The desire for high-quality out-of-school time programming in the Norris Homes Community Center presents an opportunity for a meaningful partnership between the Norris Community Residents Council, Inc. (NCRC) and Temple University’s College of Education (TUCOE). A collaborative approach was taken during the planning stages to ensure that the goals are community-driven and that the academic and social needs of Norris children are being met. Therefore, this program is a resident-led model for delivering out-of-school time (OST) education within the community center located at Norris Apartments. The overall goal of this project is to provide assistance to the residents of this community to operate afterschool and summer programs for the children in their neighborhood and ultimately transform this facility into an educational center for their entire community. The curriculum and activities of the afterschool program are academically enriching, project-based, culturally responsive, and aligned to the School District of Philadelphia’s (SDP) standards of academic achievement (e.g., Common Core, PSSA). The NCRC is contracted to provide educational programming, receive professional development on academic instruction and behavior management, and be responsible for the operational aspects of the program. Researchers from Temple University provide the curriculum, standards, and professional development of the NCRC staff to ensure the integrity of service delivery. Temple University is also responsible for program evaluation through data collection, analysis, and reporting. This collaboration requires a continued level of contextual understanding, responsiveness, transparency, joint-decision making, and sustainability efforts.
