Program Tools


Curriculum Design

A Toolkit for Service-Learning Partners

This toolkit is designed for community-based organizations in the development of service-learning projects.

Designing a Service-Learning Project in Ten Steps

This article from the Corporation for National and Community Service describes ten steps that teachers, parents, after-school providers and those who work in community-based organizations can take to enlist youth in service.

Service-Learning: In Action Guide


This guide, available through the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, was authored by Cathryn Berger Kaye. Teachers can use this guide to help integrate service-learning into their classrooms to strengthen and enhance academic development. This guide may also be helpful for the application of service-learning in less formal educational environments such as after-school programs and youth groups.

Service-Learning Toolbox


This booklet from the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, is hands-on tool for designing service-learning projects. It helps to identify goals and manage a broad range of project details. The work pages are divided into four key areas: preparation, action, formal evaluation, and online resources.

Tips for Effective Service-Learning Projects in Out-of-School Time Programs

Tips and project ideas to help incorporate service-learning into out-of-school time programs. Includes a resource list of publications, organizations, and web sites.

Using the PARE Model in Service-Learning

The PARE model (preparation, action, reflection, and evaluation) is a simple way to plan community-responsive, effective, and successful service projects.

Collaboration and Partnerships

Collaboration Factors Inventory

This inventory was designed as a tool for assessing the factors that influence the success of a collaboration. Twenty such factors have been identified, and you will be provided with summary scores for each of these factors upon completion of the inventory. Once you begin, you will have the opportunity to interrupt and bookmark your session to finish at a later time. Once you have completed the inventory, returning to a bookmarked session will display your results page again.

Project Management

Developmental Assets: A Framework for Enriching Service-Learning

You can strengthen service-learning and improve developmental outcomes for young people by intentionally integrating positive youth development (PYD) principles and practices with service-learning. This brief introduces one framework for PYD, known as Developmental Assets, as a tool for enriching service-learning.

K-12 Service-Learning Project Planning Toolkit

This toolkit, from the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, contains a number of resources useful for planning and implementing a service-learning project for K-12 students.

Making an Impact on Out-of-School Time: A Guide for Corporation for National Service Programs Engaged in After-School, Summer, and Weekend Activities for Young People

Available through the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, the purpose of this manual is to help Corporation programs become more effectively involved in enhancing the quality of out-of-school time programs for young people ages five to fourteen. It offers ideas and suggestions, resource lists, tip sheets, and examples of successful programs. Many of the materials in this manual are designed to be easily used to conduct training for members and volunteers.

Service as a Strategy in Out-of-School Time: A How-To Manual

Available through the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, this manual is intended to help program directors, child care providers, service members, school administrators, and leaders of community-based organizations to effectively integrate service in the development and implementation of Out-of-School Time (OST) programs. The manual discusses quality OST programs, highlights effective practices, discusses service and service-learning activities for children and youth in OST, and lists resources and contacts.

Service-Learning in Out-of-School Time

Available through the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, this is a short guide to integrating service-learning into out-of-school time programs that includes information on the difference between service and service-learning; needs assessment; what kinds of learning opportunities are available through service-learning; why service-learning is important; benefits of service-learning; eight keys to effective project planning; and project ideas.

Engaging Youth

Effective Practices for Engaging At-Risk Youth in Service

This guide by Youth Service America is designed to provide an overview of the underlying theory and effective practices for engaging at-risk youth in service by examining the roles they have played - and can play - in serving their communities.

Students in Service to America

"A Guidebook for Engaging America's Students in a Lifelong Habit of Service"

Youth and Communities Helping Each Other: Community-based Organizations Using Service-Learning as a Strategy During Out-of-School Time

This report from the Corporation for National Service profiles service-learning programs in community-based organizations and highlights successful practices.

Youth Voice: A Guide for Engaging Youth in Leadership and Decision-Making in Service-Learning Programs

This guide by Learn & Serve America details methods of engaging youth in leadership capacities in service-learning programs.

Monitoring and Evaluation

C.A.R.T. - Compendium of Assessment and Research Tools for Measuring Education and Youth Development Outcomes

The Compendium of Assessment and Research Tools (CART) is a database that provides information on instruments that measure attributes associated with youth development programs. CART includes descriptions of research instruments, tools, rubrics, and guides.

Evaluation Resources


The Evaluation Resources page from the National Youth Development Information Center provides current evaluations and evaluation tools for use in the youth development field.

Shumer's Self-Assessment for Service-Learning

A series of instruments and analysis worksheets arranged to help individuals evaluate their current service-learning initiatives to improve and strengthen them.


Out-of-School Time Program Research & Evaluation Database

The Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) Out-of-School Time (OST) Program Research and Evaluation Database is a compilation of profiles written by HFRP of research studies and evaluations of OST programs and initiatives. It provides accessible information about research and evaluation work on both large and small OST programs to support the development of high quality evaluations and programs in the out-of-school time field.

Funding

Funding and Sustainability

The Afterschool Alliance's comprehensive resource center for funding and sustainability of out-of-school programs.

The Finance Project: Youth Programs Resource Center

Comprehensive resource center on funding for youth and out-of-school programs.
 

Powered by Orchid Suites
Orchid ver. 4.7.5.