CTAN Spotlight

This month, we have the pleasure to highlight Dr. Andrew Springer from the Dell Center for Healthy Living at the University of Texas School of Public Health! We had the chance to speak with Dr. Springer, an assistant professor of health promotion and behavioral science at the UT Austin Regional Campus. Let’s see what he has to say about Out of School Time!

Describe your role at your organization and/or the mission of your organization.

I am an assistant professor of health promotion and behavioral sciences at the Dell Center for Healthy Living at the University of Texas School of Public Health-Austin Regional Campus.  Founded in 2006, the vision of the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at the University of Texas School of Public Health (UTSPH)-Austin Regional Campus is “Healthy children in a healthy world,” with a mission to serve as a state, national and international leader in the promotion of healthy living.  In addition to teaching graduate-level courses and engaging in a range of community service activities, I conduct research related to child and adolescent health promotion, with a specific focus on physical activity promotion.  I currently oversee several school and community-based child health research projects, including the Active Play-Active Learning Project- a project aimed at incorporating more physical activity into the school day via low cost, fun and practical strategies; a National Institute of Health-funded study on tobacco use and physical activity in secondary school students in Uruguay; and a health communication initiative that includes a community ‘hotline’ for healthy eating and physical activity with IT’s TIME TEXAS and United Way of Greater Austin.

What is one program or best practice that you are proud of?

I am really excited about our current partnership between the Dell Center for Healthy Living at the UTSPH and the Central Texas Afterschool Network.  We recently received a grant from St. David’s Foundation, under their Healthy Living portfolio and the direction of Ms. Becky Pastner, Project Officer, to develop and implement a policy and practice approach with CTAN with the aim of increasing opportunities for physical activity and healthy eating in the out-of-school time setting. This one-year initiative will include capacity building workshops with CTAN partner organizations aimed at exploring healthy policies and practices and enhancing skills and competencies for promoting child healthy eating and physical activity.  We have been working with an awesome subcommittee of CTAN for the past year, the Healthy Children subcommittee- chaired by Mr. Angel Toscano. In addition to securing funding for this initiative from St David’s Foundation, other accomplishments to date with our subcommittee include: administration of a survey on healthy policies and best practices with CTAN partners and review of recommendations and guidelines on healthy eating, physical activity and social and emotional learning.

What has changed most since you started your work with health and youth?

An important shift in my field of health promotion has been from a focus solely on changing people’s beliefs and knowledge with the aim of engaging in healthier behaviors to a focus on changing the environment to make the healthy choice the easy choice.  Toward this end, The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living continues to make important progress with our research projects and our community partnerships that aim to identify and harness environmental factors toward child and adolescent health promotion, including policy research and research with various key child settings, including preschool programs, school-based programs, and out-of-school time programs.  We are fortunate to receive generous support from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, who helped us establish our research center and who recently renewed a four-year grant for the Center under the leadership of Dr. Deanna Hoelscher, the Director of the Center for Healthy Living. In addition to supporting our research endeavors, this funding has helped strengthen community partnerships via community collaborative efforts that include the implementation of health coalitions, such as Livesmart and the Dell Center Community Collaborative for Child Health.  Other key partnerships have ranged from community-based organizations such as Marathon Kids, Sustainable Food Center, and Creative Action to university and government organizations, such as our work with Javeriana Universidad in Cali, Colombia on student bullying research as well as partnerships with the City of Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services CHA/CHIP community health plan.   Recently, under the direction of our dean, Dr. Cheryl Perry, and Dr. Melissa Stigler, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, our Center received a large grant from the National Institute of Health to establish and tobacco regulatory research center (“Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science”), which includes research related to e-cigarette use in youth.

 

What does success look like for your organization?

This is a big question!  I will defer back to our vision, which is “healthy children in a healthy world.”  For our Center, success comes in many forms, from training our graduate students who go on to do meaningful public health research and practice, to our research projects that aim to contribute to the science and practice on child health promotion, to our community service projects which include participation in a range of local, state, national and international organizations and initiatives aimed to advancing population health.

What is the key to great organizational partnerships?

While there are many things that contribute to great organizational partnerships, I would begin with the importance of establishing trust and a shared vision of our collective work.  With our work with the CTAN Healthy Children subcommittee, we have been fortunate to work with CTAN members who have passion for their work in the out-of-school time setting as well as promotion of child health and well-being.  Our excellent leadership by Angel Toscano and our open communication within our group have greatly contributed to enhanced ownership of this work and our recent successes with our funding partnership with St David’s Foundation.

What do you think the future landscape looks like for Out of School Time providers in the Austin area?

I am optimistic that more and more people (including policy makers and funders) are going to begin to see the importance and value of OST programs for healthy child development and academic achievement.  The need for quality OST programs is not just a U.S.-issue, but one that many developing economies are now facing. In Uruguay, where I have been working for the past two years, more and more parents are entering the workforce, leaving more children as ‘latch-key kids’, especially given that many only attend school four hours a day. From Austin to Montevideo, there is a growing need and demand for quality OST programs.  I am optimistic that others will learn, as I have in recent years, that OST programs have the potential to positively impact children’s quality of life and future success. We need more funding and support to provide OST program opportunities to all kids in Austin- and beyond!

What is something you have learned that you would like to impart to other organizations in the Out of School Time community?

I am thankful to CTAN for helping me open my eyes to the value and benefits of OST programs for children and adolescents.  One thing I’ve learned in my recent work with CTAN and Foundation Communities is that it often only takes one dedicated and passionate person within the out-of-school time program setting to make significant differences in the quality of programming and experience provided to children.  CTAN is a wonderful network for igniting that passion and sharing those best practices across OST programs. Onward/Adelante CTAN!