Student Recruitment
Student Recruitment
Recruitment is vital to the longevity and success of any after-school program. To maximize effectiveness, outreach efforts cannot be a one-time occurrence, but should rather be an ongoing process using creative strategies. Programs with successful recruitment begin with clear goals and an action plan. All recruitment information must be shared with the principal and should be distributed and posted in accordance with school procedures.
Student Retention
Student Retention
As noted earlier, one of the primary outcomes of all 21st CCLC programs is that they meet target enrollment as outlined in their grant. Students must participate in at least 30 hours of programming to be counted as an enrolled participant. To that end, it’s essential that programs devise strategies for student retention. Provided below are initial ideas to help.
Student Retention Strategies
- Have students co-create specific project ideas and topics to explore
- Create a welcoming and fun classroom culture
- Host attendance contests
- Conduct semester-long, cumulative projects that engage students over a few weeks
- Acknowledge and celebrate attendance among regular attendees
NY State Guidelines Regarding Student Participant Reporting
All programs will be subject to grant deductions if they do not meet their participation targets.
- Annual participation below 95% of the target will result in a proportional reduction in the grant allocation for the year in question.
- A student must attend at least 30 hours during the year to be counted as a participant. See further notes below regarding how hours are counted.
When reporting participation on the student attendance rosters, the following apply:
- Student ID codes must be provided for all students that have such codes. Provided codes can be State, District, or NYCDOE OSIS IDs. Local IDs are not acceptable.
- Exceptions include private, parochial and home school students. If ID codes are missing, one of these categories must be checked.
To improve quality control, NY State is now requiring that hours be disaggregated further:
Programs need to separate each students' hours of attendance as occurring in any of the following four categories, as applicable:
- School day Extended Learning Time (ELT) hours (during the school day)
- Before-school or After-school hours on school days
- Weekend, holiday or field trip hours during the school year
- Summer hours
Guidelines for counting hours of attendance during field trips and full day activities:
- A trip can be counted if the 21st CCLC grant application states that the program will include field trips towards meeting program goals and objectives, and the purpose of a given trip serves to meet the stated goals and objectives.
- If field trips were not part of the original application, they can be added if requested and approved through the program modification process.
- On a day trip only the time in the activity plus two hours maximum for travel time can be counted, but not to exceed 8 hours.
- For overnight trips, time counted is not to exceed 8 hours per day.
Attendance
Attendance
In 21st CCLC programs, it is required to document:
Please note that NYSED may reduce funding if participation requirements are not met, and/or if program sites cannot accurately document enrollment/attendance.
Attendance Collection and Data Entry Protocol
Below is a recommended protocol for attendance collection and data entry. Please work with your school to ensure that the right system is in place in your program to allow for accurate and consistent data entry.
- The site coordinator will identify the individual(s) responsible for attendance collection and data entry (it could be the site coordinator).
- On Monday morning each week (or the first day of the week), print attendance sheets for all 21st CCLC activities for the week. This includes any/all activities (e.g. CBO led or school led) funded by 21st CCLC.
- Develop folders for each teacher/teaching artist, and deliver attendance sheets for the week to the teachers/teaching artist, prior to the start of the activity/program.
- Identify a central location to serve as the drop off point where completed attendance sheets are collected.
- Clearly message to teachers/teaching artists a consistent deadline for submission of completed attendance sheets.
- Create a binder(s) for each activity to store completed attendance sheets (required by grant regulations).
- Enter attendance data into your attendance database and store sign-in sheets in binders by activity.
Sign-In Sheets
Paper sign-in sheets are required for all 21st CCLC activities. Students in grades 4 or older must sign-in to each 21st CCLC activity. The activity instructor may “check off” students in grades K-3 on the sign-in sheet. Site coordinators must keep all sign-in sheets on file, and must ensure that attendance data from each sheet is entered into an attendance tracking database. There is a sample sign-in sheet on the following page.
Serve Students with Special Needs
Serve Students with Special Needs
Programs must ensure equitable access to meet the needs of special populations (e.g., students with disabilities, English language learners). Programs must disseminate information about the center to the community in a manner that is understandable and accessible.
We encourage you to conduct targeted outreach to students with special needs in your school. We recognize that there may be perceived challenges associated with serving students with disabilities; however, if you engage these students and their families in a dialogue, you may find that you can serve special needs students with minor accommodations. In addition, there may be funds available through your school or district to pay for transportation and paraprofessionals so that your after-school program can better serve students with disabilities. To be eligible, students must currently receive these services in the day school.
If you are interested, speak to your principal. In addition, Kids Included Together (KIT) is an excellent resource for information on including students with special needs. For more information, visit the KIT website.
