The Beacon Middle School Initiative: Final Report on Implementation and Youth Experience

This last of three evaluations looks at a Wallace-supported effort to build up after-school programs for middle school students in New York City’s Beacon community centers. It identifies program traits that seem to boost the effort’s chances of success with young people, including giving youngsters a say in the activities offered.

The Beacon Community Centers were first developed in New York City in the early 1990s to serve as community resources in high-need neighborhoods. The Beacons, which are operated by community-based organizations, are located in selected public schools and serve youth and adults in the evenings, on weekends, over holidays, and during the summer. Cities throughout the country have replicated the Beacons model of youth and community development.

In September 2007, the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) launched the Beacon Middle School Initiative to increase Beacon services targeted to youth in grades 5-8. Through this initiative, DYCD charged the Beacon Centers with providing middle-grades youth with ongoing, structured programming in academics, life skills, career awareness, civic engagement, physical health, arts, and culture.  The Middle School Initiative aligned with efforts of the New York City Department of Education (DOE) to improve educational services and outcomes for middle-grades youth, and was grounded in earlier research about the within-school and out-of-school time needs of these youth.

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