When the goal is to maximize the benefit K-12 students receive from after-school programs, Spending hours on complicated or monotonous administrative tasks to ensure an after school program satisfies reporting requirements and gets the funding it needs can be daunting, distracting, and at times, disheartening. These efforts take time and resource away from the more critical goal of maximizing the actual benefit students receive from after school programs.

No two program goals or requirements are exactly alike and there’s a lot to consider when selecting the right after-school program management software. Whether the software will be used by a grant manager, evaluator, or individual program staff, it pays to examine the software capabilities that will be critical to success.

Align data with 21APR and government requirements

The 21st Century Community Learning Center (21CCLC) Grants are important funding sources — but they are not guaranteed to be renewed. Therefore, accurate, comprehensive reports and program adaptations are critical to program continuity. There are plenty of viable software options to help programs keep data-driven records of clients, incomes, and expenditures, but few place an emphasis on the specific 21st Century Annual Performance Report (21APR) requirements.

Engage a solution, such as AfterSchool21, designed to mirror the Federal Reporting structure of 21APR, which keeps U.S. Department of Education reporting requirements as the focus for simplified administration, reporting, funding source management, and data collection. This can be invaluable when it comes time to apply for a 21CCLC grant. Since legislation, funding availability, and program requirements can change, it’s important for an after-school reporting management solution to keep up with these changes as they happen.

Turn data into actionable insights

After-school program software should do more than just acquire and compile data. It should also offer insights. Good software allows programs to input federally required data — such as student attendance, activities, and grades — which can indicate meaningful program trends, including enrollment, program effectiveness, and student improvements. AfterSchool21 is equipped to automatically aggregate program data to produce required APR reports quickly and accurately at the grantee level.

Not only will positive trends bode well for future funding, but program managers and staff can also identify which programs are most beneficial and which activities best pique student interest. Conversely, the software should help users identify areas that may be in need of improvement. They can then adapt the programs to yield higher success outcomes and foster continual improvement.

Maximize ROI

When it comes to distributing resources across programs, allocating funds is only a small piece of the equation. Finding data-tracking software that can pull in critical data from district or state student information systems — accurate student ID, address information, demographic data, and more — is vital to help streamline the registration process and maximize the return on any investments. Software with quick-entry features allow test scores and grades to be automatically or manually uploaded, with functionality to track activities, attendance, participation dates, actual in/out times, and more.

With functionality designed specifically for program and relevant legislation requirements, staff members will save time on data management. Program managers may be able to reallocate that time so that staff can work more with students. Additionally, program administration can identify strategic adjustments that will benefit students in a more tangible way, such as offering new programs around activities that have high attendance rates, or investing in materials to grow the most helpful offerings.

AfterSchool 21

Cayen Systems has spent over two decades supporting State Department of Education program evaluators, grant managers, and individual after-school programs. We’ve worked to get inside the process, building software to manage after-school program data, track student and program progress, and centralize reporting. The 21CCLC data management and 21APR preparation software is designed to manage after-school program data and reporting. Therefore, programs can identify their most successful efforts, easily build reports that highlight goals, and target opportunities for improvement. Learn more about our AfterSchool 21 software, where users can leverage the best features in the industry to set up their programs for long-term success: