Archives:

Select:

Afterschool Heals Tennessee: A Q&A on the opioid crisis

READ FULL STORY

Afterschool Heals Tennessee: A Q&A on the opioid crisis

To help shatter the myths during National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week, we bring you a story of how an afterschool state network is leveraging afterschool programs to support children, youth, families, and communities facing the opioid and substance use epidemic.

In this Q&A with the Afterschool Alliance, Mary Graham, president and CEO of the United Ways of Tennessee and the lead staff at the Tennessee Afterschool Network, gives us a view of the current opioid and substance use situation in her state and describes a new initiative to bring community partners, families, and foundations together to improve the lives of children and young people. 

 

What’s the bird’s-eye view of the opioid crisis in Tennessee, especially as it impacts children and young people?

Tennessee is one of the states most deeply impacted by our national opioid crisis, second only to West Virginia. Tennessee experienced 1,186 overdose deaths in 2016; 13,034 non-fatal overdose outpatient visits in 2015; and 7,092 non-fatal overdoes inpatient stays in 2015.

In 2017, 6,879,698 painkiller prescriptions were filled in Tennessee—and we only have 6,716,000 people living in the state. Between 2010 and 2015, the incidence of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) – infants born with substance addictions due to exposure in the womb – among enrollees in TennCare (Medicaid) more than doubled, from a rate of 11 to 24 per 1,000 live births. Kingsport, one of our afterschool network hubs run by the United Way of Greater Kingsport, is currently working to address the highest incidence of NAS births in both the state and the country.

Afterschool offers many protective factors to encourage prevention and support students whose lives have been touched by the opioid crisis. Are there particular challenges or gaps in the current system of protective factors for young people? If so, what are they?

In terms of the opioids crisis specifically, our state has been focusing resources on treatment, with little eye to protective factors, the long-term impact on youth, or the role afterschool programs can play in prevention and helping families recover. Tennessee has been investing considerable funds in training staff to recognize and work with students who have faced adverse childhood experiences (ACES), and the Tennessee Afterschool Network (TAN) has been highly engaged in the statewide coalition work, providing training for afterschool professionals and beyond. We are excited to be expanding this work.

Your new initiative is called Afterschool Heals Tennessee and takes a comprehensive view of supporting students, staff, families, and the community. Can you tell us about that spectrum of supports and your plans to build or improve on them?

With generous funding from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, AmerisourceBergen, and United Ways of Tennessee, we are launching Afterschool Heals Tennessee as a strategic and much-needed response to the opioid crisis in our state. Through this work, we will be expanding both the depth of educational content for afterschool professionals and the engagement of and support for our youth and families. We will be using a train-the-trainer approach and evidence-based content, as well as new content. This effort would include professional development for afterschool program staff; engaging, educating and supporting children, youth, parents and grandparents more extensively; and being at the center of the conversation around prevention and recovery.

We’ve also built youth engagement into this work. Youth are being recruited for a peer-to-peer anti-stigma campaign, advisory council, and other efforts. In fact, we hope to connect this work to work we will be doing in service learning via a grant from National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC).

New partnerships will also be key--with different parts of our departments of education and health, as well as new organizations, like Systems of Care Across TN (SOCAT), the mental health community, school districts implementing trauma-informed environments, juvenile justice, and our faith community.

We are forming a task force and have recruited a field manager and a youth engagement manager. This work will definitely take a village. We do believe this work will elevate TAN as an expert in our state. We plan to produce a white paper on our work, its outcomes, and the impact of afterschool programming in our state—to educate legislators, potential funders, and other audiences about the role the network and afterschool programming can have in tackling this crisis and other health issues.

What are some of the challenges you see ahead for the effort?

The biggest challenge facing us is the stigma facing those with substance abuse problems. Educating people and getting those who need help to ask for it will be a challenge—but one that we will combat with training, tools, social media, and a plethora of events and resources.

Do you have any advice for other networks or afterschool professionals seeking to help young people and families who are struggling with opioid issues?

Start with a pilot area or two and get some successes under your belt. We started with Knoxville and Kingsport areas, where our hubs in those areas held drug take-back events, trained professionals in ACES and trauma informed care, gave resources to grandparents about managing and storing their medications, and provided positive parenting classes. Additionally, we were partners on a three-hour Tyler’s Light educational program for more than 7,500 7th through 12th graders in the Tri-Cities area. This work has given us some lessons learned, as well as some credibility in terms of our ability to be part of the solution.

Is there anything else you’d like the field or community leaders to know?

