How the network operates
Boston Beyond acts as a convener and facilitator for nonprofit providers, educators, researchers, city leaders, and others who share our mission to expand and improve after-school opportunities for Boston students. We work together as a community to share best practices, develop new solutions to outstanding challenges, guide policy, and build our collective professional capacity.
Four themes guide this collaborative after-school agenda:
- Focus on skills: Partners commit to developing a common set of skills that students need for success in work, college, and life; each provider integrates these skills into their unique programs.
- Program innovation: We work together to design and test innovative curricula, program designs, pedagogy, and other practices as we seek ever-better outcomes for students.
- Common measures: Network members use our comprehensive evaluation tools to track student participation and outcomes and identify programmatic strengths and areas for improvement.
- Professional learning: We build the professional skillset of program leaders and staff through opportunities to study and exchange best practices, discuss common challenges, and observe one another in action.
Special Initiatives
Through targeted initiatives, our network members work together to address areas of common concern in after-school practice. Currently, Boston Beyond directs three special initiatives:
- Partnerships for Social & Emotional Learning Initiative: developing strategies to support a seamless experience of social and emotional learning at the elementary level. [more]
- BoSTEM: expanding STEM programming and cultivating STEM career aspirations among middle schoolers. [more]
- Skill Badging: designing a system for validating students’ attainment of crucial skills in middle and high school. [more]
