Greater Omaha After School Alliance

1
Greater Omaha After School Alliance

• Prepared by the Office of the Mayor,
• City of Omaha in partnership with Building Bright
  Futures

2
GOASA Vision Statement

• To organize, expand, and improve the existing
  after school opportunities for the youth of Omaha
  by creating an alliance of quality program
  providers.

3
What is GOASA?

• GOASA is a multi-year initiative that aims to
  align the efforts of schools, after school and
  out-of- school programs, as well as other
  essential youth services, in order to ensure that
  Omaha's youth receive the support they need
  during out-of-school hours. It is not the
  intention to create new programs, but rather to
  utilize and build on the existing assets in the
  community. It is also believed that by building
  on the success of your program and others like
  it, we can improve our already excellent youth
  programs.

4
The Goals of GOASA

• The Greater Omaha After School Alliance strives
  to support 4 initiatives
• -Support a community wide network for after
  school opportunities to maintain stability and
  long term growth.
• -Promote partnerships with key community
  stakeholders and youth.
• -Broaden access to programs, thus ensuring that
  all children of Omaha have an equal opportunity
  to participate.
• -Provide resources and information to youth,
  parents, after school providers and community
  residents.

5
Needs Assessment

• Parent Survey
• Provider Inventory
• Develop and Review Maps
• Review National Resources
• Further Resources

6
Parent Survey

• In late 2006, the University of Nebraska at Omaha
  Center for Organizational Research and
  Evaluations (CORE) surveyed 303 parents of youth
  in grades K-12 living in Omaha.

7
Parent Survey Important Findings

• Approximately 1 in 4 Omaha youth are home without
  adult supervision after school.
• Less than ½ of parents reported their youth
  participated in an organized after school
  program.
• The majority of the children participating in
  after school programs participate in school-based
  programs.
• Many parents would change their current after
  school care arrangement.

8
Parent Survey What Parents Want

• 1 out of 4 parents prefer programs that provide
  academic preparation and skills.
• 20.8 of parents prefer programs that help others
  in the community.
• 1 out of 6 prefer programs that teach the value
  of hard work and commitment, including art, music
  and dance.
• Sports activities were selected second to last
  among all respondent sub-groups.
• 58.2 prefer programs that are housed in the
  childs school.

9
After School Provider Inventory

• Using a list of existing organized after school
  program providers, an online inventory was
  conducted in November and December 2006. The
  inventory focused on program characteristics,
  funding sources and trends, clients served, and
  use of partnerships.
• The Mayors Office compiled list of 61 after
  school providers.
• An online inventory was conducted to
• identify the number of youth served
• determine the number of after school
  program sites
• determine the various after school program
  characteristics
• determine the various funding patterns and
• assess the various organizations uses of
  partnerships.

10
Needs Assessment Map
11
GOASA Meeting Topics

• During the May GOASA meeting, participants were
  asked to discuss the biggest issues they face in
  dealing with youth and out-of-school time. The
  following list was compiled
• -Parent Engagement
• -Community Collaboration
• -Professional Development
• -Recruiting/Retaining Volunteers
• -Transportation
• Subsequent GOASA meetings have and will focus on
  these topics.

12
Parent Engagement

• The July GOASA meeting was held at the Omaha
  Childrens Museum and featured guest speakers who
  presented on the topic of Parent Engagement.
• Guest speakers included Lindy Hoyer, the
  Executive Director of the Omaha Childrens
  Museum, Lisa St. Clair, Program Evaluator and
  Nebraska PIRC Director, and La Ron Henderson of
  the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation and
  the Nebraska Fatherhood Initiative.
• The speakers provided tools, shared anecdotes and
  answered questions about ways to engage parents
  in out-of-school programs.

13
Community Collaboration

• The August GOASA meeting was held at the Hope
  Skate Center.
• The guest speakers included presenters from the
  Hope Center for Kids on the topic of Community
  Collaboration.
• The Hope Center for Kids provided participants
  with helpful tools to better connect
  out-of-school time and organizations to the
  surrounding community.

14
National Resources

• Conditions of Quality After School Programs
  Identified by the Mott Foundation (2005)
• -Effective partnerships to promote learning and
  community
• engagement
• -Strong program managementincluding adequate
  compensation of
• qualified staff and career enhancement
• -Enriching learning opportunities that
  complement school-day learning
• -Intentional linkages between school-day and
  after school staff including
• coordinating and maximizing use of resources
  and facilities
• -Appropriate attention to safety, health and
  nutrition issues
• -Strong family involvement in participants
  learning an development
• -Adequate and sustainable funding and
• -Evaluation for continuous improvement and
  assessing program
• effectiveness. (p.7)

15
Local Resources

•  
• Building Bright Futures
• www.buildingbrightfutures.net
• The Nebraska Children and Families Foundation
• www.pcanebraska.org
• The Nebraska Department of Education
• www.nde.state.ne.us