NJ Quality
Standards for Afterschool:
Programming and Activities
![programming](../images/icons/icon_programming_SMALL2.png)
Download the programming and activities standards document as .pdf file »
Normas de Calidad para Después de la Escuela de NJ - Programación y Actividades »
Programming and activities support youth development and learning, and they are fun, engaging, and tailored to the youth in the program.
- Activities are intentional and are aligned with the program's mission
- Staff choose activities based on careful consideration of the purpose.
- Staff consider the program's mission when choosing activities.
- Activities are tailored to the individual youth in the program
- Activities are geared towards developing each individual youth's interests, talents, and skills.
- Activities are suited to the individual learning styles of youth in the program.
- Activities represent the languages and cultures of youth in the program.
- Activities are age appropriate and developmentally appropriate.
- Youth learning through program activities is experiential and related to real-world
challenges
Most activities are hands-on, interactive, project-based, inquiry-based, and/or encourage youth exploration of their world. - Activities support the development of youths' personal, social, and emotional skills
- The program includes a strong focus on developing youths' personal, social, and emotional skills. These include self-awareness skills, self-management skills, social awareness skills, relationship skills, decision-making skills, and other learning skills.
- The program is explicit about the specific personal, social, and emotional skills it seeks to develop and what program activities support these goals.
- Activities for teaching personal, social, and emotional skills revolve around giving youth opportunities to practice these skills.
- For complex personal, social, and emotional skills, the program breaks these down into developmental steps and provides activities that help youth master the steps one-byone over time.
- See the glossary and the resources section for more information about personal, social, and emotional skills.
- The program offers a variety of activities
- Youth can choose which activity to participate in from among a variety of activities offered.
- There is a balance among types of activities offered. Examples of types of activities include, but are not limited to, the following: literacy, the arts, STEM (Science Technology, Engineering, and Math), cooking, community service/service learning, sports and games, health-promotion, quiet activity, socializing, and multi-cultural/global learning.
- There are both youth-directed and staff-directed activities.
- Youth have opportunities to play/work individually as well as collaboratively in a small or large group.
- Programming includes, but is not limited by, homework and tutoring activities
- There is balance between time youth spend doing homework and time spent doing other activities.
- The program is accommodating to youths' different learning styles while completing homework. For example, students are allowed to do homework in a variety of spaces and positions.
- The program has a policy on how it approaches homework and shares this policy with parents.
- The program's use of technology and electronics is intentional and supports quality programming
- Activities encourage active versus passive involvement with technology and electronics.
- Activities and staff encourage youth to make safe, healthy, and carefully-considered choices in their use of technology and electronics.
- The daily routine is structured and stable, while flexible enough to meet the changing or individual needs of youth.
- Most days follow the same basic structure, and a daily schedule is posted.
- There are procedures in place for communicating about upcoming activities to families. Examples are monthly calendars or newsletters.
- The program allows adjustments to the regular schedule when appropriate.
- Movement between activities is youth-centered
- Youth can move between activities on their own without waiting for the whole group to move, to the extent possible.
- When the group has to move as a whole, the program manages the movement so it is orderly and quick and youth waiting is limited.
- Materials are adequate for programming
- Materials are in good condition. They are stored in an organized manner to keep them that way and encourage youth to take good care of them.
- There are enough materials for the number of youth and the activities offered.
- The materials are age appropriate and developmentally appropriate.
- The afterschool program is linked to the school day
- Staff use formal procedures and/or information methods for communicating with the schools the youth attend. For example, the program administration may seek to develop a collaborative relationship with the school principal(s) or attend building team or instructional meetings at the school(s). These collaborations may vary depending on whether the program is sited at a school and whether it serves youth from one school or multiple schools.
- Program staff are aware of the content and skills the youth are learning during the school day.
- Activities complement the school day rather than repeat what youth do in the classroom.
- Program links to the school day are informed by the needs of the individual youth.
- The program takes steps to make the schools aware of the importance of the afterschool program and what it offers.
- Professional development around programming and activities is appropriate and
high quality
- Program staff receive training to ensure that they are qualified to oversee program activities.
- Staff training around programming and activities is suited to the needs of the particular program.
- Wherever possible, the program links professional development opportunities for program staff and for school staff.
- Professional development in this area follows the guidelines for appropriate and high quality professional development outlined in the Administration section, standard #4. For example, professional development around programming and activities includes mentoring and on-going, job-embedded learning in addition to formal training opportunities.
Cross-references:
Subject | Category | Standard Number |
Physical activities, including the relationships between screen use and physical activity | Healthy Behavior: Physical Activity | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
Outdoor Activities | Outdoor Environment | 5 |
Special precautions during activities requiring increased attention to safety | Safety and Environmental Health | 7 |