As a matter of policy, 21st Century Community Learning Centers rely heavily on community organizations to provide a variety of instructional programs. In this way, 21st Century sites tap the depth and breadth of knowledge available in their communities to provide non-traditional learning experiences that can better meet young participants’ need for engagement and relevance than can a simple extension of school-day routine. However, the inclusion of multiple partners along with school-based site staff at any given 21st Century site means that the quality of instruction can be extremely uneven. How do school districts that receive 21st Century grants, and the coordinators of each of their sites, ensure high quality across a wide variety of offerings led by staff from many different organizations? To begin to answer this question, we first explored the extent to which 21st Century sites in Michigan are actually partnering with community organizations. We then researched selected high-quality sites to arrive at an instructional partnerships model of quality assurance practices whose wide adoption could have significant impact on 21st Century policy and on the youth development field as a whole.
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Smith, C. & Van Egeren, L. (2008). Bringing in the Community: Partnerships and Quality Assurance in 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Afterschool Matters Occasional Paper Series, No. 9, p. 15, Fall 2008.