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Igniting the Spark for Pre-Teens and Early Teens: Why High-Quality Arts Matter More than Ever

The landscape for today’s pre-teens and early teens is defined by unique pressures. As they navigate a post-pandemic world, increasing academic demands, and the pervasive influence of social media, threats to mental well-being being—including isolation and stress—are on the rise. Against this backdrop, the structured, expressive, and relationship-rich environment of high-quality arts programs offers a critical infrastructure for their development.

High-quality youth arts programs do more than provide safe spaces for emotional expression and belonging. Research shows they cultivate “well-becoming”, opening pathways to future opportunities and relationships that last a lifetime. These transformative benefits emerge through structured skill-building, opportunities to create meaningful artwork that centers youth interests, practice toward mastery, opportunities for recognition from families and the broader community, and—critically—developmental relationships fostered by artist mentors and trusted peer communities.

Research from The Wallace Foundation codified key practices for high quality arts programs into 10 Principles for High-Quality Arts Programs, developed in partnership with community arts organizations, youth participants, and youth development experts. More recent studies highlight how culturally centered, community‑based arts organizations deepen this impact by grounding creative practice in youth culture and heritage, allowing young people to explore identity and meaning in affirming ways.

The 10 Principles for High-Quality Arts Programs

  1. Professional Artists as Instructors: Programs are led by practicing artists, compensated fairly, and supported in their professional growth.
  2. Executive Commitment: Leaders make a public, sustained commitment to high-quality arts programming.
  3. Dedicated, Inspiring Spaces: Arts programs take place in welcoming environments that affirm the value of art and artists.
  4. Culture of High Expectations: Programs respect creative expression and affirm youth participants as artists.
  5. Culminating Events: Programs conclude with high-quality showcases for real audiences.
  6. Positive Relationships: Adult mentors and peers foster belonging and acceptance.
  7. Youth Voice and Leadership: Participants actively shape programs and take on meaningful leadership roles.
  8. Hands-On Skill Building: Programs emphasize skill development using current equipment and technology.
  9. Stakeholder Engagement: Programs build networks of support for youth and the arts.
  10. Safe Spaces: Programs provide physically and emotionally safe environments.


The Challenge of Access

Despite their benefits, community-based youth arts organizations may not be accessible to all. Many are neighborhood-based, limiting participation for youth outside the area who face transportation barriers. Program fees can also restrict access for families with fewer resources. And for youth unfamiliar with the art forms offered, these barriers may discourage exploration altogether.

As a result, too few young people experience the rich developmental opportunities that high-quality arts provide. One solution is to elevate the quality of arts programming within low cost, multipurpose out-of-school time (OST) programs in under-resourced communities. These organizations can expose more young people who might not otherwise have access to art programs to creative opportunities, cultivate sparks of interest, and connect them to community-based arts organizations as their interest and skills grow.

Expanding Equity and Access: Infusing Arts into Traditional Youth-Serving Organizations

To explore how this can be done, we conducted a 10-year study of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) with funding from The Wallace Foundation. The study examined whether BGCA could elevate the quality of its arts programming in their local sites.

Using the 10 Principles for high quality arts programs as a guide, BGCA developed the Youth Arts Initiative (YAI) to integrate high-quality arts into a multipurpose OST setting. Through YAI, BGCA tested whether these principles could be implemented in several of their local sites: multipurpose OST programs located in underserved communities. The research found that they could—but not without challenges. Tensions arose from differing priorities and realities between multipurpose OST programs and community-based arts organizations from which the principles were partially derived.

Yet, despite these challenges, the arts programs engaged middle school youth in powerful ways. Many participants reported little interest in other activities offered at the site, such as sports, academics, leadership and health, prior to YAI. Once involved in high-quality arts programming, they attended more frequently and stayed longer than peers not enrolled in arts programs. Importantly, many had little prior exposure to their chosen art form, but through YAI they developed a “spark” that motivated continued artistic participation and exploration.

Looking Ahead

This blog post launches a series of mini-briefs, in which we will explore each of the 10 Principles in depth, examining why it’s important and offering strategies to implement the principle in a multipurpose OST program.

By elevating arts programming in traditional multipurpose organization, OST systems can expand equity and access, engage middle school youth, and ignite sparks that last a lifetime.

Stay tuned for the next post in the series!

Download the mini brief below

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Rebecca Reumann-Moore

Qualitative Evaluation Consultant

Rebecca Reumann-Moore is an independent consultant and Qualitative Evaluation Consultant with MAI. Rebecca’s areas of expertise include program evaluation and policy research, qualitative and mixed-methods research, and capacity-building and technical assistance for non-profits. Rebecca has deep expertise in education, with a focus on increasing educational equity. She has also worked with clients and non-profits working in a wide range of other areas, including health and wellbeing, child welfare, youth development, social services, and arts and culture.

Rebecca earned a Ph.D. in education from the University of Pennsylvania. Before becoming a consultant, she worked for many years at Research for Action (RFA), where she was a Senior Research Associate and the Director of Qualitative Research. At RFA, she honed her expertise in all stages of the research process and in communicating results in a range of ways. In evaluation and technical assistance processes, she values collaboration with colleagues, clients, and community members. She works closely with clients to understand their needs in order to design or co-design research, evaluation, and technical assistance approaches and processes that fit each client’s unique context.

Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, outdoor activities, reading, travel, and music.

Kyonne Isaac

Evaluation Consultant

Kyonne Isaac is an Evaluation Consultant with MAI. Kyonne has spent over a decade crafting successful social impact programs and leading strategic business planning for nonprofits as a director, consultant, and impact evaluator. Successful projects include restructuring the business and finance operations for Philadelphia’s oldest urban farm into a profitable operation to overcome its debts; and more recently, leading the strategic expansion of Habitat for Humanity’s community engagement for the homeownership and home repair programs in Philadelphia. This work resulted in tripling the number of families served annually over the course of two years and crafting a human-centered framework for evaluating the success of their home repair program. Kyonne’s approach to evaluation and coaching includes leveraging existing relationships with community leaders already embedded in the community, applying dynamic communication practices, and practicing an increased sensitivity to a population’s needs to craft custom methods for connection and collaboration for clients seeking equitable, sustainable growth.

Before moving to Philadelphia, Kyonne received formal training in qualitative and quantitative research methods, earning her bachelor’s degree in psychology with honors from Stanford University and her master’s degree in social psychology & social policy from Princeton University under a fellowship with the National Science Foundation. Her work has often centered on investigating the experiences of historically-marginalized communities. In between her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, she worked as a research scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, and as project manager for the World Bank, where she conducted focus groups and survey research for a pilot program training young adult entrepreneurs looking to build agricultural “green” businesses with a social impact in Uganda.

Kyonne is an avid gardener and advocate for the benefits of time in nature. Outside of her research work, she coaches community gardeners in leadership and community engagement; and In 2019, she was appointed to the steering committee responsible for the City of Philadelphia’s first-of-its-kind Urban Agriculture Plan, “Growing from the Roots”.

Don Haworth

Administrative Coordinator

Don Haworth is MAI’s Administrative Coordinator, supporting grants management, accounting, and office operations. Prior to joining MAI, Don worked for Prince George’s County, Maryland, for over twenty years as a firefighter/paramedic, and served in the U.S. Air Force. Don has a long history of volunteer community service, including serving as a volunteer with Boy Scouts of America, participating in and leading several community groups, and was a volunteer firefighter. When he is not working at MAI, Don teaches martial arts and skiing/snowboarding.

Sarah Pepper

Statistical Consultant

Sarah Pepper serves as a Statistical Consultant with MAI. Over the past 25 years, she has worked with a wide range of non-profit organizations and foundations to facilitate the design of data collection and analysis approaches and to help organizations strategize around manageable ways to monitor their fidelity to intended implementation efforts and anticipated outcomes.

She enjoys the experience of continually learning from each organization with which she has the pleasure to work. Sarah is grateful for the opportunity to jointly create evaluation tools and processes that are mutually beneficial to participants and practitioners.

Prior to working with MAI, Sarah worked with Public/Private Ventures as a Research Associate. She earned a Ph.D. in Demography and Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Sarah lives outside of Philadelphia where she enjoys officiating track meets, making new vegetarian recipes, and keeping up with the adventures of her adult children.

Sara Greenfield

Research Associate

Sara Greenfield is a Research Associate at MAI. In her capacity as a Project Manager, Sara has led and overseen numerous diverse projects at MAI. Her experience extends across a spectrum of sectors, including social, health, education, and environmental justice. Sara also brings valuable experience in evaluating learning networks and communities of practice.

Sara is a mixed-methods researcher and is committed to applying a racial equity lens and cultural humility to all of her evaluation work. She is dedicated to gathering nuanced, systematic information about program implementation, constituent voices and experiences, programmatic outcomes, and areas of opportunity. Sara’s passion infuses depth and inclusivity into her evaluation work, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of diverse perspectives and advancing equity within her projects.

Sara, a first-generation Latina college graduate, earned her B.A. in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience from Temple University.

Sara, her husband Cliff, and two kiddos enjoy exploring outside, cooking and baking together, reading, and doing puzzles!

Wendy McClanahan

President/CEO

Wendy McClanahan is McClanahan Associate’s (MAI) President/CEO. Wendy uses her research and evaluation expertise to help programs, initiatives, and organizations maximize their impact, improve their practice, and fuel systemic change. Her approach centers the expertise and assets of the organizations she works with and the people they serve.

Over her career, Wendy has led studies of out-of-school time and mentoring programs, violence and crime reduction programs, health equity initiatives, and employment and training programs. She also works with organizations to help them grow their evaluation and learning capacity.

Prior to forming MAI, Wendy was senior vice president for research and evaluation at Public/Private Ventures. She has a PhD in Criminology from the University of Pennsylvania and a MS in Human Development from Penn State. 

Wendy lives in the Philadelphia area and enjoys hanging out with her family and friends, playing games, and doing things that get her outside, like skiing and (leisurely) swimming (also known as “floating”).

“My approach to equitable research and evaluation is deeply informed by both my professional expertise and my personal experiences.

Growing up in a family with diverse socioeconomic and cultural roots and later raising a multiracial family has cultivated a profound understanding of varied pathways and the systemic forces that shape opportunity.

This lived experience, which includes navigating the collateral impact of the justice system on families, strengthens my commitment to research that not only rigorously analyzes data but also authentically centers lived experiences and drives actionable change for youth and families.” – Wendy McClanahan