In partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), RFA is conducting research to understand whether Boys & Girls Clubs (BGC) programming helps to support student success and improve educational outcomes for Club members. The research is being conducted using a quasi-experimental design, by matching Club members to similar non-club members to compare educational outcomes between young people in similar circumstances. RFA is partnering with BGCA and BGC leadership in participating states to co-develop what the reports should look like and conduct sense-making of the evaluation findings. The participating states include North Carolina, Ohio, California, and Rhode Island.
BGCA and BGC state leadership plan to use the evaluation findings to understand whether and how BGC programming can best support student success and improve educational outcomes for Club members in participating states and beyond. Because BGCA is one of the largest providers of out-of-school time programming, and Clubs serve substantial numbers of young people from historically marginalized backgrounds (e.g., low-income, racial and ethnic minorities, etc.), informing their efforts can advance racial and social justice for Club members.