Three nationally recognized afterschool leaders were in Washington, D.C. on Monday for a discussion on expanded learning policy at the local and federal levels. The Senate briefing, Policy Perspectives in Expanded Learning: Lessons Learned at the Local Level and Implications for Federal Policy, featured Jennifer Peck, executive director of the Partnership for Children and Youth in California; Laura Hansen, director of information management and decision support for the Metro Nashville Public Schools in Tennessee; and Christina Russell, managing director for Policy Studies Associates, Inc. in Washington, D.C. It was sponsored by the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) and the Collaborative for Building After-School Systems (CBASS).
The briefing focused on the value of intermediary organizations, quality and accountability, and school and community partnerships. Jennifer Peck spoke about the role of intermediary organizations in supporting school and community partnerships and the implications for student achievement. Her organization, the Partnership for Children and Youth, serves as an intermediary organization for afterschool programs in California's Bay Area. She showcased impressive data demonstrating how summer learning programs significantly increased the grade-level vocabulary of students who participated. She stated that these results occurred due to strong partnerships between schools and non-profit agencies.
Laura Hansen discussed the importance of data sharing to ensure program accountability and quality. The Metro Nashville School District shares data with the Nashville After Zone Alliance, the intermediary organization that coordinates middle school afterschool programs. The data is used by program staff to determine program placement. She stated that data sharing should not be one way, but a mutual effort between community-based organizations and school districts. Federal privacy laws, such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), do not prevent sharing of all data.
The final speaker, Christina Russell, shared research supporting school-community partnerships. Her findings confirmed what many of us in the afterschool world already know: effective community partnerships are vital to supporting quality afterschool programs. Effective community partnerships complement the school day, have a shared vision between school and community partners, have regular communication between the partners, explicitly focus on building youth skills, and share expectations for student participation. Russell found that the impact of afterschool programs on youth was strongest for students who attended frequently and for longer periods of time. The quality of the programs also matters, as does having an explicit focus. The speakers each confirmed the special nature of afterschool programs. Strong community partnerships are essential for successful, quality afterschool programs. Intermediary organizations are one way to facilitate these partnerships throughout a community.
Last week I attended the “Reimagining Education: Empowering Learning in a Connected World” summit and was inspired and moved by the dedication and passion expressed in the room to change the current educational circumstances of young people in our nation. Everyone in attendance was focused on the goal of making sure all youth are prepared for the unique challenges of our time, equipped with the knowledge, skills and support they need to succeed. It was impressive to hear thinking around creating a new ecosystem for learning that recognizes that learning takes place everywhere and makes it relevant to young people—drawing on their interests; connecting them to their peers and to mentors; and linking both interests and relationships to academics, career and community.
I was blown away, and in some cases a little starstruck, listening to speakers that included astronaut Leland Melvin, NBA All-Star and afterschool advocate Chris Paul, Howard University student and afterschool program graduate Marcus Prince, and Digital Youth Network founder and DePaul University Associate Professor Nichole Pinkard. I walked away from the two-day event excited about the possibilities and enthusiastic to further participate in reimagining education.
The Reimagining Education summit was just the start of conversations that are taking place around the country. A great piece in the Huffington Post by Connie Yowell, director of education grantmaking at the MacArthur Foundation, and Pharrell Williams—singer, rapper, song writer, producer and education advocate—discusses what it’s going to take to create a world where all kids have the opportunity for lifetime success and shares how we can better engage, challenge and motivate youth to become lifelong learners.
You can also join the conversation at #reimagineed, connect with others interested in connected learning through the National Writing Project’s Educator Innovator, take “A Dive Into Connected Learning” by watching a webinar hosted by Alliance for Educational Excellence, and take part in events and projects through the Summer of Making and Connecting. Just last week we hosted the first of a three-part webinar series introducing the afterschool field to maker culture as a part of the Summer of Making and Connecting. Sign up for our newsletter to be one of the first to find out when our next webinar on the maker movement is taking place.
From the afterschool program that brought you the smash hit Hot Cheetos & Takis, the Beats and Rhymes afterschool program has done it again! The program is set up by the North Community YMCA in Minneapolis, MN, and gives local kids the opportunity to work on professional-grade equipment to make rap and hip-hop videos as a reward for keeping up with schoolwork.
Now, they've followed up on last summer's viral hit with two more fun videos created by these amazing students:
Mayors and city council members from across the country co-authored a piece on the importance of afterschool programs in Education Week. It said: “For our cities to remain beacons of hope, it is our responsibility as municipal leaders to help young people develop the skills and talents they need to find gainful employment and become successful adults in a knowledge-based economy. City leaders must work together with schools, parents, and others to help young people thrive, with a shared understanding that their success will determine the success of our cities. Maximizing the after-school hours is one important way in which city governments can improve educational outcomes for children and teenagers and reinforce what they learn in the classroom.” The op-ed was signed by Mayors Christopher Coleman (St. Paul, Minn.), Karl Dean (Nashville, Tenn.), and Betsy Price (Fort Worth, Texas) and City Council Members James Mitchell Jr. (Charlotte, N.C.) and Ronnie Steine (Nashville, Tenn.).
