Afterschool Enrichment: A Don’t-Forget List for Volunteers

Tip #1: Have Clear Goals & Objectives

It's essential to set clear goals and objectives for each afterschool enrichment program. This will help you stay focused and ensure that your efforts are aligned with your organization's mission. After all, it’s easy to get off track with an exciting new idea or provider.

Setting goals and objectives, especially on a timeline, helps you spend your volunteers’ time in an effective manner. It also helps you gauge the progress and success of an enrichment program over time.

Having a clear ‘why’ is helpful when you’re tackling a variety of objectives. These include:

• Expanding your reach to serve more families
• Attracting new families to your school
• Offering daily programming
• Shifting toward hyper-local providers
• Raising money for the PTA

Tip #2: Get Feedback

One of the best ways to improve your afterschool enrichment program is by getting feedback from students, parents, and teachers. You can conduct surveys or focus groups to gather feedback on your program's effectiveness and use this feedback to make improvements. Some PTA volunteers also opt to send out the results of the surveys and break down how they plan to implement changes based on the feedback.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Getting feedback can offer even greater advantages for PTA volunteers, such as:

• Evaluating the level of interest among parents and students for possible new enrichment subjects
• Receiving recommendations on new providers
• Learning about technology that can improve operations (more on this below)
  

Tip #3: Recruit Volunteers Effectively (& Creatively)

Recruiting PTA volunteers can be challenging, but there are some strategies that make the process more manageable. First, keep it simple by describing each position that needs to be filled. You can assign memorable and quirky job titles to keep things from feeling too much like work. Another pro tip is to provide photos that add more context (and excitement) to the position.

PTA volunteers should also set aside time and resources to provide necessary training. Some volunteers may also be available for a limited period of time, so also be sure to cover how long they must commit to afterschool programs.

If you’re looking for a few imaginative names for different positions, we’ve got a few great ones in mind from PTO Today, including:

• Treasurer, aka Number Cruncher
• Volunteer Coordinator, aka Social Networker
• Vice President, aka Partner In Crime
• Secretary, aka Fact Finder

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Tip #4: Use Technology

Technology is a powerful tool that can help simplify and improve operations for your afterschool enrichment program. And for PTA volunteers, simplifying the management of programs is extremely important.

There are many types of software and online tools that can help you manage volunteers, communicate with parents and teachers, and track program activities. If these are pain points for your program, consider investing in technology that can make your program more efficient. Not only will it free up your time, but it will also simplify afterschool programming for parents, too.

Some of the most important tasks that enrichment software can handle are:

• Payment processing
• Attendance tracking
• Communication with parents
• Scheduling for students and providers
• Coordination with volunteers

Tip #5: Partner with Local Businesses

Partnering with local businesses can be an excellent way to expand your afterschool program's resources and reach. Local businesses (including those that don’t offer traditional afterschool enrichment activities) may be willing to donate supplies or sponsor specific program activities. Think of them as an alternative to the traditional provider or donator.

Along with providing aid, partnering with local businesses can also help you build relationships within your community and raise awareness about your program. And did you know that these types of businesses and charities often offer afterschool enrichment activities and/or donate supplies?

• Wildlife and ecological reserves
• Family-owned farms

Tip #6: Celebrate Your Success

Above, we discussed the importance of setting clear goals, which can help measure an enrichment program’s success later down the line. But this process is a bit more involved than measuring the results at the end of a program.

Along with evaluating programs after they finish, many PTA volunteers find it helpful to evaluate them on a regular basis. First, this will help you identify areas for improvement. Second, it will remind you to celebrate and highlight successful moments from each afterschool program. Parents and students, in particular, will appreciate this type of care and thoughtfulness.

If you’re wondering how you can measure your success, use these metrics:

• Student participation rates
• Student and family feedback

One Final Note on Enrichment Software…

By following these tips and utilizing these resources, you can ensure that your afterschool enrichment program is successful and meets the needs of your students, parents, and teachers. Most tips focus on best practices for PTO and PTA volunteers.

But it’s worth revisiting one of the most impactful points on this list: technology and, specifically, enrichment software.  Keep a lookout for enrichment software that comes with industry expertise and is multifaceted. Homeroom, for example, includes features for providers, organizers, and parents, along with a team of professionals who have years of experience in afterschool programming.