Youth PQA. Form B Organization Items Interview Questions

Transcription

1 Youth PQA Washington 21 st Century Community Learning Centers Form B Organization Items Interview Questions Organization name: Site/ Program name: Date of Interview: DIRECTIONS This questionnaire is intended to help prepare you for an organizational interview, which is part of the Youth Program Quality Assessment (PQA). Fill in the questionnaire. Spend no more than an hour filling out the information; the rest can be covered during the interview. Consult documentation as needed. Research Foundation 1

2 DOCUMENT REVIEW The accompanying list of documents suggests materials that may help you complete some of the questions. SCALE DOCUMENTS F Evidence of efforts to recognize achievements of youth H I Examples of youth attendance or sign-in sheets Organization chart or list that shows administrative structure, program divisions, and staff positions Resume or job description for youth program director Resumes or job descriptions for direct staff Training policies J Training schedule(s) or agenda(s) List of on-site and off-site professional development activities staff attended Staff meeting schedule, agenda(s) or minute(s) Annual report Strategic plan K Schedule or list of program offerings Sample evaluation forms Recent evaluation report M N O Youth recruitment materials (e.g., fliers, brochures, etc.) Written policy regarding staff to youth ratio Examples of written communication with families Examples of written communication with other organizations involved with youth Examples of written communication with schools Research Foundation 2

3 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Answer each question to the best of your ability. ITEM QUESTIONS V YOUTH CENTERED POLICIES AND PRACTICES A1 How do you determine the format and content of your program offerings? Are youth consulted? If so, how? What skill-building focus do program offerings, on average have? Please check one box per line. A2 Academic Cultural Service learning Life skills Career experience Recreation Major Focus Minor Focus No Focus What programmatic focus(es) are present across offerings? Please check one box per line. A3 Cognitive Physical Social Emotional Spiritual Civic Vocational Major Focus Minor Focus No Focus Who determines the set up for the physical environment? B1 Who determines the schedule and program offerings? B2 Research Foundation 3

4 Who leads program offerings for peers or younger youth? B3 Who reviews program quality and plans for improvement? C1 Who hires, trains and evaluates staff? C2 Who recruits other young people to join the organization? C3 Who does community outreach? C4 Who participates in program governance? Do youth participate? In what way? C5 VI SUPPORTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT D1 Are staff required to report learning goals for some of the activities? D2 Do activities connect to school curriculum or learning standards? Is there a homework time? Research Foundation 4

5 D3 Is there communication between the program and the teachers? How often? What is the nature of your communication? Does your program collaborate with school? In what way and how often? D4 E1 Are there any sort of written behavioral or social expectations for youth such as a code of conduct? E2 How do you tell staff to handle situations when youth share their personal concerns such as problems at school or at home? Do you tell staff to keep away from those concerns or do you have someone on staff that can help others to address issues as needed? Can you give examples of referrals that have been made to other community organizations? F1 Do you expect your youth to excel in their age group as compared to a larger (eg., citywide, statewide, or nationwide) peer group? If so, how? How do you support young people in taking steps to meet these high expectations? How do you recognize the achievements of youth in the program offerings? F2 G1 Are program staff members encouraged to develop one-on-one professional relationships with youth? If so, how is this done? How does the organization support staff to build relationships with individual youth? G2 Research Foundation 5

6 VII LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT H1 What are your staff-to-youth ratios? What is the age range of the children in your program? H2 What are your staff-to-youth ratios? What is the age range of the youth in your program? H3 Are all staff present in the program space during sessions? Are there times when staff must leave the program space during sessions? How many of your current staff have been with the program for the entire program cycle? H4 I1 What experience and education does the administrator who supervises your youth program director have? I2 Does the youth program director have a degree? If so, what kind of degree and in what field? How many years of relevant experience does the youth program director have? I3 How many staff have youth development education or training? I4 Research Foundation 6

7 How many of the staff have 2 or more years of previous experience working with youth? I5 What sort of orientation do you provide or require for new employees? J1 J2 Beyond new employee orientation, do you offer in-house professional development opportunities for staff? J3 Beyond new employee orientation, do you offer off-site professional development opportunities for staff? J4 What sort of group-planning process does staff take part in before or at the start of a program cycle? J5 How often do staff members from different program offerings meet as a group during the program cycle? J6 Do you offer any training or mentoring focused on working with diverse populations? What kind and how often? How do staff receive feedback on their performance? J7 Research Foundation 7

8 How do you measure youth outcomes? K1 What kinds of things do you do to look at program practices and quality? K2 K3 How do you work to improve your program? Is what you do based on youth outcomes, measurements, or processes? Do you ask youth for feedback about the program? If so, how? L1 How do you get feedback from parents? What do you do with this feedback? L2 L3 How does the administration communicate with past participants and for what purpose? Do you ask past participants for feedback about the program? VIII FAMILY AND COMMUNITY M1 How do you determine the program schedule in relation to youth availability? M2 Are there any barriers (i.e., transportation, distance, neighborhood safety issues) to young people attending the program? If so, how are you currently able to address them? How were these barriers determined? Research Foundation 8

9 M3 Are there cost barriers to youth attending the program? If so, how are you currently able to address them? How do you communicate with the families of youth in your program? How often? N1 What do staff typically talk about with families? N2 How does the organization help parents connect with their child s school learning? N3 N4 How does your organization try to make the program accessible to all youth and their families? O1 Does your organization communicate with other community organizations (e.g. Libraries, parks, other youth serving organizations)? In what way? O2 Does your organization communicate with other community organizations (e.g. Libraries, parks, other youth serving organizations)? In what way? O3 Do youth in your program have opportunities to participate in community service projects, civic engagement activities or service learning? How often? Research Foundation 9