities.

Participants stated that advocacy and program promotion were not priorities for them due to time constraints and the absence of personnel engaged in this area.

Lack of capacity to carry out regular evaluation prevents programs from supporting advocacy or program promotion efforts with solid data.

Recommendations: •

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National intermediary organizations such as NCLR should engage in more capacity-building activities to encourage advocacy and program promotion.

Programs should consider creating partnerships with other community members, including schools, businesses, and families, to strengthen their advocacy ability. Many providers were concerned about the importance of giving parents and youth a voice. One of the participants emphasized the importance of “giving the program a face or a personal touch.”

Increase access to professional development in evaluation for program managers and availability of simple frameworks for assessment.

During the advocacy and program promotion roundtable, participants had the chance to share their legislative priorities. The most common concerns included: • • • • • •

Paying more attention to the needs of ELLs Securing more funding for workforce development programs to provide youth with job readiness skills Building a stronger focus on parent engagement programs Increasing funding for 21st century community learning centers Making funding available for healthy snacks Establishing stronger partnerships with schools for student data collection purposes

ROUNDTABLE Series 2009

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LATINO YOUTH IN EXPANDED LEARNING TIME PROGRAMS

The Youth Perspective NCLR took advantage of the youth presence at the NCLR Annual Conference by holding a focus group with ten youth from California and Illinois, ages 13–19. The youth were asked about the benefits of participating in after-school programs, as well as the aspects they would improve in current program offerings.

The Benefits: •

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ROUNDTABLE Series 2009

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The majority of the youth agreed that if they were not involved in the program, they would be either out on the street or at home engaging in unproductive behavior.

Many participants talked about how the program has allowed them to develop latent talents and skills. One of the focus group participants expressed that if he had not become involved with his current program, he would not be considering college as an option.

Participants emphasized that their respective programs have helped them develop a more positive outlook on their academic performance and their relationships with teachers.

The youth expressed that the open space which an after-school program provides has allowed them to explore their identity, relate to different kinds of people better, and be more willing to seek out new experiences.

The Youth’s Wish List: •

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Youth participants noted that they would like their programs to take more initiative to engage parents. Many expressed frustration because their parents often did not understand why they spent so much time at the program. They added that their parents wanted them to focus more on completing homework, chores, or helping out with their family’s finances.

Students wanted more enrichment activities and opportunities to explore college and career options through internships and mentorships.

Although youth value their respective programs’ efforts to present them with multicultural activities, they emphasized that programs could do more to make themselves open to different kinds of people and offer activities that are more inclusive of different cultures.

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