Quality

The Quality Campaign


APOST works to support and strengthen OST organizations in their high-quality program implementation. The Quality Campaign is a cohort of out-of-school time providers that commit to continuous quality improvement (CQI). APOST’s Quality Campaign started in 2012 with a cohort of 12 Quality Campaign Members and grew to 58 Members by 2020.

Statement of Quality

What We Deserve: A Statement of Quality in Afterschool


Quality out-of-school time programs inspire and promote learning and positive youth development by providing opportunities for autonomy and leadership, caring relationships, connections to family, community and school, safe environments, and engaging activities.

Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool Youth Development Network (PSAYDN) Program Quality Value Statement identifies principles and ideals which we believe should guide the actions of afterschool programming, regardless of program purpose or ages served. It does not, however, indicate levels of program quality. The purpose of this statement is to provide a straightforward framework to define quality for Pennsylvania’s afterschool programs and all other individuals, organizations, and entities that have a vested interest in the quality of these programs, including public and private funders, parents, and youth.

Quality programming requires the following elements:

Our Approach


To support providers in continuous program quality assessment & improvement, APOST will relaunch the Quality Campaign (QC) in the fall of 2024 by working with The Forum for Youth Investment’s Weikart Center.

Using The Weikart Center’s Youth Program Quality Improvement (YPQI) approach of Prepare – Assess – Plan – Improve, we work with youth program leaders and staff to incorporate self- and external assessments, meaningful and actionable improvement plans, and professional learning supports (i.e. coaching, training and peer learning) to drive improvement and create powerful developmental environments for youth.

APOST supports a cohort-based learning model with the YPQI process – shared learning experience with peers moving together through a cycle of CQI throughout the year.

Want to join the Quality Campaign?

Applications for the next QC Cohort are CLOSED for the 2025 Pilot Year. Check back here & sign up to receive emails from APOST to be notified of future ways to join.

Questions?

Get in touch with the APOST Team at apostpgh@gmail.com 


New Members: Beginning June 2025, any organization that successfully participates in the Quality Campaign process will be recognized as a QC member for three years. Learn more about the Quality Campaign above.  

Pre-Existing Members: Organizations that previously completed the QC process to become QC members, can continue to call themselves QC members until January 1, 2027. At that point, they will need to have either gone through the new QC process or stop referring to their organization as a QC member.