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Danville partners with regional foundation on OST Leadership Lab to expand after-school quality
Summary
The Danville Regional Foundation and district staff described an out-of-school-time leadership lab that trains local program leaders, produces observation tools and a playbook, and led to increased Saturday school, after-school tutoring and a planned English-learner summer program.
Suzanne Bale of the Danville Regional Foundation told the school board on March 19 that the Out-of-School-Time (OST) Leadership Lab is a multimonth, cohort-based program designed to strengthen the quality of after-school and summer programs across the Dan River region.
"Quality improves when leaders have the tools to observe, assess, and strengthen their programs," Bale said, describing the program's co-creation with the Smarter Learning Group and an advisory committee assembled after a 2023 request for proposals.
District participants Katia Green and Sher Hicks described practical outcomes from cohort learning: an observation rubric for site visits, a short playbook of best practices for administrators, expanded Saturday-school and after-school tutoring options, new partnerships (for example with the YMCA) and planning for the division's first English-learner summer program integrating WIDA-aligned instruction with enrichment activities such as robotics.
Board members pressed program leaders on selection criteria, cohort size and barriers like transportation. Bale said the advisory committee used a rubric and consensus to select cohort members and that cost and the need for relationship-building limit cohort size (the committee had budgeted roughly 15; the second cohort exceeded that). District staff said Title I and local funds had been used to provide transportation for some OST offerings and that transportation remains a priority to scale access.
The presenters said OST participants have used observation data to refine staffing ratios, identify materials needs and link after-school offerings to classroom learning. The foundation and district characterized the leadership lab as an "ecosystem" investment to improve student attendance, behavior and academic outcomes by strengthening program quality.
The board did not take formal action on the OST update; presenters said the work is ongoing and partnerships and funding will guide next steps.
