Mapping Afterschool

The past several months, we've been working on a research and mapping project to finally get all the afterschool programs in Vermont identified and listed in a single database. We've used several different sources to identify programs, including: (1) all licensed school age care programs listed in the Bright Futures Information System; (2) Vermont Department of Education's current 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21C) programs; (3) information on nationally-affiliated programs such as the YMCA and the Boys & Girls Clubs; (4) information on teen centers from the VT Coalition of Teen Centers; and (5) a program-based survey developed by the Vermont Center for Afterschool Excellence.

Recognizing that our work on this is not yet complete, at this point in our research we have located...

• 383 afterschool programs (Click HERE to view an overall program map)
• 238 licensed school age care afterschool programs (see map),
• 132 program sites associated with 21C (see map),
• 43 Teen Center sites (see map),
• 22 sites run by Boys & Girls Clubs, and
• 15 sites run by a YMCA (see map).

We expect that we are still missing some afterschool programs and hope that as people learn more about the project and see the associated maps we'll hear from you about other sites that we should include and/or corrections that should be made. (For instance, we think we are missing a number of YMCA sites in Franklin County and are looking for confirmation on this and where they are.) As you review the maps and data, we hope you will be in touch and help us build an accurate picture of Vermont Afterschool.

The first step in this project has been simply to identify what programs exist in Vermont (basically a counting exercise). It sounds simple, but just knowing these numbers is incredibly important in being able to talk about the field and the extent of programs. As we strive to strengthen our common voice and vision for afterschool, it is critical to know who is working in afterschool, what programs are offered, and how many children and youth they are serving. Last year when we held our Vermont Afterschool Legislative Day we didn't have a comprehensive count of programs; this year we will.

The second step in the project has been to map program locations in a Geographic Information System (GIS). This allows us to look not only at who is out there but to also take into account where they are (both their absolute and relative location). We can use the GIS to analyze where programs are located with respect to schools (see map) or other entities. We can also look at relations between programs. For instance, finding the locations of all afterschool programs that are licensed and receive 21C funding (see map).

Our next step in the project will be to use the results of our program survey to look at program capacity and to begin to identify gaps in service and funding.

We'd love to hear you ideas about what else you would like would like to know and where we should take this project next. Post a comment or send an email!