The Missouri Afterschool Network provides training, technical assistance, data collection, and evaluation services to DESE funded 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) and School Age Community (SAC) grantees.
Missouri Afterschool Resource Center (MOARC)
The Missouri Afterschool Resource Center, funded by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), provides training, technical assistance, and resources to DESE funded 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) and School Age Community (SAC) grantees. All 21st CCLC and SAC grantees are assigned an Afterschool Regional Educator (ARE) who provides onsite and virtual coaching, training, and technical assistance.
Data and Evaluation Support
The data and evaluation team supports a variety of data collection efforts along with coordinating the statewide and local external evaluation process for 21st CCLC grantees. Specific tools include Kids Care Center (KCC), Youth Program Quality (PQA), DESSA, annual surveys, additional verification documentation, statewide evaluation, certification of local external evaluators, and the Guided Reflection process. Find the MADS Recorded training playlist.
Grantee Blueprint
The MASN team has attempted to put all training, technical assistance, data collection and evaluation information in one document – the 2025-26 Afterschool Grantee Blueprint. If you have a copy of the 2023-24 blueprint, this document is a supplement that documents all changes between the 2023 and current blueprint. If you have ideas for additional information to add to the Grantee Blueprint, please let us know.
You’ve asked… we’ve tried! The attempts to put all training, technical assistance, data collection, and evaluation dates in one place. We’ve even tried to add the DESE fiscal and monitoring dates to the list too.
Want to see it graphically? Check out the 2025-26 Grantee-Timeline to see how the training, technical assistance, data collection and evaluation flow over the grant year.
Evaluation Rubric
The Evaluation Rubric is a flexible framework to help determine a program’s achievement of the goals and objectives laid out in the Grantee Blueprint. It does this by allowing programs that struggle with one objective to demonstrate excellence in another related area and still score well on a given goal.
Rubric Verification Instructions
The Rubric Verification Instructions document can be used to help clarify what needs to be submitted for the additional verification documentation at the end of each school year.
Best Practices
Staffing/HR
An afterschool program with four sites has a brief weekly meeting with each site at the end of the afterschool program. While these meetings are held in-person, the director records one of the sessions and posts it in case there are staff members who can’t be present, such as bus drivers and staff that do not work onsite the day of their meeting. Tip: Consider rotating the schedule so that over a four week period each site has their weekly meeting on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to engage all staff.
Conflict Resolution
An assistant site director at an afterschool program demonstrated outstanding conflict resolution facilitation for two different playground situations by 1) remaining calm, 2) being empathetic but firm, and 3) empowering the youth to solve their own problems. They really had this process down pat! At the end of the daily operations, the assistant site director discussed what happened and how they handled it with the other staff. This cross-communication was outstanding! Sort of a just in time training opportunity for the site staff!
Arts
Several sites have brought in innovative art partners that have provided their services at low or no cost to the program. Consider reaching out to Clay Guilds or pottery studios. Facilitators can bring materials to the program, take them back to be fired, and bring them back when complete. Some communities also have creative arts councils with the mission of increasing access to the arts. These organizations offer students enriching opportunities in dance, digital media, literary arts, theatre, music, and visual arts. Youth are not only exposed to a variety of artistic disciplines, but are also encouraged to explore creative expression, develop artistic skills, and engage in new ways of thinking.
Family and Child Engagement Events
Consider hosting a Big Wheels event – not the trikes to ride, but the trucks that keep the community moving! Youth of all ages can benefit from the opportunity to learn about careers with the fire, police, ambulance, and highway departments, along with power companies, trucking services, and area farmers. Big Wheels events strengthen community involvement, parent engagement, and partnerships for the 21st CCLC program.
Education for Adult Family Members
An afterschool program hosted a practical workshop to walk through how to write a clear, professional resume and highlight strengths. Participants learned interview tips and explored local employment resources.
or some other area such as cyber-bullying, intro to Excel, etc. Nutrition is boring on it’s own.
SEL
An afterschool program has hired an SEL specialist for each site. The specialist at each site pulls students individually to have some one on one conversation with them about social and emotional topics. The students are not necessarily students who are struggling. Sometimes the conversation is just a check in.
Older Youth
An afterschool program with both elementary and high school sites used A+ students from the high school to support the social development of younger elementary students. The younger students responded well to an older peer presenting a brief SEL lesson. The A+ program is a great opportunity to train high school students to present content specific enrichment to younger students.