About

Our Story

Since 2009, APOST has acted as a convener, collaborator and connector for the out-of-school time community in Allegheny County. APOST’s priority is to support providers in achieving positive youth outcomes through advocacy efforts, quality improvement tools, professional development, and networking opportunities.

For the first 12 years of its presence, APOST was an initiative of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Through this partnership, many of the flagship elements of APOST programming unfolded, such as hosting Weikart Workshops, summer conferences and the Quality Campaign. Some of APOST’s largest milestones during this time are still implemented today.

  • 2010

    APOST hires its first director.

  • 2011

    For the first time, APOST hosts the national campaign, Lights On Afterschool in Allegheny County to bring awareness to the value of local out-of-school time programs.

  • 2012

    APOST launches The Quality Campaign with accessible resources for OST programs to increase high-quality programming.

  • 2014

    APOST hosts the inaugural Advocacy Day in Harrisburg, engaging youth and OST professionals to share their stories with legislators in Harrisburg.

  • 2016

    APOST convened city and county governments, local nonprofits and summer program providers to raise awareness about the value of summer learning, work that continues today as the Bridge to Learn coalition.

  • 2016

    APOST creates a Program Finder for families and young people to locate OST programs in their community.

Relaunch

Recognizing the need for an out-of-school time advocate in Allegheny County, organizational leaders and community partners worked together to relaunch APOST. Due to the resounding expression of support for APOST’s presence in the OST community, APOST moved under the fiscal sponsorship of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit in 2021 as leaders explored the best path forward. 

In November of 2022, APOST received 501(c)(3) status and plans were implemented to get programming back up and running. Since April of 2023, a small team has begun developing APOST’s infrastructure as a new nonprofit organization along with creating and implementing programming to support OST Providers.

In its 15 year history, APOST has achieved milestones in supporting the OST community in Allegheny County with high-quality events and expanded projects that support the OST community to grow and thrive.