In 2020, BellXcel engaged McClanahan Associates, Inc. (MAI) to conduct a literature review to learn more about quality assessment (QA) in Out of School Time (OST) programs and understand the research support for BellXcel’s quality standards and indicators. In this SCRI Asks, Wendy McClanahan, president and founder of McClanahan Associates, Inc. (MAI), shares her unique perspective on quality assessment (QA) in out-of-school time (OST) programs.

This SCRI Asks features Q&A with Christina A. Russell of Policy Studies Associates and Corey Newhouse of Public Profit, editors of Measure, Use, Improve! Data Use in Out-of-School Time. They reflect on BellXcel’s chapter, Thinking Outside the Logic Model, written by our own Brenda McLaughlin and Bryan Hall, and share practical tips and guidance.

In this SCRI Asks we spoke with two of the editors, Gretchen Brion-Meisels and Deepa Vasudevan, as well as chapter coauthor Anna West, of At Our Best: Building Youth-Adult Partnerships in Out-of-School Time Settings. We discuss the importance of youth-adult partnerships and implications for practitioners.

As youth leaders and teachers across the country rapidly innovated to deliver remote learning, SCRI has reflected upon nearly three decades of research and evidence to consider how to measure quality in a remote learning environment. We know how important quality experiences are to a young person’s ability to learn and grow. The Remote Quality Reflection Tool is available publicly for remote learning providers to reflect on the quality of their summer programs, since for many assessing quality in a remote environment is new.

In this SCRI Asks, we interview Deb Moroney, Ph.D., Managing Director at the American Institutes for Research and contributor to a recent consensus report on summertime experiences. Dr. Moroney discusses the significance of the report and how practitioners can apply its learnings during the COVID-19 crisis.

In this research brief, learn why social and emotional learning (SEL) is important to student success and how to measure skill development over the summer. Hear from BellXcel scholars on what growth in skills like self-regulation, self-awareness, and responsible decision-making feels like to them.