Formal Launch of the new AzQSAT

The Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence and the Valley of the Sun United Way have formally  launched the Arizona Quality Standard Assessment Tool (AzQSAT) in conjunction with the national Lights On Afterschool celebration and the 2015 AZ Out-of-School Time Professional Development Conference. The AzQSAT is a new online resource for out-of-school time programs that directly aligns with the Arizona Quality Standards for OST Programs.

Out-of-school time professionals from across the state joined us at the official launch event today to reinvigorate Arizona’s continuous quality improvement in the field and get hands-on experience with the new tool and how it can be used.

You can join us at the conference this Saturday to launch your program’s use of the tool. The 2015 School’s Out, Make It Count Conference will highlight the AzQSAT in two workshops designed to introduce programs to the online interface, share how Arizona programs are already using the tool successfully and collaboratively with staff, and answer any questions you may have.

Attend the Self Assessment: Team Approach andAccessing & Using the AZ Assessment Tool Online to confidently and efficiently bring this great new resource back to your program for continuous quality improvement.

Get started with AzQSAT at the Conference.

Arizona Quality Standard Assessment Tool (AzQSAT)

The AzQSAT is a comprehensive self-assessment tool designed specifically for out-of-school time programs in Arizona. It allows programs to assess quality and measure progress internally without the pressure of an external evaluation. Developed by a committee of Arizona community leaders and out-of-school time stakeholders, the AzQSAT supports OST programs in an ongoing strategy to increase quality programming for better youth outcomes and it is now available online for better access to efficient quality improvement assessments.

The AzQSAT allows programs to create their own accounts giving them access to use the tool to measure their program’s quality in the same seven focus areas outlined by the Arizona Quality Standards. The new software will also score each program’s performance in the seven focus areas and provide specific resources that a program can then use to create a continuous quality improvement plan. A proposed quality improvement plan template will also be available online.

The AzQSAT is easily found at www.azqsat.com or at www.azafterschool.org/assessment.

Copies of the Arizona Quality Standards and the AzQSAT, and a continuous quality improvement plan template are all available by request from AzCASE.