Complementary Learning
Overview of Complementary Learning
Educators, policymakers, and families increasingly agree: Schools cannot do
it alone. Children need multiple opportunities to learn and grow—at home,
in school, and in the community. Complementary learning is a comprehensive
strategy for addressing all of these needs and ensuring success for all children
and youth. Complementary learning is the idea that a systemic approach—which
intentionally integrates both school and nonschool supports—can better
ensure that all children have the skills they need to succeed.
What is complementary learning?
This two-page PDF provides an overview of the complementary learning
concept and our work in the field.
Download this
PDF
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A complementary learning approach provides and aligns these beneficial opportunities:
- Effective schools
- Supportive families and opportunities for family engagement
- Early childhood programs
- Out-of-school time activities (including sports, arts, mentoring programs,
etc.)
- Health and social services
- Community-based institutions (including community centers, faith-based institutions,
cultural institutions such as museums and libraries, and partnerships with
the business community)
- Colleges and universities
Help us learn more about complementary learning!
We invite you to share examples from your communities and elsewhere.
Read more about this project
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We are working to stimulate national discussion and build knowledge about complementary
learning. To this end, we:
- Profile examples of complementary learning, highlighting lessons and insights
for others in the field
- Help policymakers, foundations, and school leaders develop complementary
learning strategies
- Organize conferences and present in national forums
- Create tools to help professionals build connections among families, educators,
out-of-school time staff, early childhood providers, and other complementary
learning stakeholders
- Examine and share approaches to evaluating linked services
Complementary Learning Resources
Complementary
Learning
This two-page PDF provides a brief overview of the complementary learning
concept and our work in the field.
Complementary Learning
in Action
This new series profiles complementary learning initiatives from around
the country, illustrating the what, why, and how of complementary learning.
Recommended and Related
Reading
This annotated bibliography compiles recent publications on complementary
learning and related concepts, demonstrating a growing national momentum for
connected nonschool supports.
The Evaluation Exchange:
Complementary Learning
This spring 2005 issue of The Evaluation Exchange introduces and explores
the concept of complementary learning.
Complementary Learning Connections: Out-of-School Time
The Evaluation Exchange:
Building and Evaluating Out-of-School Time Connections
The fall 2006 double issue of The Evaluation Exchange focuses on connections
between out-of-school time programs and the other settings in which children
and youth live, learn, and play.
Focus on Families!
How to Build and Support Family-Centered Practices in After School.
This comprehensive, easy-to-read guide is a critical resource for any after
school provider looking to create or expand an existing family engagement
program.
Engaging With Families
in Out-of-School Time Learning
This Out-of-School Time Evaluation Snapshot provides an overview of
how researchers are evaluating out-of-school time programs' engagement with
families.
Beyond the Head Count:
Evaluating Family Involvement in Out-of-School Time
This Issues and Opportunities in Out-of-School Time Evaluation brief
offers an overview of how out-of-school time programs can evaluate their family
involvement strategies and practices.
“Leveraging
Resources to Promote Positive School-CBO Relationships”
This article, which appeared in the spring 2004 edition of Afterschool
Matters, examines how community-based organizations and schools can work
together to build and leverage resources in creating successful after school
programming.
Complementary Learning Connections: Families and Schools
Family Involvement Makes a Difference
This series of three research briefs provides evidence of family involvement's
importance for children of all ages, as well as direct recommendations for
policymakers, practitioners, and researchers.
Family Involvement Storybook
Corner
This section of our website is a unique source for information on using children's
storybooks with family involvement themes to engage families in their children's
education and encourage family–school–community partnerships, all
while supporting literacy.
Taking a Closer Look: A Guide
to Online Resources on Family Involvement
This online resource guide compiles and categorizes the large body of information
on family involvement in children's education.
Complementary Learning Connections: Early Childhood
Changing the Conversation About
Home Visiting: Scaling Up With Quality
This paper looks at what the evidence and conventional wisdom say about scaling
up home visiting as one of the best ways to support parents and promote early
childhood development.
Stay tuned for upcoming publications that reframe family involvement within
a complementary learning framework (written in partnership with the Campaign
for Educational Equity), and that review research on out-of-school time as a
critical component of complementary learning.
To receive announcements when new complementary learning resources become
available, please subscribe to our e-news email.
For questions about complementary learning at HFRP, please contact Suzanne
Bouffard, Project Manager.
The development of the complementary learning section of our website was
made possible through a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Please check
the acknowledgements in our publications for the sources of additional support
for our work in specific complementary learning contexts.
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