People talk about spring as a time of renewal, early spring flowers poke sprouts through the thawing ground. Days get a little longer and, after months of playing board games and basketball in the gym, going outside is finally more than a 10 minute option. While the winter season allows for more and varied small group programming, the spring provides opportunities to sow these seeds of interest to expand learning in a new way in out-of-school time (OST).

It starts with a sticky note and a pen to collect some data. My colleague Jeff Davis from the California Afterschool Network once said, “It’s as easy as a pad of sticky notes and a pen”. He said to give each direct service staff a set of these and ask them to jot down notes on how the activity went. Not detailed descriptions, but discreet examples of comments the children and youth have before, during and after. One sticky per comment, and put the pad and pen back in your pocket until the next instance. It was an affordable, easy way to collect program data on interest and engagement. 

What happens to all of these sticky notes at the end of the day though? Staff debrief either after the last child leaves or the next day by putting all of the sticky notes on a whiteboard to look at patterns. What worked, what didn’t? How did staff feel about the activity and did these comments reflect their own level of engagement in the activity? Which ones could be expanded and improved? Which ones fell flat? What else do staff want to bring to the table based on their experiences?

When these data are collected across a program at each site, areas of strength and improvement can be identified. When coupled with a self-assessment tool such as the Connecticut After School Network Quality Self-Assessment Tool (CT-QSAT), program and district leaders can begin to shape the overall program quality linked to overall goals and objectives. Research shows that participation in high quality afterschool programs results in increased academic achievement, better school attendance, and social and emotional development. 

Engaged staff leads to engaged children and youth and buy-in is essential to any change effort. Quality improvement starts with sowing the seeds of interest in both staff and the children they work with. The more jazzed about a piece of programming someone is, the more contagious the enthusiasm becomes. It could start as simple as a sticky note and a pen.