Strategies: Out-of-School Time

Integrating Out-of-School Time Across the WSCC Framework

Out of school time (OST) program leaders and staff are natural partners for extending the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) framework beyond the school day. Here are some evidence-based strategies and promising practices for using the WSCC approach to strengthen OST settings on school campuses and support student health and academic achievement.

Physical Environment

• Provide access to safe drinking water across the school building or campus before and after school.
• Set up agreements that allow schools and out of school time programs to share space—for example, shared access to classrooms, gyms, and playgrounds; space for food storage and prep; and use and maintenance of school gardens.
• Use posters, pictures, books, etc. that promote positive messages about nutritious foods and physical activity in OST.

Social and Emotional Climate

• Ensure that food and physical activity are not used rewards or punishments.
• Foster social emotional learning by integrating positive youth development principles during program planning—for example, focusing on strengths and positive outcomes.

Counseling, Psychological, and Social Services

• Recognize the role that staff can play in connecting students and their families with services in the school or community.

Health Services

• Promote communication between school staff and OST providers to help manage the needs of students with chronic health conditions such as food allergies, diabetes, and asthma.

Nutrition Environment and Services

• Use policies and practices that ensure that students have access to healthy foods and beverages in OST programs and during the summer.

• Coordinate with school food services departments to sponsor programs to provide nutritionally balanced, low-cost, or free meals and snacks throughout the calendar year.

Physical Education and Physical Activity

• Make sure before and after school programs are a part of the Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program framework.
• Provide opportunities for students to be physically active before and after school—for example, through intramural sports, walking clubs, and active transportation to and from school.
• Integrate physical activity into after-school and summer programs that operate on school grounds.

Health Education

• Invite qualified personnel, such as Certified Health Education teachers, to provide nutrition education in after-school programs.

Community Involvement

• Invite qualified members of the community, such as university extension staff, to provide training and professional development or lead specific activities.
• Involve staff members from OST programs, both school- and community-based, in school initiatives that address healthy eating, such as school wellness teams or wellness committees.

Family Engagement

• Provide opportunities for parents to learn about healthy eating or to practice being active with their children.
• Design family event nights that include physical activity and healthy eating, such as brief "Stay and Play" activities.

Employee Wellness

• Encourage OST staff to model healthy eating and physical activity behaviors.
• Provide OST staff with opportunities to learn about physical activity, nutrition, and healthy lifestyle behaviors.