Using data from a survey of young people, associate director of the Center for Education Policy Research Angelo Gonzales and his colleagues at the University of New Mexico, “have identified a strong relationship between students who are involved in activities outside of school and those who engage in less risky behaviors,” the Albuquerque Journal reports. “Specifically, students who said they were involved in extracurricular activities reported lower levels of attempts to commit suicide, smoking, binge drinking, drug use and sexual activity…and significantly higher rates of daily physical activity.” The New Mexico-specific data is from the 2011 state Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey of middle and high school students.
Students from the Whitney Community Center afterschool program are walking around the playground with Boise City Council member TJ Thomson as part of a local initiative to encourage physical fitness, the Idaho Statesman reports. Boise Mayor David H. Bieter has pledged to walk 150 miles in honor of the city’s sesquicentennial.
The the Worcester Technical High School Robotics and Automation Technology Team, one of 420 teams from 23 countries, won the 2013 VEX Robotics World Championships trophy over the weekend. Worcester Polytechnic Institute President and CEO Dennis Berkey told the Telegram & Gazette, “Their world championship award reinforces the power of STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] education, specifically as it applies in robotics, and especially the highly effective curriculum and dedication of the faculty and staff at ‘the other’ Worcester Tech.”
This month we’re putting the spotlight on two of our grant opportunities for afterschool programs: the well-known MetLife Foundation Afterschool Innovator Awards and the new Noyce Foundation Afterschool STEM Impact Awards. Afterschool STEM programs can apply for an Impact Award now until May 15. The Innovator Awards nomination process has been moved to later this year—stay tuned for further details and key dates. These webinars will introduce you to both grant opportunities, complete with tips about the application and selection process.
Afterschool Innovators & Middle School Success
April 25, 3:00 – 4:00 PM EDT
Since 2008, the Afterschool Alliance and MetLife Foundation have collaborated to highlight and expand the work of innovative afterschool programs supporting children, families and communities across the nation. Now in the fifth year of the partnership, we have awarded more than $160,000 to programs in a variety of categories, including digital learning, school alignment, service-learning, middle school bullying and college readiness. Join us to learn more about last year’s MetLife Foundation Afterschool Innovator Award winners and hear helpful tips about the selection process. Register now!
Afterschool STEM Impact Award Insights
April 30, 1:00 – 1:30 PM EDT
The Afterschool Alliance recently announced a new national award for afterschool programs offering science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) – the Afterschool STEM Impact Awards, sponsored by the Noyce Foundation. This year’s award categories are focused on partnership models, and computing and/or engineering. This webinar will be incredibly useful to potential applicants as we will discuss the intentions behind creating the Afterschool STEM Impact awards and what we’ll be looking for in the review process. The Afterschool Alliance team will also address the definitions used for the award categories. Participants will have the opportunity to ask any questions they might have to help craft a winning application! Register now!
“Two Tazewell County Sheriff’s deputies took students of the after school program at North Tazewell Elementary School by Storm ... and by Evo ... Friday afternoon as two Tazewell County sheriff’s deputies and their K9 partners demonstrated their combined talents for detecting drugs and following commands,” the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports. Officers explained how and why they use Evo and other dogs to help detect drugs and answered questions from students.
“Mr. Science” paid a visit to the afterschool students at James A. Cawood Elementary School’s 21st Century Community Learning Center this week to showcase some hands-on experiments. Using toilet paper and a leaf blower “Mr. Science” explained flight and used household ingredients to teach students about electricity. Fifth-grader Elizabeth Inman told the Harlan Daily Enterprise, “He is so much fun. He teaches us about erosion, balance, good structure, how water moves and how air pushes things. He shows us how things work instead of talking about it or reading it in a book. He shows us detail.” “Mr. Science” is an award-winning science educator and author Jason Lindsey of Paducah.
In response to the investigation fraud allegations at some of Florida’s private tutoring firms, Florida Afterschool Network CEO Larry Pintacuda argues that allocating funds for high-quality afterschool programs could be a better way to spend state funds. In the Tallahassee Democrat he writes: “While tutoring can be a powerful tool for many children, quality after-school programs provide opportunities that not only support children’s cognitive development, but their physical, social and emotional development as well… Children attending quality after-school programs attend school more regularly, perform better on tests, have fewer behavioral problems and are less likely to use tobacco, alcohol or drugs. Quality after-school programs also provide a safe, nurturing environment that decreases the likelihood that children will become victims or perpetrators of criminal activity.”
Last week, 150 T-Mobile employees and city workers volunteered and painted and refurbished the Mission Boys & Girls Club. Volunteers painted murals of trees, athletes, spaceships, stars and more on the walls of the club, landscaped and added planters, organized the library, and moved in new furniture. T-Mobile donated a 50-inch TV, a couch, chairs, rugs and food machines as a part of its Huddle Up program, which works with afterschool programs in high-need areas, The Monitor reports. The activity was coordinated through the Corpsgiving program which helps companies volunteer in their communities.
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