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Expanded Learning Quality Standards
The purpose of the Quality Standards is to describe high levels of “Quality” of a program at the programmatic, staff, and participant levels. The quality standards are not intended to serve as a compliance tool, but as the following:
- A framework of clear expectations for all stakeholders.
- A guide to inform the After School Division’s decision-making, e.g., technical assistance decisions, language in requests for application, and policy development.
- A guide for program providers to assess their own programs in order to help determine what they are doing well and what needs improvement.
- A guide for parents and youth to identify quality programming.
- A guide for school principals and district superintendents to reinforce and advance key priorities.
- A complement to other standards in the State of California focused on quality improvement, e.g., Learning in After School and Summer, Quality Self-Assessment Tool, Quality Self-Assessment Rubric, Center for Youth Program Quality, etc.
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How Standards Were Developed
The Quality Standards were developed in two distinct phases (Phase I and Phase II) through a partnership between the After School Division and the California AfterSchool Network Quality Committee. The Work Groups on Quality Standards (Phase I and II) created a set of 12 Quality Standards and descriptions of what each Standard should look like in action (Standards in Action). Standards in Action are described at the programmatic, staff, and participant levels.
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Complementary Resources
A Crosswalk Between the Quality Standards for Expanded Learning and Program Quality Assessment Tools is a report that includes a review of seven tools that assess program quality in the field at both the point-of-service level and the programmatic management level. This report centers around a matrix indicating the degree to which each tool supports assessment of the Quality Standards. This guide illuminates the overlap between currently available assessment tools and the twelve Quality Standards, as well as identifies gaps in alignment. It concludes with a list of helpful resources that provide additional information on expanded learning program quality.
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Work Group Recommendations to the CDE After School Division
As recommended by the Work Group on Quality Standards (Phase I), the Quality Standards Work Group (Phase II) created Standards in Action and A Crosswalk Between Quality Standards for Expanded Learning and Program Quality Assessment Tools. With the submission of these resources, the Work Group (Phase II) also submitted recommendations to the CDE After School Division.