After-school and out-of-school-time (OST) programs offer more than just childcare. Research consistently finds that they promote social skills, bolster students’ connection to school, increase school attendance, improve grades and academic achievement, and reduce problem behaviors. Better data enables these programs to improve student outcomes by focusing on services that offer the most value to participants. Many after-school programs rely on the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC) program to fund their services. The grants this program funds require annual reporting that includes data on attendance, outcomes, academic achievement, participant demographics, and more. Use the easiest to use and most cost effective 21APR reporting software to meet federal grant requirements.

Common Challenges with Manual Data Submission

When after-school programs rely on manual data submission, they expend significant resources on a less efficient and potentially inaccurate reporting process. Human errors are inevitable, as are issues with version control of spreadsheets, data tracking, compilation, and submission. Manual submission creates needless job redundancy, whereby one person collects and sends the same data set to another person, who then enters it into a spreadsheet. It’s challenging to pull out aggregated data after it has been manually entered, which creates difficulties for programs as they try to evaluate effectiveness. Moreover, manually collecting data and merging spreadsheets takes program directors away from other duties, potentially undermining the after-school program’s quality and wasting limited resources. If you face an audit, you’ll need to prove that your aggregated data is valid, necessitating time-consuming additional labor. 

Serious reporting errors can wreak havoc on a program. Programs that consistently provide inaccurate or incomplete data may be denied future 21CCLC funding. 

Watch our webinar to learn more about how to use spreadsheets to calculate 21CCLC data. 

Addressing Challenges with Data Management Technology

AfterSchool21 has the most experience of any software system in transferring mandated reporting data to the 21APR online system. By the end of the 2019-2020 reporting window on February 15, 2021, AfterSchool21 will have successfully uploaded 21 data submissions for five state departments of education, eliminating the need for manual, and potentially error-prone, data entry.  

The benefits of AfterSchool21 include: 

• Saving time and resources by reducing manual work. When administrators spend less time on data entry, they can apply for more grants, develop new strategies to support students, and make their programs more effective. Programs may even be able to reduce their human power requirements, saving valuable resources. 
• Decreasing the risk of data management errors. Reduce or eliminate redundancies and errors that inevitably occur when merging spreadsheets and manually entering data. AfterSchool21 automatically calculates all 21APR numbers for greater accuracy and less risk and includes data validation calculators that flag potentially inaccurate and missing data.
• Accessing better program data to inform decisions. Data reporting is not just a bureaucratic checkbox. It can inform program decisions, empowering leaders to better serve students by reporting the impact a program has on student growth. Tracking each center’s overall performance according to various outcome measures; and creating feedback loops to identify program improvements areas. AfterSchool21 contains hundreds of out-of-the-box reports for 21APR and program reporting alike, allowing administrators to make data-driven decisions to impact programming.
• Increased likelihood of receiving future funding. Fewer errors mean a reduced risk of losing grant money. Higher-quality data may even help programs apply for new grants. 
• Providing better services to program participants. After-school programs exist to serve their communities and improve student outcomes. The right data helps program administrators grow their offerings and strengthen failing programs. 

AfterSchool21 

A data management solution designed for out-of-school-time programs such as AfterSchool21 eases program directors’ reporting burden, giving them valuable time to focus on helping program participants thrive in school and beyond. AfterSchool21 is the first commercially available software system to eliminate the need for manual transfer of after-school program data into 21APR. This all-in-one solution boasts the following features: 

• Quick and easy report generation with sections aligned to each section of 21APR requirements 
• Evaluation support so grant managers can associate 21CCLC grants and other funding sources to community partners and staff 
• Securely stored student information with demographic and program site data
• Virtual session support 
• Leading data-security practices, including a 100% US-based development team who is trained and certified in data security

Whether an after-school program is ready to make a switch or is curious about how AfterSchool21 can help them reach program goals while making reporting requirements less onerous, the AfterSchool21 team is here to help. Schedule a demo!