Description
The LA's BEST Fellowship for After School Leaders is designed to provide a shadowing experience for executive leaders of current and newly developing after school programs in Southern California. Sponsored by the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, this unique endeavor will allow visiting fellows the opportunity to witness and engage with LA's BEST leadership staff as they work to continue to provide a safe and supervised after school education, enrichment and recreation program for elementary school-aged children in the City of Los Angeles. Fellows stand to learn from 18 years of LA's BEST successfully executing what has proven to be one of the most effective public-private partnerships in the country.
Fellows will have access to the best thinking LA’s BEST has to offer around such topics as: Executive & Operational Leadership; School District Relations; Education & Program Structure; Effective Communications & Public Relations; Fund Development; Staff Development; Evaluation; Creating Supportive Technology Systems; Volunteer Management, and Managing Finances.
The Project
Organizations will be recommended for participation in the LA’s BEST Fellowship for After School Leaders through the Packard Foundation and the Los Angeles County of Education. Groups of three-to-five fellows will spend three consecutive days visiting LA’s BEST offices and sites. LA’s BEST will host three cohorts of fellows each year of the project.
A detailed, web-based intake survey has been established to assist visiting organizations in clarifying their focus and goals for participation. Based on the fellow’s identified focus and goals, an LA’s BEST leadership team member will be selected to serve as a host to each individual fellow. The LA’s BEST host will craft a tailored schedule to meet the desired learning of each fellow and will serve as a primary point person for the fellow’s engagement.
Having an opportunity to shadow and make inquiry of their identified host will serve as the basis of a fellow visit. However, fellows will also have the opportunity to meet with other corporate and programmatic lead staff to garner a more global perspective of the organizational structure and design.
LA’s BEST hosts will be available to respond to reasonable requests for follow-up support within three months of each fellowship cohort visit.
Evaluation
Evaluation activities will be designed to (1) support the implementation of the program, (2) provide formative information for LA’s BEST, and (3) provide summative information for the Packard Foundation. Evaluation-related activities will be integrated into each phase of the program. The primary sources of data will be collected from fellows and hosts at the end of the on-site phase and fellows and their supervisors at the end of the technical assistance phase.
Preliminary Phase
Data will be collected during the preliminary phase to support the identification and refinement of a fellow’s goals for the on-site portion of the fellowship. The first step will be completing an intake form, which will include the fellow’s experience, interests, and goals for the fellowship. After receipt of the completed form, an LA’s BEST contact person (initially the President/CEO) will speak with the fellow to identify the most important and appropriate goals for the fellow’s time on site. These goals will be forwarded to the fellow’s host and other program planners.
On-Site Phase
At the end of each day, participants will engage in a discussion/reflection session of 30 to 60 minutes. Facilitated by an LA’s BEST staff member who is not a host for this cohort of fellows, this discussion will address the fellows’ experiences and learning of the day, plans to use what they learned, and expectations that were not met on that day (which the fellows hope will be met on the next day). After each discussion session, fellows will receive questions they can use for individual reflection/journaling. These discussion and journaling activities are designed to promote reflective participation in the on-site phase and prepare the fellows for the discussion/reflection session on the third day.
The group discussion/reflection session at the end of the third and final on-site day will be a focus group to collect evaluation data. The prompts will be designed to address four areas: (1) goal-related learning, (2) intentions and plans to use their learning upon returning to their own organizations, (3) learning of LA’s BEST’s distinctive philosophy and practices, and (4) suggestions for improving the fellowship program. Focus groups will be facilitated by an LA’s BEST evaluation department staff member or another qualified staff member.
Each fellow’s host will complete two forms at the close on the on-site phase. The first form will be a brief log of the fellows’ activities while visiting LA’s BEST. The second form will be a brief questionnaire measuring the host’s perceptions of (1) the fellows’ learning while on-site, (2) the participant-host relationship, and (3) suggestions for improving the program.
Dates
| Cohort I | May 14 - 16, 2007 |
| Cohort II | June 12 -14, 2007 |
| Cohort III | August 21 - 23, 2007 |
| Alternate | October 16-18, 2007 |
LA's BEST was pleased to be selected by World Hunger Year (WHY) as the most worthy after school program for which to create a replication manual. ĘThrough the efforts of two VISTA volunteers who worked throughout 1997-98, the LA's BEST Replication Manual was created. The program and manual were presented January 13, 1999 by WHY and the USDA in Washington D.C. as part of a day-long workshop called "Innovative Solutions To End Hunger Through Self Reliance: The Replication of Model Programs." Rather than a true replication model, LA's BEST sees its programs as a model for incubation — assuring that the vibrancy of what makes it distinctive comes from local adaptation.
