This article examined the literature on best practices in content-specific professional development and then aligns this work with the practices of a citywide afterschool chess program run by After School Activities Partnerships (ASAP) in Philadelphia. School teachers, out-of-school time (OST) staff, and youth workers readied themselves to think…

Citywide implementation of project-based learning highlights the benefits--and the challenges--of promoting exemplary practices across an entire out-of-school time (OST) network. In summer 2009, the City of Philadelphia and its intermediary, the Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), introduced project-based learning to a network of more…

A mixed-methods study was conducted to determine if extra reading practice incorporated into fifth-and sixth-grade social studies and science content classes would have a positive impact on reading assessments for readers at risk. At-risk readers' independent reading levels were assessed using Dynamic Indicator of Basic Early Literacy Skills or…

Due to the challenges of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, many schools and school districts are implementing after-school tutoring programs to provide students additional instruction to score proficient or better in reading and mathematics. This doctoral study analyzed the effects of the ABC Middle School Educational Assistance Program…

As the need for providing youth with positive, constructive, and supervised after-school opportunities is increasingly recognized, advocates and policymakers face the challenge of funding quality, affordable, accessible youth development programs that meet the needs of working families and enrich learning and social development for youth.…