Over the next several months, administrators plan to convene a number of discussions to bring student ideas and concerns into the project, seeking their opinions on how best to invest Harvard's resources into the partnership.

They also plan to work with Harvard and other afterschool programs to address their specific problems. Current plans include helping improve the recruitment, training and mentoring of student volunteers.

Kendra J. Shumway '02, the personnel director for the PBHA Mission Hill Afterschool Program, said that one of the major challenges student volunteers face is that they simply do not have sufficient educational training.

"We're not professionals," Shumway said. "I don't have a degree in education. I don't know the best way to improve a child's literacy skills. I don't know how to best deal with learning disabilities."

Shumway said she believes programs like MHASP could be helped dramatically through more active training and faculty mentoring--and she said she hopes Harvard's new initiative can address these needs.

"Our staff in general tends to get very frustrated with the lack of professional support," Shumway said. "I would love some sort of structural support that speaks to our lack of experience in education."

Shumway also said her program could benefit from the grants offered.