Afterschool Matters Summer 2020

The Birth of a Field

An Interview with Michelle Seligson, Founder of NIOST

Michelle (Micki) Seligson has been nationally recognized as a leader in afterschool and in childcare policy and practice. In 1978, she founded the School-Age Childcare Project, which became the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) at Wellesley College. To commemorate NIOST’s 40th anniversary, she sat down with Georgia Hall, director and senior research scientist at NIOST, to talk about how observation of exemplary practices became guidance for an emerging field.

Continue Reading

Bringing Afterschool Home-OST Programming in Affordable Housing Communities

By Marisela A. Montoya

When the bell rings at the end of the school day, many afterschool participants head to the cafeteria, gym, or portable building where their programs take place. Some hop on buses to attend programs at a local community or recreation center a few blocks away. However, thousands of students across the country go home to their afterschool program.

Continue Reading

Reinventing ADHD in Out-of-School Time

By Devan Blackwell

Attention issues made it difficult for Matthew, a fifth grader, to sit down and focus for long periods of time. He was easily distracted and often got into trouble during the school day for being disruptive.

Continue Reading

Healing on His Own Terms

Using Diverse Genres of Expression to Support Boys and Young Men of Color

By Keith F. Miller, Jr.

“Keith, he just shut down on me,” the teaching artist said, shaking his head, defeated. “I don’t know what to do. He said he won’t do anything.”

Continue Reading

Integrity Is a Core Value in the OST Experience for Youth

By Marie Benson

The importance attached to the development of strong character is evident in schools, out-of-school time (OST) programs, and the workplace. As providers of OST programs, we must infuse our programs with activities that build positive social and emotional skills in order to help mold future human capital. Educators, employers, and society as a whole agree on the need for honesty and for social and emotional skills. These skills are valuable across a person’s lifetime, regardless of where they are learned and practiced. Employers are looking for employees who possess competency in social and emotional skills; these skills may even be in more in demand than technical skills (Afterschool Alliance, 2018). OST programs can prepare participants for their futures by promoting social and emotional learning.

Continue Reading

ASM logoNIOST logo

The Afterschool Matters Initiative is managed by the National Institute on Out-of-School Time, a program of the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College

Georgia Hall, PhD, is Managing Editor of the Afterschool Matters Journal

Wellesley Centers for Women
Wellesley College
106 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02481-8203 USA

asm@niost.org
781.283.2547