Action Research: How to Identify and Execute the Purpose of MHASP
Situating MHASP In a Larger Narrative
Below is a literature review and outline of the methods I used when looking at how to address problems facing after school programs. It also demonstrates that Mission Hill is part of a much broader narrative of after school programs and goals for achieving educational equality.Methods: While looking for articles, I focused on authors who wrote about the purpose of after school programs because many of my questions and interviews led me to be curious about how these programs define their purposes and how volunteers execute these ideas. Additionally, I looked for literature that defined clear problems with after school programs, so that I could begin to address the solutions in my action research; the literature served as a foundation not only for developing my research questions, but also for giving a platform to base my blueprint on. Some questions I was exploring while looking for literature were based on interviews with volunteers at Mission Hill After School Program (my site-visit location) and employees at PBHA. Through these interviews, and the literature below, I could analyze and zone in on the following questions: With so many different ideas about what an after-school program should look like—is it to keep them academically engaged, to keep them safe off the streets, to provide a mentor, or something completely different—how do people know how to effectively work? What is the purpose of a program like Mission Hill and how do we accurately measure “progress” from what we decide the purpose is? Furthermore, how do we all come together for one common purpose of these programs do in order to have a united idea on how to be successful? How do we make sure that people are properly invested in this program and its children? The following literature (and the review of it) helps place MHASP into a broader context, demonstrates its applicability to the rest of the world, and confirms/reinforces my interviews and site visits.
Title: After School Programs for Low Income Children: Promise and Challenges
Author: Robert Halpern
Link: http://www.jstor.org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/stable/pdf/1602708.pdf?refreqid=excelsior:7399c450d046f27dcdc352b3c4179151
Review: The author discusses after school programs for low-income students, and how they came to be during a time when people worried about how students were spending their time outside of the classroom. What is particularly interesting about this piece is that it focuses on a few cities’ programs, and one of the cities is Boston. So, it applies well to what I am working on. The author talks about MOST: Making the Most of Out-of-School Time), an initiative that takes place in Boston, Chicago, and Seattle. The program helps provide accessible and affordable after school programs, and in Boston is especially helpful because “particularly in Boston and Chicago, the school-age population is predominantly low to moderate income” (Halpern 82). The research done by MOST suggested that current programs in Boston could only help 14% of the school population. Additionally, Boston sticks out because most schools do not have their own after school programs, but “other agencies” provide more than 50 after-school programs (like Mission Hill) (Halpern 84). Another interesting idea from this piece was the actual purpose and intended progress people want to see from an after-school program, which is a large component of what I am researching with Mission Hill. For example, the article mentions that one program director says their program is “to keep kids off the street and alive,” while another person said it should not only be a safe space, but should be a place to focus on advancing arts skills like music and painting (Halpern 85). These ideas of the purpose of after school programs are clearly very different, and this reflects onto Mission Hill because some counselors see the purpose different than others.
Additionally, this piece is helpful in contextualizing my Mission Hill research question(s) because it talks about the weaknesses facing after-school programs. Besides the issue of not knowing the official purpose of these programs, another issue that stuck out was the idea that the staff “lacked the time, and perhaps the skill and inclination, to adequately plan activities, work through issues, and develop relationships with children” (Halpern 86). This is especially salient on a college campus, where people are likely doing more activities than just Mission Hill. The article demonstrates that the problem of ensuring people are properly invested in these programs is not unique to Mission Hill.
To reinforce Halpern’s findings, I went through his citations and other databases to find corroborating—or possibly conflicting—information. The American Federation of Teachers agrees that there are vast possibilities for how to run an after school program: “tutoring, extended learning time, extended day, extended year, enrichment, remediation, homework time and even child care” (From: https://www.aft.org/academic-goals-after-school-programs). What was interesting about this piece was that it emphasized the importance of going beyond academics and focusing on engaging students in outside activities—suggesting that after school programs should shy away from focusing too much on academics. The American Federation of Teachers literature serves as a bridge from Halpern’s piece (which addresses problems) to the solutions I discuss in my action research because it demonstrates the multifaceted goals of an After School program, and illustrates that there can be more than one purpose. Balancing the multiple missions of program is key in my Mission Hill research because there are so many different ideas about what this program should offer, and both pieces of literature demonstrate the possibility that a program can have multiple different purposes in one—something I address in my blueprint for action. Overall, I have learned that MHASP does not—and should not—have only one goal, and it is up to volunteers to address the personalized needs of each student. The blueprint for action (on next page) shows how students can do this.
What Next? A Blueprint for Action Research
Interestingly, the problem facing many after-school programs—that there can be confusion or disagreement over the true “purpose” of the organization—is part of its solution: Instead of being narrowly focused on providing one specific service, after-school programs, specifically Mission Hill, should offer a wide range of assistances that cater to a specific child’s needs and to the parent’s requests. For example, Mission Hill volunteers should strike a balance between homework, academic advancement, and non-academic related interests (and safety should be assumed to be a given). However, if a program is to embody several purposes—like providing a safe environment, helping with homework/academic advancement, and helping to develop interests outside of the classroom—it is incredibly important to ensure that directors, coordinators, counselors, and all other volunteers are on the same page about what these purposes are, how to define and measure progress, and what the parents want from their child’s program. To outline how to successfully do this, I have first included a counselor “toolkit” to describe strategies and ways to be a successful counselor. To make sure this toolkit is utilized, MHASP directors could pass it out to counselors at the beginning of each semester, email it out to people, and post it in color group chats. Lastly, I describe logistics and recommendations for how to measure progress and ensure that the students are being adequately helped.Part One: Counselor “Top Five” Toolkit
- Get to know your student and learn about his or her needs, strengths, weaknesses, interests, etc. One of the main approaches of MHASP is to emphasize partner-based interactions, and one counselor is paired with one student for the semester—and often longer—to foster a relationship. The better you know your student, the better you will be able to help them and know which areas they need to work on most (reading, math, behavior management, etc.). Additionally, the more you know your student, the more you will be able to figure out potential interests outside of the classroom. For example, one of my students loves to sing, dance, and do yoga, and I try to incorporate these into the week as much as possible. But, this does not happen until I get to know and understand my student.
