Sara J. Corwin, MPH, PhD, Office of Public Health Practice, University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health, 800 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208, 803-777-3636, corwins@gwm.sc.edu, W.H. Oglesby, MSPH, Department of Health Promotion, Education, & Behavior, University of South Carolina, Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health, Columbia, SC 29208, Donna L. Richter, EdD, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Health Sciences Building, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, Ruth P. Saunders, PhD, Department of Health Promotion & Education, University of South Carolina School of Public Health, 216 Health Sciences Bldg, Columbia, SC 29208, Joyce Buxton, PhD, Office of Grants Procurement and Planning, Richland (SC) School District One, 1616 Richland Street, Columbia, SC 29209, Harris Pastides, PhD, Office of the Vice President for Research and Health Sciences, University of South Carolina, 110 Osborn Administration Building, Columbia, SC 29208, and Alfredo Cruz, Community Partners Program, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, 200 South Biscayne Blvd., Suite 330, Miami, FL 33131.

In the fall of 2003, three Columbia (SC) public middle schools were funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to establish local partnerships with community organizations to implement after-school pilot programs. While the overarching goal was to improve positive youth development, each partnership had a unique programmatic approach and multiple intervention strategies. Youth enrichment curricula and activities across the sites included, but were not limited to: visits to local arts and performing centers, involvement in recreational activities, tutoring assistance for schoolwork, ATOD risk reduction education, leadership development, and community service projects. An evaluation team from the University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health worked with these partnerships to build evaluation skills and enhance capacity to meet individually defined program objectives. The philosophy underlying the approach was that program evaluation is collaborative, flexible, and meets the needs of multiple stakeholders, including the recipients of program activities. In accordance, an empowerment/ participatory evaluation design was selected to capture the innovations, diversity, achievements, and challenges across the multiple sites. Aspects of meaningful, successful school-community partnerships were assessed. Qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques adopted by each site will be presented and the unique stories will be told. Ultimately, this will assist in the development of “best practice” guidelines for delivering and evaluating quality after-school programs for at-risk middle school youth suitable for replication in other communities.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session, participants will be able to
• describe 3 characteristics of empowerment/participatory evaluation;
• describe 3 specific data collection methods used to evaluate school-community partnerships when implementing after-school youth programs; and
• identify 3-5 challenges facing evaluation efforts in school-community settings across multiple sites.

Keywords: Evaluation, School-Based Programs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.