This work is important and essential to what afterschool programming is to children and their families. We know that OST programming teaches children and youth to make smart decisions, and it also helps them cope and heal. We also have tremendous engagement of parents and other caretakers. And for afterschool networks, this work increases our voice, our partnerships, our outcomes, and our presence and power as a force that improves lives.

Voters, parents, and youth agree: Afterschool supports mental health

“For me, the introduction to my culture and the feeling of being a part of something bigger than myself, goes hand in hand with a spark or an increase to my mental, spiritual, and physical health,” writes Sasha Neyra, 16. Sasha is a high school junior and Member of Big Lagoon Rancheria....

BY: Charlotte Steinecke      05/04/23

Spotlight on youth voice: What afterschool mentors did for me

To kick off Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week 2023, we are resharing the inspiring words of our 2021 Youth Afterschool Ambassadors about the positive impact the mentors and staff in their programs have made in their lives. The original blog was written by Tierra Easter...

BY: Charlotte Steinecke      04/24/23

Highlights from Youth Voice Week 2023

Thank you for an amazing Youth Voice Week 2023! We were thrilled to see so many inspiring messages from young people across the country, sharing their views on the importance of afterschool and summer learning programs in their lives. Here are a few top highlights: Afterschool Alliance Youth...

BY: Charlotte Steinecke      04/06/23

Afterschool programs expose young people to college and career opportunities

By Madelyn Hinkleman, Afterschool Youth Ambassador, class of 2023. I’m Madelyn Hinkelman, working with the Afterschool Alliance, and I am the South Dakota Youth Ambassador and the South Dakota Youth Advocate coordinator for the Youth Voice Program. I started my afterschool journey when I...

BY: Guest Blogger      03/29/23

"What do you think a policymaker needs to know about funding afterschool?"

We asked our Afterschool Alliace Youth Ambassadors to respond to the question, "What do you think a policymaker needs to know about funding afterschool?"  Trinity: I would say that policy makers should not only fund afterschool via reparations, but instead working closely...

BY: Elizabeth Bannan      03/28/23

Afterschool programs give young people a place to be themselves

By Avery Reisinger, member of the 2023 class of Afterschool Youth Ambassadors. Afterschool programs have many benefits to students and young people! From hearing stories from my peers and experiencing afterschool programs myself, I have a better understanding of how these programs can positively...

BY: Guest Blogger      03/27/23

Join us for Youth Voice Week!

By the 2023 class of Afterschool Alliance Youth Ambassadors. As members of the current class of Afterschool Alliance Youth Ambassadors, we’d like to invite you to join us for Youth Voice Week, from March 23 to 31, 2023. We are honored to speak on behalf of our friends and peers in...

BY: Guest Blogger      03/22/23

A sense of stability and a place to connect

By Avery Reisinger, Afterschool Youth Ambassador, class of 2023. Hi everyone! My name is Avery Reisinger and my afterschool program is a nonprofit organization called Kids Rank. My afterschool experience with Kids Rank has been a pleasure. Kids Rank has taught me many new things and connected me...

BY: Guest Blogger      03/02/23

An afterschool program that feels like a family

By Trinity Ansley, Afterschool Youth Ambassador, class of 2023.  Hi everyone, my name is Trinity Ansley! My afterschool program is San Diego Urban League, Project Ready. Having been a member since freshman year and now being the chair of the program as a junior, I really appreciate this...

BY: Guest Blogger      02/27/23

Creating safe spaces and activities for my peers alongside inspiring adult mentors

By Nekayla Stokes, Afterschool Youth Ambassador, class of 2023.  What I love most about the opportunity to support the Delaware Afterschool Network and United Way of Delaware is connecting with new people with similar viewpoints. Communicating with other youth on developing projects...

BY: Guest Blogger      02/24/23

Building peer-to-peer relationships and taking "safe risks": Project Morry

In a conversation with Dawn Ewing, Executive Director of Project Morry, we sat down to discuss how the program is fostering a safe space for youth to re-engage during the summer and how youth are able to define success on their own terms. Project Morry was one of the 36 grantees of the 2021 Aim...

BY: Maria Rizo      01/19/23

Guest blog: Help your students share their thoughts with World’s Largest Lesson education survey

By Michelle Mann, Director, Social Impact, NetApp. Each year, the World’s Largest Lesson creates learning opportunities for educators across the globe to engage students in exploring and problem-solving around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This school year, the lesson is...

BY: Guest Blogger      11/21/22

"I want every girl to know that her voice can change the world": An interview with Girls Empowerment Network

We spoke with Ami Kane, Deputy Director at the Girls Empowerment Network, to discuss how the Spark Change Project is empowering girls to become advocates for the issues that matter the most to them and strengthening critical supports for their students with help from the New York Life...