- Communicate with a coordinator and director about what your student’s parent is expecting from program. Coordinators and directors are in immediate contact with a child’s parent, so they know best about what they want. With the current system, however, counselors are not as looped-in about what the parent has said in meetings, so it could be helpful to meet with a coordinator and ask “what do ____’s parents or guardians want from program?” to know specifically what they expect (whether that is homework help, an older mentor to hang out with them, etc.). That way, a counselor—who is the one directly interacting with the student most of the time—can better develop a personalized program experience based on these needs. In general, communication with coordinators and directors will make for a more successful experience, but specifically being on the same page about the purpose and plan for each semester is of utmost importance.
- Give input on curriculum ideas. Because of your close relationship with the student, you may know them better than a coordinator or director. Perhaps your student is very into science, so you could suggest a curriculum like building structures with household items, or doing small experiments. Curriculum is a great time to combine academics with budding interests, so it is important to give advice on curriculum.
- Attend the fieldtrips. Throughout the semester, there are one or two fieldtrips, and those are a great way to get to know your student outside of the classroom. Often the trips will be to fun locations like water parks or movies, so they are a casual and exciting environment to continue to build a stronger relationship with your child. Additionally, this aspect of program allows a way for people to take the focus off academics and give the children time to play, explore other interests, and have a safe weekend activity. A possible policy change to ensure this happens is to make field trips mandatory so that volunteers consider it an official part of working for MHASP and therefore take it more seriously.
- Ask for help, and let people know when things are not feeling right. People are there to support you, and you should never feel alone or over your head. Open communication about what is and is not working will ensure that everyone—students and volunteers—are having positive experiences.
Mission Hill is already uniquely situated to successfully carry out these recommendations for a broader, all-encompassing purpose because of the way a typical day is designed. As mentioned in the earlier Scalar chapter, the day is split into two parts: homework and curriculum. Homework is straightforward in that counselors help students complete any assignments given by teachers during the school day, and if they have no homework they focus on something academically enriching, like reading or worksheets. This directly addresses the purpose of educational assistance. Then, during curriculum, volunteers can broaden student interests by designing class activities like yoga, karaoke, dancing, or even physics and other sciences. Some of these activities can be academically beneficial, but they can also spark other interests and passions, like dancing or painting. Curriculum is such an important part of program, and could potentially be part of a class at Harvard. Perhaps those who are interested in education—and many who volunteer for MHASP are—could have more opportunities to take classes at school that deal with education. Creating an education secondary is a great first step; now, we should work to have classes designed specifically for creating good teaching plans and organizing a classroom. Additionally, working for MHASP could be part of this class, and students could get credit for volunteering while also learning about how to better work curriculum.
However, one question that still exists is how to define and measure progress. Currently, directors and coordinators meet at the beginning of the semester and discuss goals for the semester and then reflect throughout by having meetings with parents and counselors. Because red group students are so young, it is difficult to interview and touch base with them about their development, but I think to be more effective it is important to have specific and personalized benchmarks for each student. For example, for one student, the goal can be “we want _____ to be able to read ____ types of books on his own by the end of the year.” Or “we want ____ to work on his behavior management and have fewer breakdowns by the end of the year.” This way, there are tangible goals to work on, and there is a way to provide a direction for the counselor and his or her student. There should still be regular meetings, but by setting more specific goals, it will be easier to develop a program around it and work towards these goals. Additionally, there already exist online platforms to provide feedback on the day and communicate online about the week, the children, and possible ideas for the future. This policy should continue in the future years, and could even be added to by making it available every night, instead of just on the night you attend program.
Unfortunately, this blueprint is not going to solve every issue facing MHASP. For example, this blueprint is very oriented around my specific color group, and what the red group needs may not—and usually is not—what the teen group needs. So, to be more successful, one would need to write a blueprint catered to each specific color group. I have not worked with or talked to all groups, so I could not adequately write recommendations outside of red group. Additionally, as the literature and interviews suggest, there are problems with time commitments and how programs that use college students compete with professionals. But, so many of the college students who work for Mission Hill are dedicated to program; there is something unique about young people helping other young people; in teen group, there is a real sense of being a mentor because sometimes the age gap between a student and a counselor is only a few years, which is special. Additionally, it may seem difficult to have volunteers cater to each individual student’s needs, but because of the way program is designed, each counselor typically works with only one student and a coordinator two or three, so it is not as demanding when work is split up evenly. Lastly, because program is only a few hours, it should be easy for students to drop outside stresses when they reach the classroom door, and worry about them after program is over. Clearly, this blueprint cannot focus on all the problems, but focusing on the purpose and addressing how to be the best counselor and to properly measure progress is an excellent starting point.
