Successful Strategies and Challenges for Extended Learning Time Programs: Case Studies of Six Maine Schools
Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: Purpose of the report: At the request of the Maine State Legislature, the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) investigated successful strategies for extended learning time (ELT) opportunities for K-12 students in Maine schools, in support of deliberations on legislative bill LD 1394 "An Act to Implement the Recommendations of the Commission to Strengthen the Adequacy and Equity of Certain Cost Components of the School Funding Formula."This work was conducted in two parts: 1) a review of the research literature on ELT, criteria for best practices for programs, and potential impacts for students reported in January of this year (Biddle & Mette, 2016), and 2) a study of six school cases in Maine presented in this report.Both reports focus on strategies schools use to provide enrichment opportunities to K-12 students during before or after-school hours over the school year.This work builds on an earlier MEPRI report (Doykos, 2015) that focused on the research literature on extended learning experiences during the summer months.A review of the literature (Biddle & Mette, 2016) found evidence-based criteria for successful, high-quality ELT programming.These criteria were identified in a meta-analysis of 69 ELT programs (Durlak et al, 2010) and include sequenced, active, focused, and explicit (SAFE) instructional program components.When ELT programs are designed to intentionally incorporate these criteria, the positive impacts for students are stronger.The available research indicates that students benefit in a variety of ways from participating in enrichment activities through ELT programs.Areas of potential positive impact include academic, social, emotional, school engagement, and health outcomes.Methodology: This report of six case studies in Maine is primarily descriptive and illustrates both successful strategies used by schools to improve student participation and positive outcomes, as well as the challenges they sometimes encounter in delivering and funding after-school ELT programs.The cases were selected purposefully from the programs in Maine that are supported by 21 st Century Community Learning Centers (21 st CCLC) federal grants through the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and that met the evidence-based SAFE criteria during our initial review.Cases were also selected to represent the diverse grade levels, demographic variables, and contexts for ELT programs to provide greater insights in the crosscase comparisons.Participants who had most direct knowledge and involvement with the ELT programs were interviewed in February and March 2016.These included principals, school ELT coordinators, district ELT coordinators, program staff and grant writers.Interviews lasted 60-180 minutes and were recorded and transcribed.Researchers collected extensive program documentation for each case.Narratives were developed to describe each case, and focused on program implementation, funding, staffing, community partnerships, successful strategies and challenges.Key findings: ELT programs included in our analysis used a number of creative and innovative strategies to address challenges related to recruitment, staffing, transportation, maintaining high quality programming, developing and maintaining robust community partnerships, and planning for their own long-term sustainability.These strategies included: Recruitment: Programs used both targeted recruitment strategies (taking students based on referrals or test-scores) and open-enrollment strategies (taking all students that applied
Authors: Ian M. Mette, Catharine Biddle
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2769739885