BY: Maria Rizo      10/24/22

Expanding possibilities for students with The Wooden Floor, a New York Life Foundation Aim High grantee

In a follow-up conversation with 2021 New York Life Foundation Aim High grantee The Wooden Floor, we spoke with Chief Executive Officer Dawn S. Reese to discuss more on how the Aim High grant has continued to support the program in the past year and what she is seeing among youth today. Read our...

BY: Maria Rizo      09/29/22

Resources to help you Engage Every Student from wherever you sit

New parent data shows that for every child in an afterschool program, there are now four more who are waiting for an available program. It is more important than ever to amplify ways for programs, communities, districts, and states to connect every student to an afterschool program that wants...

BY: Maria Rizo      09/08/22

Guest blog: Foundations, Inc.'s REACH model accelerates learning recovery in afterschool

By Elizabeth Cieri and Paula Houghton of Foundations, Inc.  Educators across the nation are dealing with academic losses due to the pandemic -- mitigating those losses requires inventive thinking and better practices. “Coming out of the pandemic, we knew all kids suffered learning...

BY: Guest Blogger      08/29/22

Ensuring access to school meals this fall

As we approach the upcoming school year, school nutrition programs are increasingly important in ensuring children are fed during the hours they are in and out of school and addressing food insecurity exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, the Afterschool Alliance participated in the...

BY: Maria Rizo      08/11/22

Guest blog: Council for a Strong America identifies afterschool as key policy to help next generation succeed

By Barry Ford is the President & CEO of Council for a Strong America. Council for a Strong America has long advocated for high-quality afterschool programs as a way to strengthen communities and our country. Our organization is a national, bipartisan nonprofit that unites membership...

BY: Guest Blogger      08/08/22

Guest blog: Advancing equity and inclusion in hiring and staff development in OST

By Angelica Portillo, National AfterSchool Association’s Director of Advocacy and Workforce Initiatives, and Shawna Rosenweig, Camp Fire Chief Strategy Officer and member of the National AfterSchool Association's Board. For the last 20 years, out-of-school time (OST) has...

BY: Guest Blogger      07/28/22

US Dept. of Ed calls for afterschool & summer for all

Today marks an incredible moment for the afterschool and summer program movement. For the first time ever, federal leaders are calling for afterschool for all. Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona launched the Engage Every Student Initiative, a bold new call to action to...

BY: Jodi Grant      07/14/22

January is National Mentoring Month

Afterschool programs are excellent places for young people to meet and engage with supportive adults and find mentors. From STEM superheroes introducing girls to 21st century STEM careers, to caring adults helping with homework and encouraging students realize their full potential, mentorship in...

BY: Charlotte Steinecke      01/10/23

Program Toolbox recently updated for new, established, and growing programs

Starting a new program or working to grow a program can be exciting and fulfilling—but it can take hard work. We’ve created a toolbox of resources to help you at every point in the process. With a variety of guides, tools, case studies, and best practices from out-of-school time experts...

BY: Maria Rizo      11/22/22

Afterschool supports LGBTQ students

By Tran Tonnu, marketing manager at School's Out Washington, and Janell Jordan, King County program manager. This article originally appeared on School's Out Washington's blog on June 17, 2021. It has been republished here with their permission. For LGBTQ folks, June...

BY: Guest Blogger      06/28/22

$1.8M awarded to middle school out-of-school time programs

The New York Life Foundation and the Afterschool Alliance are pleased to announce the 2022 Aim High grant recipients. In its sixth year, the Aim High grant has provided a total of $7.95 million dollars to help fund afterschool, summer and expanded learning programs as they help middle school...

BY: Dan Gilbert      06/14/22

Guest blog: Social and emotional learning in the spotlight

By Jenna Tomasello, associate director at The Hatcher Group. This blog post was originally published on the Wallace Foundation blog on March 11, 2022.  The social isolation students experienced because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent school closures has shined a spotlight on unmet...

BY: Guest Blogger      04/21/22

Afterschool field creates resources to help support the mental health of young people

With year 3 of the COVID-19 pandemic now underway, mental health is recognized as one of the largest issues among youth today. The ways in which young people have suffered during the pandemic are heartbreaking - from increased anxiety and social isolation to coping with grief and loss. Fortunately,...

BY: Christopher Echevarria      03/15/22

Celebrating Black History 365 with Howard University Television

By Keisha Nelson, Education and Outreach Manager WHUT- Howard University Television. Black History Month may only last 28 days, but opportunities for learning don’t end in February. There are many ways to celebrate the past and present contributions of Black people to U.S. history,...

