After-school program directors use grants to fund many aspects of after-school and out-of-school-time programs (OST), from paying staff to planning recreational activities for students. Some directors also use grants to realize operational efficiencies and identify opportunities for improvement by investing in technology upgrades.
After-school program grants are available at the federal, state, and local levels from both public and private sources. Different grantmakers have different requirements and guidelines regarding how after-school programs use allocated funds. For example, Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) grantees typically have to receive state approval for technology purchases, though this varies by state.
While keeping grantmakers' requirements in mind, program directors can use a number of technology upgrades to enhance the services they offer. Here’s how:
Upgrading technology for an after-school program typically results in making digital communications easier on parents and family members. Examples of common technology upgrades for after-school programs include:
Mobile attendance tracking
Mobile attendance tracking makes daily OST program operations and administrative tasks like reporting more accurate and efficient. In day-to-day operations, staff members are able to collect fast, accurate attendance rates in alignment with federal attendance report requirements. During annual 21APR reporting sessions, manual data transmission errors are subsequently reduced, increasing the overall accuracy of participation in the federal report and improving the likelihood of receiving future funding.
Online enrollment and payment collection
Online enrollment and payment collection help to increase the number of on-time payments to better sustain after-school and OST programs, and reduce the use of paper forms and cash associated with traditional processes. While online enrollment and fee collection is a convenient way for parents to submit fee payments, administrators must exercise caution over the types of fees that are collected to ensure compliance with federal and state requirements for 21st CCLC programs.
Data management and reporting
Data management and reporting technology eliminates inefficient, manual data collection processes, which centralizes data and enables program directors to meet or exceed record-keeping requirements. When all data is in one secure, centralized location, OST program directors are better equipped to analyze data and track program performance, as well as progress toward meeting programmatic and participant outcome goals. Doing so also proves beneficial when it’s time to submit data to meet federal 21st CCLC Annual Performance Report (21APR) requirements.
The examples outlined above are just a few of the ways after-school program directors can use grants to make invaluable technological upgrades. A data management solution like AfterSchool21 can provide much-needed support for after-school and out-of-school-time programs, particularly when it comes to meeting 21APR data collection and reporting requirements.
AfterSchool21 is the first software to offer direct data transfer to the 21APR for data verification and submission, simplifying workflows and empowering program directors to analyze their effectiveness with ease. Thousands of after-school programs rely on AfterSchool21 to assist with:
Technology upgrades allow after-school program directors to drive operational efficiencies and utilize data to identify opportunities for improvement. Schedule a demo for a firsthand look at how AfterSchool21 increases the effectiveness of after-school programs and helps with confidently completing reporting requirements.