Dear Parent or Guardian,
Your student’s after-school or summer program
is part of a citywide project. The project aims to understand the quality of
after-school and summer programs in Greater Boston, and how programs can help
students grow their skills. Below, you will find more information about the
project, which starts in May 2024 and ends in July 2025. Please let us know if
your student will participate by checking off ONE box at the bottom and signing
this form. Thank you!
What does this project need
from my student to understand after-school and summer program quality?
a)
Your student’s information, such as: program attendance, school name,
race, gender, grade, age/date of birth, English learner (EL) status, special
needs code, home zip code, State Assigned Student Identifier (SASID), and BPS
ID. You don’t need to have all of this information. With your permission, this program
or the Boston Public Schools (BPS) will provide it.
b)
Your student’s opinion on their experience in this program. This
program will use one or more of these short surveys:
×
Survey of Academic and Youth Outcomes (SAYO-Y): Asks about program
experience and future plans.
×
Holistic Student Assessment (HSA): Asks questions to understand their
social and emotional strengths and needs.
×
Common Instrument (CI): Asks about interest in science, technology,
engineering, and math.
Will this information be
private?
Yes. All of this data is
private and is only used to improve after-school and summer programs. The data
is only shared with organizations working on the citywide project: Boston After
School & Beyond, BPS, the National Institute on Out-of-School Time
(creators of the SAYO-Y), and PEAR Inc. (creators of the HSA and CI). These
organizations will not publish anything that includes your student’s name. All
information is reported in groups (for example, all 6th grade
students who attended summer programs). PEAR Inc. reserves the right to use all
HSA and CI data for both research and educational purposes.
Other after-school and
summer programs in this project may review your student’s information to
confirm whether your student is enrolled in their program. However, these
programs will not be able to review your student’s survey responses about their
experience at this program.
What else would this project
need from my student?
If you agree, Boston After School &
Beyond (or their partners/agents) may film or take photos of your student
before, during, or after the program. These images may be used to share your
student’s participation and perspective to a public audience. These images may
be published, posted, or played through a variety of communication channels
(for example, television or online).