Activities

In order to establish a legitimate “voice” for the over 4,000 California schools receiving state and/or federal after school funding, for the purposes of informing policies and influencing administrative decisions affecting the after school field, the following goals shall be met during the first year of the project:

1. Convene and Coordinate LCAP Membership – Targeting the fifty largest state and/or federally subsidized after school providers in California, LCAP will secure commitments of participation from Local Education Agencies (LEAs) representing the majority (at least 51%) of all funded schools in the state through five initial convening meetings to be held regionally during the month of November, 2007. These meetings will serve to broadly identify areas of special interest and logistical concerns in the delivery of after school programs.

2. Governance Structure – An Executive Director and support staff will be hired in October, 2007, to coordinate the project. Participating LEAs will designate representatives to serve in the League. A Board of Directors, comprised of a designee from each of the five regional clusters elected by the general membership, and two at-large selections, will be convened in January and meet bi-monthly to give direction to project staff. This Committee, with the fiscal agent (LA’s BEST) and Executive Director serving as ex-officio members, will draft and submit by-laws for the approval of the general membership by January, 2008.

3. Create and Refine Policy Agenda – Two additional meetings will be held in the first year to refine the League’s policy agenda, and establish peer-level technical assistance systems by identifying specific assets and needs among the membership. The first meeting will be held in late January, 2008, and the second will be held in conjunction with the annual After School Leadership Conference in early May, 2008. Through these meetings, the League will prioritize a short list of action items to be addressed with the California Department of Education (CDE), and will connect experienced mentors with new grantees, according to areas of need. No grant funds will be used for lobbying.

4. Communications Systems – LCAP will create and maintain an electronic newsletter that will be posted monthly beginning in January, 2008, which will be sent directly to LCAP members via email and distributed widely through links with other statewide listservs. In addition, LCAP will distribute regular alerts to members regarding items of note, and will establish on-line survey tools to quickly gain consensus among its membership on policy issues or other required decisions.

5. Leveraged Resources – During the first year of the project, LCAP will garner matching funding equal to at least 33% of the combined Haas Jr. and Packard Foundations investment.