Start A Program
Planning to start an out-of-school time (OST) program in Nevada? Here’s what you need to know!
With just 24% of Nevada’s K-12 children enrolled in OST programs (2014, America After 3PM), you will be providing a much needed opportunity for young people and families in your community. There is no definitive approach to starting an OST program in Nevada; however, there are best practices around the provision of quality programs. Your needs depend on the type of program you plan to create. This section will provide you with resources and tools to start a quality OST program.
Quality OST programs inspire and promote learning and positive youth development by providing opportunities for autonomy and leadership; caring relationships; connections to families, communities and schools; safe environments; and engaging activities. The Nevada Afterschool Network’s Statement of Quality in Afterschool defines core elements (shown below) that guide OST programming, regardless of program goals or ages served. This statement provides a framework to define quality for Nevada’s OST programs and all other individuals and organizations that are interested in the quality of these programs, including public and private funders, parents and youth.
Quality programming requires the following elements:
I. Human and Community Relationships
II. Health, Safety and Security
VI. Environment and Curriculum
To help programs reflect on their levels of quality and provide specific indicators within each Statement of Quality element, the Nevada OST Task Force developed a Self-Assessment Rating Tool to help your program self-identify the needed areas of work. NAN’s committee on Professional Development and Implementation is also working to develop an additional user friendly Quality Self-Assessment Rating Tool and Discussion Guide. These tools may be used separately or together with the Nevada OST Quality Standards to identify levels of quality within each of the core elements and to foster discussion among program staff regarding the program’s current status, potential and priorities for quality improvement.
Also, in developing these resources, NAN pulled from existing state and national quality standards and self-assessment tools including those used in California, Pennsylvania, New York and Missouri, as well as the 21st Century Standards, the School Age Childcare Environment Rating Scale, and Highscope’s Youth Program Quality Assessment.
Check out the full Nevada Quality Standards for OST Programs on the Commitment to Quality page