results & outcomes
Our Collective Impact & Goals
Our vision is that Richmond’s youth will thrive in school, at home and in the community.
Studies show that structured Out-of-School Time (OST) programs make a positive difference in the lives of students and their families, and in the communities where they live and grow. Quality programs designed to offer experiences that supplement and support school-based education often lead to better school attendance, behavior and course performance. Also, quality OST programs provide a safe place to receive academic support and develop interests, passions and social skills.
We believe that the better coordinated our community’s efforts are, the more students can access programs, and the more students can be served, the stronger our community will be.
- More student participation in high-quality OST programs
- Superior student outcomes, including:
– Increased school attendance
– Higher grades in key courses
– Reduced behavioral incidents
– Increased social and emotional well-being - Better communication and collaboration among schools, service providers, city officials, students and families
- More efficient use of school and community resources, and a more sustainable funding model

ALLENA SPRIGGS
Parent
[NextUp RVA] keeps her occupied with positive role models. She is actively learning new things with activities that are age appropriate. And, they are keeping her engaged! She is always eager to show me something new she has learned.

Keran Holland
Student
The acting exercises really helped me! I was scared to speak at first and I would have stage fright, but I learned how to overcome it. [Ms. Charmaine Crowell-White] helped us express ourselves and her class was really fun.

Shannon Hardy-Taylor
Parent
NextUp is a wonderful program. I had the opportunity to meet a lot of his instructors and you could tell that they all loved their jobs. They were really passionate about helping the students.

Ty Toepke
Executive Director
Richmond Public Schools Education Foundation
We are blown away at the robust platform that NextUp has created in a very short time. Students look forward to the enrichment activities that our TechConnect program offers, and with NextUp’s new online learning platform we are able to continue engaging and teaching them even if we can’t interact in person.

Janiah Spearman
Student
They helped me with my homework after school and my grades went way up. I started getting A’s, B’s and C’s, instead of C’s and D’s. And, it helped me with my attitude,I’m a lot friendlier now!
Youth outcomes
Youth outcomes for students who participated in 30 days or more.
behavioral outcomes
academic outcomes
0%
of participants improved or maintained positive attendance
0%
of participants had positive school attendance (attended school for 95% of the time or more)
0%
of participants improved or maintained positive behavior
0%
of participants had fewer than 2 behavior incidences
0%
of participants improved by 1 letter grade or maintained the same grade of C or above in English
0%
of participants improved by 1 letter grade or maintained the same grade of C or above in Math
0%
of participants achieved a final grade of C or above in English
0%
of participants achieved a final grade of C or above in Math
Program Year Feedback
81%
STUDENTS
of students agreed that NextUp helped them find out what they’re good at doing and what they liked to do
93%
STUDENTS
88%
Students
98%
Parents
of parents are satisfied with the quality of care from NextUp coordination
96%
PARENTS
agree that NextUp provides high quality programs
89%
PARENTS
NextUp helps youth improve their school attendance
96%
PARENTS
programs keep kids safe and out of trouble
93%
PARENTS
agree that NextUp provides an opportunity for working parents to stay at their jobs until 5pm of later
96%
Providers
of instructors reported that NextUp supports their quality improvement
96%
Providers
of instructors reported that NextUp supports their quality improvement
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National Resources
- Every Hour Counts
- ExpandEd Schools
- Nashville After Zone Alliance
- Providence After Zone Alliance
- Expanding Minds & Opportunities
The Every Hour Counts Measurement Framework is designed to serve as a blueprint for understanding the impact of programs on youth outcomes, making improvements at the system and program levels, and influencing policy.
In 2011, ExpandED Schools (formerly TASC) launched a national demonstration of its ExpandED Schools initiative in 10 elementary and middle schools in New York City, Baltimore and New Orleans. ExpandED Schools helps each school partner with a strong youth-serving community organization, such as a settlement house or community development corporation, to add three hours to the conventional six-and-a-half hour school day. Teachers and principals coalesce with their community partners into powerful teams that support students cognitively, physically and emotionally.
This report presents findings from the fourth year of this project — evaluated by Policy Studies Associates (PSA), ExpandED Schools’s external evaluator for the national demonstration — as schools begin to break from the outdated, 19th-century school calendar.
In 2014, American Institutes for Research conducted an evaluation of Nashville Afterschool Zone Academy (NAZA). The report provides findings on how NAZA programs are implementing programming with fidelity to quality practices; increasing youth participation as a result of these high quality practices; and supporting outcomes related to school attendance, school behavior and academics. Findings show a correlations between regular participation in high-quality NAZA programs an improved school attendance, fewer behavior incidents, and improved math and science grades.
This executive summary highlights the main findings from our participation and outcomes analysis of the AfterZone initiative a citywide system-building effort in Providence, RI, that aims to provide high-quality, accessible out-of-school-time services to middle school youth.
This article is an excerpt from the book, Expanding Minds and Opportunities: Leveraging the Power of Afterschool and Summer Learning for Student Success. The author reflects on selected research from her own study of the field in recent years. In her estimation, based on years of examination, high quality expanded learning programs are essential to the learning process because they provide young people with opportunities to relate to their world in new ways. Strong programs foster an orientation of being open to novel experiences, of being interested in others and the world, of being inquisitive and creative, and, ultimately, of becoming lifelong learners.