The sheer number of volunteers—MHASP strives for a one-on-one ratio between college volunteers and Mission Hill kids for every day—has contributed to the program’s longevity and continued strong presence in the world of after school volunteer programs.

TAKING A LOOK BACK

Despite being around for nearly three decades, MHASP has faced difficulties evaluating the efficacy and progress of its after school programs.

“Evaluation of the program is a really big challenge in terms of who does that and finding people who are experienced in that area,” says Mission Hill School Principal Ayla Gavins, whose students participate in MHASP. “It is a huge amount of coordination and communication.”

Over the past few years, PBHA has been trying to conduct evaluations of its programs through the Survey of After-School Youth Outcomes assessment forms, which are distributed to programs at the beginning and end of each year to trace annual progress.

The SAYO forms—part of a federally funded evaluation program—are meant to touch upon homework progress, engagement in learning, and relationships with peers in each student who participates in an after school program like Mission Hill.

Because the final evaluations compiled by the PBHA lump together eight after school programs, it is impossible to single out individual programs’ results.

“We didn’t really do data collection [before]; we’ve always had anecdotal data,” PBHA Student Development Coordinator Ariel B. Harms ’04 says. “We agree that hard data makes it easier to make changes, [but] it’s not something we’ve been doing.”

Stacey Guerrero ’10, one of the program’s two administrative directors, adds that Mission Hill has had trouble following its progress just on paper surveys.

“We need a more systematic way of doing follow-up,” she says.

As for now, verbal feedback and informal volunteer reports indicate that kids involved in the program seem to be showing improvement, Guerrero says.

AN ADDICTION, SOME ATTRITION

While other students find community in final clubs, sororities, or even study groups, Katherine E. Varney ’10 and her roommates became engrossed in public service, particularly Mission Hill.

“You get into the program because you inevitably know someone who is doing it, and once you meet the kids, it’s hard not to come back,” says Varney, whose roommate recommended the program. By her senior year, four out of the eight members of her blocking group had signed on as MHASP volunteers.

“With that comes this culture of ‘we do service because we love it and we think it is fantastic,’” Guererro says. “Everyone we hire is super dedicated, and that trickles down.”