The Virtual Y: A Ray of Sunshine for Urban Public Elementary School Children

Press Release, May 28, 2005

The National Center for Schools and Communities at Fordham University has issued a report presenting the results of seven years of evaluation for the YMCA of Greater New York's Virtual Y after school program. First implemented by the YMCA in 1997, the Virtual Y is a NYC school-based after school program designed to build the spirit, mind, and body of children in the second through fourth grades, and to enrich community, family, and school connections.

NCSC released the report at a May 27 seminar co-hosted with the YMCA. The seminar, held at Fordham University, brought together about 90 educators; out of school time (OST) experts and advocates; local, state, and national policy makers; parent activists; and program funders who came together to explore the relationship of educational success and out of school programs and their impact on young people in New York City. Speakers included Jack Lund, President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater New York; Reverend Joseph McShane, S.J., President of Fordham University; Sheila Evans-Tranumn, Associate Commissioner for the New York State Education Department; Gillian Eddins, MSW, Senior Research Associate at NCSC; Christopher Caruso, Assistant Commissioner, Department of Youth and Community Development; JoEllen Lynch, Executive Director, New York City Department of Education Department of Education Office of Youth Development and Community; and James L. Murphy, Executive Director, New York State School Age Care Coalition, among others.

After school programming is rapidly becoming a key component of public education and an indispensable social service for working parents. Our multi-year monitoring and analysis of the Virtual Y approach documented a positive relationship between participation in the after school program and school attendance, class room behavior, and math performance. Some key findings included:

Teachers reported significant moderate to large improvements in classroom behavior.
The average school attendance of 3rd and 4th grade Virtual Y participants exceeded the average attendance of a comparison group, controlling for demographic factors and initial differences in student attendance.
Virtual Y participants outperformed a comparison group in post-program math scores, controlling for demographics, prior math skill, and school attendance.
The NCSC evaluation also found several results that have implications for best practice in out of school time programs.

Parents of students who spoke languages other than English had varying issues related to communication, family involvement, socialization of immigrant children, homework help, and literacy.
The percentage of principals having positive ratings of the program grew from year to year as the YMCA responded to principals' concerns about linkages to the school and Virtual Y staff training in behavior management and pedagogy.
The percentage of staff with a positive view of the program declined as government and foundation cutbacks eroded the 10:1 student-to-counselor ratio that was an early feature of the Virtual Y model.

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YMCA of Greater New York: A Brief History

Virtual Y