The OSNAP model

Begin with the self-assessment. Assign someone (site director, staff member, or independent consultant) to make observations each day for one week (five days total) at each of your out-of-school-time programs. This will give your team the most complete picture of how your programs align with OSNAP’s nutrition and physical activity goals.

If it is not possible to complete the five-day self-assessment given time or staff constraints, have someone at each program fill out the brief evaluation with their best guesses of the physical activity and nutrition offered to get a sense of whether your programs are meeting the goals.

Complete the Policy Self-Assessment to evaluate which policies that support the goals are in place at your program.

Assessment results lead to Tip sheets and Fast Maps, which identify ways to make changes to achieve the goals.

Using the assessment results and Tip Sheets/Fast Maps, complete the Action Planning Guide to specify goals, action steps for change, responsibilities, and timelines. Make sure your team sets practice, policy, and communication action steps for each goal they are working toward.

There is also space to specify barriers that might need to be addressed or additional resources that staff may need to reach their goals (check out our resources page for great OSNAP, Food & Fun, and external resources).

Powerpoint slides for 3 Learning Collaboratives are available here. You can use the slides, or the information within them, during staff trainings.

Make sure to communicate your program’s practice and policy changes to parents, children, staff, and community partners.

Parent education materials are available through Food & Fun After School and templates for communicating practice and policy change can be found on the OSNAP Resources page.

Use the Action Planning Guide to track progress on your program’s goals, action steps, and timelines

Look to Tip Sheets, Fast Maps, and Resources for new goals and ideas for action steps.

Re-evaluate to see how your programs are changing to impact kids’ physical activity and nutrition. Many programs choose to initially evaluate at the beginning of their program cycle (e.g., the start of the school year) and then re-evaluate toward the end of their cycle (e.g., six to nine months later toward the end of the school year).

To re-evaluate, fill out the self-assessment again, assigning someone to make observations each day for one week (five days total) during out-of-school programming.

Comparing the results from each assessment will give the most complete picture of the progress you’ve made toward achieving the goals. Some action steps will take longer to complete than others, so re-evaluate as often as needed.

Identify the action steps and goals your programs accomplished. Communicate these successes with staff, parents, and children via newsletters, meetings, or celebrations (see the Resources page for healthy celebration ideas). Submit your successes, including strategies for completing action steps and goals, to the Harvard Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity at the Harvard School of Public Health.