Our Work
Eighty percent of a child’s waking hours are spent outside the classroom, and students who participate in out of school time (OST) programs are better prepared for strong futures. High-quality OST, which includes afterschool, summer, and enrichment programs, provides applied learning opportunities that help kids develop critical social and emotional skills as well as nurturing peer and mentor relationships that accelerate academic learning and prepare youth for postsecondary success. As of 2020, only 20% of school-age kids in Texas participate in summer programs and only 15% participate in afterschool programs, both of which provide more learning opportunities and drive equity in a system that often fails to adequately serve those most in need.
We have to do better by and with our young people to build a future we all can be proud of.
In spring 2020, TXPOST completed its 2020-2023 strategic plan to reflect the needs of youth and OST programs and providers. TXPOST is committed to fostering and facilitating strategic collaboration and public investment to:
- Drive equity and create opportunities for marginalized youth;
- Promote whole child development within and beyond the sector; and
- Support OST professionals in their own career journeys.
OST is closing the opportunity gap so that, together, we can build communities where every child in Texas is supported and fulfilled. Read our full plan or learn more about our key work and strategies below.
Convene
TXPOST nourishes the ecology of our network to better support OST programs, improve youth outcomes, and broaden our coalition. We are committed to fostering cross-state connections, touting program successes, deploying professional development resources, and developing new OST champions.
- Demonstrate support for regional networks and programs
- Engaging Texas’ six regional networks
- Supporting programs and providers without a regional network
- Recognize the unique needs of regions and local programs
- Identifying metrics that matter
- Amplifying partner voices and practices across the state
- Serve as the convening body for an increasingly diverse statewide afterschool network
- Establishing a Youth Advocate Council
- Establishing a Corporate Advisory Council
- Cultivating OST advocates across the state
Educate
TXPOST drives a culture of continuous quality improvement in programs across the state. We are committed to identifying where need is greatest and what resources will most quickly support the field.
- Advance professionalism and professional development in the field
- Building the community
- Sustaining career pathways
- Promote high-quality programming and a system of OST assessment and improvement
- Auditing where OST programs exist, along with gaps in coverage
- Promoting ongoing progress in quality programming
- Tell the story of OST
- Drawing connections between quality standards and youth outcomes
- Creating tools and amplifying experiences in OST
Advocate
TXPOST pursues opportunities to sustainably expand access to participate in high-quality OST programs for all Texas children. We are committed to identifying and empowering advocates who will support kids when they need it most.
- Deepen and broaden corporate engagement
- Engaging business leaders, Chambers of Commerce, and statewide roundtable organizations
- Investing in infrastructure to foster relationships
- Propel philanthropic funding and advocacy toward whole child development
- Demonstrating the power of the whole child
- Identify budget opportunities to fund quality improvement and encourage OST investment in best practices
- Analyzing funding opportunities to ensure sustainability
- Gaining clarity on resources currently supporting OST in Texas cities