Guiding Principles for Effective Technical Assistance

Technical Assistance (TA) is a primary resource for after school and summer staff for both professional development and program enhancement. TA means ongoing support services driven by the needs of the field to create effective and quality before and after school programs that include, but are not limited to (1) Increasing access to local, regional, state and national resources; and (2) Building capacity to start up, develop, implement and sustain programming. In order to utilize resources effectively, ASAPConnect conducted a research review and consulted with field leaders to identify the following key guiding principles for effective TA delivery.

Effective Technical Assistance should:

Be Driven by Program Outcomes

• Select outcome indicators based on goals of the program.
• Conduct evaluation of services using a multi-level evaluation model.
• Continuously review progress to further enhance and refine TA activities.

Be Locally Determined

• Partner with programs to conduct ongoing needs assessments.
• Set goals based on local needs, recognizing the unique needs/assets of each community.

Promote the Transfer of Learning

• Design professional development that involves both acquisition of skills and knowledge as well as transfer strategies to support implementation and improve performance on the job.
• Include establishing organizational supports and systems to support trainees in applying skills and knowledge.

Focus on Developing Leadership

• Develop leadership of those who are most likely to stay in the field to build their professional identity, skills and ability to function as coaches and mentors.
• Develop leadership of those who have been promoted and may have strengths in working with youth but have not yet been managers, leaders or coaches.
• Focus on strengthening leadership skills, relational skills and collaborative skills is an identified characteristic of promising programs.

Promote Alignment with the School Day

• Promote strong connection to the learning objectives of the school day.
• Promote ongoing collaboration with core instructional day teaching staff and principals.
• Promote in-service staff training utilizing core instructional day teaching staff in areas related to behavior guidance, school safety, teaching strategies for ELL students, math & literacy tutoring assistance, etc.

Be Inclusive

• Promote values and practices that demonstrate openness, respect, collaboration and appreciation for different points of view at the individual, group and organizational levels.
• Actively include others in collaboration and co-creation processes to maximize individual and collective contributions.