San Jose LEARNS

February 2002
Program Highlights

Contact information:
Suzanne Wolf
Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services
Community Services Supervisor
San José After School, City of San José
San Jose LEARNS
170 W. San Carlos
San Jose, CA 95113

Phone: 408/794-1660
Fax: 408/794-1670
E-mail: suzanne.wolf@ci.sj.ca.us

Catalyst: After-school program grew out of a schools, community, and city collaborative.

Number of schools: 19 elementary schools and two middle schools in six school districts. (In addition, homework centers are currently in 180 of the city’s 201 elementary, middle, and high schools, with the goal of having centers in all schools by June 2002.)

Number of young people served: 1,400 each day. (The homework centers are currently serving 25,000 kids a day.)

Funding: $1.6 million from the state After School Learning and Safe Neighborhoods Partnerships Program grant; $1.6 million from the city (including money from tobacco company settlements). Additional federal funds for six schools through 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants. School districts also contribute facilities, custodians, and often teachers and teacher aides.

Management and Governance: The City of San Jose manages the program. An oversight committee met monthly to establish the program, but now only meets as needed. The oversight committee includes a representative from each school district, from a community advisory committee, and from services providers such as museums and libraries.

Program: Homework center, which can include intensive instruction or just doing homework. Snack. Recreation. Enrichment every day. The city contracts with more than 20 community organizations—such as museums and art, music, and dance groups—to provide six- to eight-week-long classes. There are also ongoing activities such as crafts and sports.

Coordination with schools: On school sites. The principal sits in on hiring interviews of the site coordinators and has as much say as the city. The principal and site coordinator also determine which programs to offer after school, such as Aztec dancing, Afro-Brazilian drumming, or robotics. The relationship of the coordinators to the school staff varies by site, but often coordinators meet with the teachers, get homework packets, and put children’s homework in the teacher’s in-box if a child is having difficulty turning it in. Sometimes teachers or teacher aides staff the program.

Staff: The city recruits for positions, and the principal and city choose site coordinators. The coordinator has to be able to work with the principal. Most site coordinators are juniors or seniors in college. College graduates working in the program are often picked up by school districts as teachers. For the other staff, minimum requirements are similar to the qualifications of paraprofessionals in the school: high school diplomas plus background checks. In general, the city tries to hire the best educated staff available.

Staff to student ratio: 1 to 20 (paid staff), supplemented with volunteers to reduce that ratio. And 120 homework centers have supplemental grants that support more staff.

Major goals: The original goal focused on safety, but now the city emphasizes developing enriched and engaged learners.

Evaluation: The program is evaluated based on how well the students score on the Stanford-9 test. Preliminary results show significant increases in math and reading scores. In addition, attendance in school has improved. (See discussion below.)

Program Highlights

The community plays a big role
LEARNS (Literacy, Education, Art, Recreation, Nurture, Students) is an outgrowth of the San Jose Schools/City Collaborative, which was looking at ways to commonly use open space and playgrounds. School districts, community organizations, and the city make up the collaborative. Although originally focused on safety, the goal of the current program is to create enriched and engaged learners.

Funding is complex
The primary funding streams from the city and state are melded with other grants, including federal money, at each site. One school has a grant for a reading recovery program. Another school uses Migrant Education money to hire credentialed teachers to staff the program. Community groups, such as art and children’s museums, contract with the city to provide six- to eight-week programs.

The city manages the after-school program. Because state money is based on average daily attendance (ADA), the city has an agreement with the school districts that any losses will be split evenly. So far, says former program manager Marie Alberry-Hawkins, there have been no losses. The program manager coordinates the state money. Another city staff member handles the federal contribution. Money for the homework centers in each school, which is handled through the city’s parks and recreation department, is funneled through City Council member budgets.

Early evaluations show positive results
In February 2002, Alberry-Hawkins was in the middle of evaluations for the state program, which are based on Stanford-9 scores. The results showed significant increases in math and reading scores, she said. In addition, attendance—which she considers more significant—had improved. In one school, Alberry-Hawkins reported, attendance went up by 20%, which means that school will receive significant increases in state funding based on ADA. She also learned of an evaluation from one of the program participants. While struggling to come up with a sentence to show he understood a new vocabulary word, one student wrote: “LEARNS is my sanctuary.”