21st Century Community Learning Centers


Improving the outcomes of students in Oregon's 21st CCLC programs

Topic Areas > Older Youth Programming

Older youth programming refers to the policies, procedures, staffing and curriculum that are used to support the development and learning of middle and high school students in 21st Century Community Learning Center programs.

Older Youth Programming and 21st Century Community Learning Centers

Planning an out-of-school time program for middle and high school students has its challenges. It also offers unique opportunities to engage older students in a variety of positive, impactful, and leadership opportunities in our communities.

We know that participation in after school programs declines from elementary to middle school and from middle school to high school. To address this, 21st CCLC programs need to offer meaningful and engaging activities when recruiting and most importantly to retain older youth.  Offering students opportunities to provide input about what they would like and want can help programs address older youth’s needs and interests.  Program policies, procedures and staffing also need to reflect practices that will encourage participation of older youth in 21st CCLCs.

Attracting and Sustaining Youth Participation in After School Programs

This article from the Harvard Family Research Project contains promising practices on recruiting and retaining youth in after school programs.

City Strategies to Engage Older Youth in Afterschool Programs

Guide from the National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education and Families on how to increase participation among older youth in OST programs.  The practices described in the guide draw upon research on the unique developmental needs of middle and high school aged youth and what seems to work best in recruitment and retention of these youth.

Older Youth: Student Recruitment and Retention

Notes from the August 13, 2015 Peer to Peer teleconference.
Strategies for attracting and sustaining participation in after-school programs

Article from the School Superintendents Association (AASA) addresses insights for attracting and sustaining youngsters’ participation based on more than 60 recent evaluations of out-of-school time programs in the Harvard Family Research Project Out-of-School Time Program Evaluation Database

Recruiting, Engaging, and Retaining Older Youth

Review the content on the PowerPoint slides from the presentation on recruiting, engaging and retaining older youth in out-of-school time programs.

California AfterSchool Network Webinars

Webpage includes links to a series of webinars developed by the California AfterSchool Network on topics around older youth, including:


Project-Based Learning

This website is the You for Youth (Y4Y) Online Professional Learning and Technical Assistance site for 21st CCLCs from the U.S. Department of Education. This page includes information on project-based learning.

Leave Them Wanting More!: Engaging Youth in Afterschool

This document from the Harvard Family Research Project contains information on practices that engage youth in after school programs.

Helping Older Youth Succeed Through Expanded Learning Opportunities

This article from the Harvard Family Research Project defines expanded learning opportunities, the role of expanded learning opportunities in school success for older youth, how high-quality expanded learning opportunities that serve older youth are structured, and policy implications and examples.

Focusing on Middle School Age Youth

This document provides extensive information and resources on engaging middle school youth in afterschool programs. 

Building on the Interests of Adolescents

This site includes a webinar presented by Education Northwest for Oregon 21st CCLC programs on building on the interests of adolescents in 21st CCLC.

Driver's Education Resources

http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TS/Pages/Driver-Education-Parent-Teen-Resources.aspx: Oregon State Driver Education Parent-Teen Resource Page.

http://whydrivewithed.com/providers.php : ODOT-approved driver education providers in Oregon.

Five Resources for Family Engagement
Out-of-School Time Programs for Older Youth

Read the article from the Harvard Family Research Project on the benefits, challenges, and successful strategies of out-of-school-time programs for older youth.

Program and City-level Strategies to Support Sustained Participation in Out-of-School Time

This publication from the Harvard Family Research Project is a report of a study on programs serving older youth in out-of-school time programs. It includes information on keeping youth engaged over time, developmental differences between middle and high school programs, supports to promote and sustain participation, and key findings and implications.

Building Successful High School Afterschool Programs

This article describes the needs of older youth, foundation cornerstones for successful programs, foundational elements for successful programs, and program pathways.

Best Practices for Credit Recovery in OST Programs

This site includes a recorded webinar titled Best practices for credit recovery OST programs.  It includes information about the need for credit recovery programs in out-of-school program, how to determine if credit recovery is an appropriate fit for a student, why to offer credit recovery after school, determining the need for a credit recovery program, and  strategies for conducting a credit recovery program.

Credit Recovery Through Afterschool and Summer Learning Programs

This website for The Expanded Learning & Afterschool Project: Expanding minds and opportunities contains information on providing opportunities and options for credit recovery through afterschool and summer learning programs.

California AfterSchool Network Webinars

Webpage includes links to a series of webinars developed by the California AfterSchool Network on topics around older youth, including:


Title IV-B Disclaimer of Endorsement

The presentations and documents funded by Title IV-B 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) included in Oregon Department of Education (ODE) conferences, and/or posted on ODE web sites may include links to information and resources created by other public and private organizations. These resources, materials and links are provided for the user's convenience and to benefit program quality in Title IV-B. ODE does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this non-ODE information. The inclusion of these links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse views expressed, or products or services offered, on non-ODE sites.

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