Out-of-School Enrichment

Increasing access to supervised activities

Out-of-School Time: Following the 80-20 Rule

Kids spend less than 20% of their time in school. It’s the other 80% — the out-of-school time — that Thrive volunteers worry about.

Many parents can afford to fill their children’s after-school and summer hours with activities that increase academic achievement and social-emotional development.

The world is not as kind for children growing up in less-advantaged families. They suffer from an opportunity gap that’s the result of a double whammy. Not only do their parents struggle to provide them with the most basic of human necessities, they often live in underserved neighborhoods — places where the nearest youth program, library, or community center is miles from home.

Working to Fill the Gaps

The result is an opportunity gap. It’s why Thrive facilitates collaborative groups that are committed to finding ways to bring enriching activities to the kids who need the most support. Age is a big service delivery factor, so Thrive’s collaboratives are looking for new solutions for out-of-school-time issues from that angle.

• Elementary School. The Kid Link Initiative is a demonstration for grades K-5 currently modeling a successful Tuesday activity night for families in two elementary school attendance areas. Based on this collaborative model, the Sioux Falls School District is working with local non-profit program providers to develop a low-cost five-day/week after-school program that will eventually be replicated across the city.
• Middle School. Collaboration among several nonprofits, city parks, community stakeholders, and school administrators produced the YMCA After-School Program Enhancement Task Team. Enhancements kicked in at the downtown Community Youth Center, and three middle schools. Early outcomes showed, the after-school programs at those schools grew from less than 40 students per day to over 300.
• High School. Thrive volunteers were amazed to discover how many programs in Sioux Falls serve these age groups, which may be at the greatest risk of falling into activities dangerous to themselves or others. Thrive’s Youth Development Collaborative is building a network of youth-serving agencies to create an ongoing outreach strategy that engages disconnected youth in purposeful activities.

Addressing Workforce Development and the Childcare Crisis

• Sub Me In. This pilot program is developing a temporary employment pool for childcare workers under a Bush Foundation grant. Members of the Sioux Falls Childcare Collaborative oversee this program as the Community Innovation Stakeholder Group.

• Sioux Falls Childcare Collaborative. This group of government and nonprofit leaders originally formed to address providers’ funding and workforce issues. Since 2020, membership has grown exponentially and the collaborative has focused on the myriad of issues causing the current childcare crisis.