5 Ways Data Can Save After-School Programs

Public school systems are hurting. As we reported recently, local governments are taking a double beatdown from declines in property tax revenue and state aid, and it's the schools that are taking many of the cuts in funding and employment. In times of tight budgets, maintaining levels of service can be incredibly challenging. After-school programs – already heavily reliant on outside funding – are put at even greater stress. But these programs don't have to fade away because of tough economic times. A new series of tip sheets from the Wallace Foundation offers ideas about how cities and schools can utilize data about their after-school offerings to maintain and improve programs.

Written by Jennifer Gill, the tip sheets make the case to cities and program providers that having more data about after-school programs will make them easier to run and improve, and therefore more effective as bargaining tools to secure more funding, even when money's tight.