Encore: Work that matters in the second half of life.

The expansion of after-school programs for California children is creating encore opportunities for experienced adults interested in paid positions leading afternoon classes or offering specialized enrichment programs.

Encore After School, an innovative program to train and place experienced workers in after-school programs, is seeking about 40 people for positions in schools in Oakland and Santa Clara County. Training will begin in August for the school year beginning in September. Leaders of after-school classes (approximately 20 students) will work five afternoons a week, while those providing enrichment activities can work two or three afternoons a week. Pay levels will also vary.

Encore After School is a pilot program to demonstrate that mature workers can help meet California’s demand for after-school staff. That demand has increased dramatically with the advent of increased state funding under Proposition 49, the 2002 after-school initiative supported by Arnold Schwarzenegger before he became governor.

Funding for the the state After School Education & Safety (ASES) program first became available in 2006-07. By some estimates, the full implementation of Prop 49 will create more than 20,000 new jobs. Combined with a high turnover rate in existing positions, as many as 70,000 positions may need to be filled.

“Bringing together the needs of young people for caring and consistent adult support, the talents of experienced workers, and the potential benefits of intergenerational connections for both youth and adults, produces a powerful win-win situation,” said Michael Funk, director of policy and partnership at Aspiranet, the nonprofit organization spearheading the initiative.

Funk stressed that the pilot is testing a framework to recruit staff based on talent, not age. The goal is that after two years, one-quarter of the after-school workforce in the Oakland and Santa Clara projects areas will be people over 55. That would be an important achievement for California’s after-school movement, which is seeking to build a higher quality and less transient workforce. Developing an intergenerational workforce is key to achieving that goal, Funk said.

Encore After School is a program of Aspiranet, which also runs Experience Corps programs in Oakland, San Francisco and San Rafael. (Nationally, Experience Corps is a program of Civic Ventures, publisher of Encore.org.) Last year, 120 Experience Corps members in the Bay Area provided more than 26,000 hours of tutoring to approximately 2,750 students in 14 schools.

Initial funding for Encore After School is being provided by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Koret Foundation.

In Oakland, Encore After School will be launched in at least 10 schools, including some in which Aspiranet already operates after-school programs in partnership with the Oakland Unified School District. In Santa Clara County, Encore After School is working with the YMCA of Santa Clara County and a regional after-school workforce collaborative, targeting 10 schools with ASES funding.

People interested in more information about Encore After School can contact program director David Brick at dbrick@aspiranet.org.