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School’s Out Washington is an intermediary agency which provides services and guidance for organizations to ensure all young people have safe places to learn and grow when not in school. We were founded in 1987 and our history reflects the emergence and development of the afterschool and youth development (AYD) professional field. Our mission, vision and values reflect our deep commitment to the advancement of the AYD field, the individuals who work in the field, and the children, youth, families and communities served by the field.

 

From 1987-2012, School’s Out Washington was hosted by the YWCA Seattle/King/Snohomish. In 2013, School’s Out Washington became an independent nonprofit organization and formed a governing Board of Directors as part of our vision to advance our mission and support the sustainability of our organization. 

 

Through a range of training and professional development services, we promote quality standards and offer opportunities for AYD program providers to develop skills, receive support and network with peers. We disseminate research on the benefits of programs and mobilize children's advocates to take action on issues impacting the AYD field. Our grant programs support quality programs in a variety of ways. We also facilitate communication among AYD professionals, schools, law enforcement officials, policymakers, civic leaders, foundations and other partners to establish accountability and a system of support for Washington's young people.

With support from the Aspen Institute's Roundtable on Community Change, School's Out is engaged in addressing issues of racial equity and structural racism within the AYD field. While our focus has always been on addressing racial equity, anti-racism, and anti-oppression, we are now at a place where we are compelled to take a deeper look at our work with a racial equity lens in order to ensure equity, opportunity and success for all those involved in and served by the AYD field.

School’s Out Washington is proud to house and serve as the host agency to two King County coalitions, Youth Development Executives of King County (YDEKC) and SOAR, with complementary missions focused on community-building and influencing systems to best support opportunities for young people to experience school and life success. YDEKC and SOAR each have an advisory board and unique mission driving their work. YDEKC’s mission focuses on building the youth development field in King County by bringing together executive leaders to create a unified voice and work toward shared goals and outcomes. SOAR builds and strengthens effective partnerships and aligns community strategies to support children and youth (birth-18). 

School’s Out Washington serves on YDEKC’s advisory board and SOAR’s School-Age Partnership Council.  While each organization has a unique mission and purpose, co-locating our three organizations allows for leveraging and sharing of resources and minimizes duplicative efforts within systems and initiatives focused on afterschool, child and youth development in King County.

Take a moment to review our annual report and latest strategic plan to help guide our work, identify goals and benchmarks, and provide us with a means for marking our progress.