Out-of-School Time Quality Program

Winchester, VA

Program Summary

  • Goal: To improve Out-of-School Time (OST) quality within our OST programs serving Winchester city’s elementary school-aged children, to include integrating literacy growth strategies into the work.
  • Framework: The Winchester OST Quality Strategy is designed to first train Literacy Volunteers Winchester Area staff on the Weikert quality assessment model. Then, Literacy staff will partner with local OST organizations to administer the assessment tool, assist in the development of an action plan, and support local organizations in action plan implementation. Concurrent to the usage of Weikert, Literacy will partner with OST organizations to help develop or expand academic and literacy supports during after-school and summer programming.
  • J2W will provide 3-years of funding to the cost of the program.
J2W Foundation strategy for service delivery improvement.

Measures of Performance

For more information, please see Data Analysis section at the bottom of the page

Data Analysis

  1. Goal: J2W will provide sufficient funding to cover a full-time position fully dedicated to managing the Winchester Campaign for Grade Level Reading backbone role. The overarching objective of this investment will be to allow the United Way to take ownership of the backbone management of the Winchester Campaign and to do this resourced appropriately to not only sustain the Campaign over its 10-year lifetime, but to grow its influence and impact. The second goal of this grant is to improve Out-of-School Time (OST) quality within our OST programs serving Winchester city’s elementary school-aged children, to include integrating literacy growth strategies into the work.
  2. Theory of Change: With a fully dedicated and well-resourced Campaign for Grade Level Reading administrative agency, the Campaign will have a greater impact in the community. The backbone agency will be better able to maximize community engagement; improve strategic communications and positive messaging on the importance of literacy, attendance, and reduction in learning loss; and to improve Out-of-School Time (OST) quality within our OST programs serving Winchester city’s elementary school-aged children, to include integrating literacy growth strategies into the work.
  3. OST Quality Strategy Framework: Designed to first train United Way staff on the Weikart quality assessment model. Then, UWNSV staff will partner with local OST organizations to administer the assessment tool, assist in the development of an action plan, and support local organizations in action plan implementation. 
  4. OST Theory of Change: There are a variety of OST organizations operating in Winchester. Some have a strong focus on academic and social-emotional supports and others have a stronger emphasis on play. These programs see hundreds of Winchester city students every year. OST programs have the opportunity to be not only safe and fun spaces, but places that can further help our children with additional academic and social-emotional enrichment supports. What binds all of these agencies together is the desire to improve students’ confidence and agency of self while building stronger, more resilient children. 
  5. Performance Measures: 
    1. OST Alignment and Quality Systems Building: We will begin this project with a focus on process and output measurements, which will include a phased approach to Weikart training and initial OST early influencer implementation. As UWNSV complete the training, at the end of year-1, we expect to have a series of more significant outcome measurements that will include action plan monitoring and student/staff growth analyses as well as defined outcome measures around literacy growth.
    2. Campaign Management: We will begin this initiative with a focus on creating a strong foundation and set of processes by which the Campaign can and should perform most effectively. We will assess the grant effectiveness by analyzing the following factors regarding our ability to:
      • Expand community capacity
      • Amplify the message
      • Align on targets and outcomes
      • Coordinate strategy across Winchester
  1. Results:
    1. OST Outputs and Outcomes:
      • Participation in Weikart Quality Assessment: Our goal for 2025 is to have at least one OST program participating in the Weikart program. In Q2/25, we have one program, earning a “green.” We also have a goal of having at least 85 children attending a Weikart-assessed program. In Q2/25, our one program has 80 children, earning a “yellow.”
      • Weikart Assessments: In Q2/25, we have completed an initial baseline scoring for the 4 Weikart fields. In each case, the program achieved “green” but future scoring will be needed to assess growth and progress.
      • We have not launched and thus aren’t able to assess “brain time” activities. This will be a goal for 2026.
      • Each participating program will be working towards a Social Emotional Language (SEL) aligned survey. Finalizing the survey instrument and distributing/scoring the surveys will be a goal for Q3/Q4 2025.
    2. Campaign Capacity Outputs:
      • Meeting Management: Our intent is to host regularly scheduled, well-attended committee meetings for each of the four key working groups (Steering, School Readiness, Out-of-School Time, and Attendance), 100% of the time; and to host two strategic retreats per year, facilitated by the Smarter Learning Group consultants to benchmark our Campaign against like-Campaigns across the country. By the end of Q2/25, the Campaign backbone organization ran all Committee meetings (100% achieved), earning a “green” health score and has so far hosted one SLG strategic retreat (50% achieved), earning a “yellow” score but also knowing the second retreat will occur in Q4/25.
      • Strategic Messaging: Our intent is to develop and broadly distribute a quarterly newsletter outlining the activities and progress of the Dorchester Campaign. Thus, our goal is to deliver 4 newsletters per year. By Q2/25, the Campaign has distributed 1 of 4 newsletters, earning a “yellow” health score but also knowing the final three newsletters will be sent out in Q3 and Q4/25. In addition, the Campaign has a goal of hosting one, annual State of the Campaign public event that is intended to provide an in-person opportunity for the community to learn more about the Campaign’s activities and outcomes. To date, the presentation has not occurred but is expected in Q3 or Q4/25, thus currently earning a “yellow” score.