BY: Guest Blogger      02/28/22

Slowing down while playing catch-up: The educator Catch-22!

By Carlos Santini, CEO of Mizzen by Mott. If you’re an educator, mentor, coach or administrative staff member working in education, you’re most likely hearing of or reading about priorities such as accelerated learning, learning recovery, and historic investments at the federal level...

BY: Guest Blogger      02/22/22

Tips for afterschool to support trans and gender non-conforming young people

Photo courtesy of The Gender Spectrum Collection. Thanks to a growing number of supports for transgender and nonbinary youth to feel safe within their school settings, afterschool programs have more resources than ever to ensure that every young person who enters their doors between the hours of...

BY: Shaun Gray      02/14/22

Mentorship "show[ed] me my self-worth... the value that I have as a human."

Photo by Josh Sorenson on Unsplash The impact of afterschool and summer programs last well beyond a student’s formative years. The relationships that afterschool youth build with the adults in their programs often lead to academic success and future leadership opportunities. Mentored youth...

BY: Tierra Easter      01/25/22

An afterschool program that feels like a family

By Trinity Ansley, Afterschool Youth Ambassador, class of 2023.  Hi everyone, my name is Trinity Ansley! My afterschool program is San Diego Urban League, Project Ready. Having been a member since freshman year and now being the chair of the program as a junior, I really appreciate this...

BY: Guest Blogger      02/27/23

Building peer-to-peer relationships and taking "safe risks": Project Morry

In a conversation with Dawn Ewing, Executive Director of Project Morry, we sat down to discuss how the program is fostering a safe space for youth to re-engage during the summer and how youth are able to define success on their own terms. Project Morry was one of the 36 grantees of the 2021 Aim...

BY: Maria Rizo      01/19/23

Supporting young people to engage at the intersection of STEM & society

We are living through some challenging times—societies across the world have been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate is rapidly changing around us and making our planet less hospitable to human beings, technology is evolving at a dizzying rate with dramatic consequences, and a new...

BY: Anita Krishnamurthi      09/27/22

Guest blog: Advancing equity and inclusion in hiring and staff development in OST

By Angelica Portillo, National AfterSchool Association’s Director of Advocacy and Workforce Initiatives, and Shawna Rosenweig, Camp Fire Chief Strategy Officer and member of the National AfterSchool Association's Board. For the last 20 years, out-of-school time (OST) has...

BY: Guest Blogger      07/28/22

Afterschool supports LGBTQ students

By Tran Tonnu, marketing manager at School's Out Washington, and Janell Jordan, King County program manager. This article originally appeared on School's Out Washington's blog on June 17, 2021. It has been republished here with their permission. For LGBTQ folks, June...

BY: Guest Blogger      06/28/22

Celebrating Juneteenth in afterschool programs

Image by William Adams from Pixabay Juneteenth National Independence Day also known as Freedom Day, or Jubilee day honors the emancipation of slaves in the United States. More than 150 years after its first celebration, the Juneteenth holiday provides an opportunity to learn and teach about the...

BY: Tierra Easter      06/17/22

Meet Kaiya Jones, Afterschool Youth Ambassador

Welcome to Youth Voice Week 2022! All during the week, we'll be amplifying the voices of our Youth Ambassadors, as they share their stories and speak about the impact that afterschool has had on their lives.  Kaiya Jones is a 15-year-old student from Howard County Library System Teen...

BY: Charlotte Steinecke      04/01/22

Meet Zhonghui Zheng and Kyla Anderson, Afterschool Youth Ambassadors

Welcome to Youth Voice Week 2022! All during the week, we'll be amplifying the voices of our Youth Ambassadors, as they share their stories and speak about the impact that afterschool has had on their lives.  Zhonghui Zheng is a 17-year-old student at Global Kids Afterschool Program in...

BY: Christopher Echevarria      03/31/22

Meet Brock Brewer and Juliana Montell, Afterschool Youth Ambassadors

Welcome to Youth Voice Week 2022! All during the week, we'll be amplifying the voices of our Youth Ambassadors, as they share their stories and speak about the impact that afterschool has had on their lives.  Brock Brewer is a 16-year-old student at Youth and Family Link Afterschool...

BY: Leah Silverberg      03/30/22

Tips for afterschool to support trans and gender non-conforming young people

Photo courtesy of The Gender Spectrum Collection. Thanks to a growing number of supports for transgender and nonbinary youth to feel safe within their school settings, afterschool programs have more resources than ever to ensure that every young person who enters their doors between the hours of...

BY: Shaun Gray      02/14/22

Building peer-to-peer relationships and taking "safe risks": Project Morry

In a conversation with Dawn Ewing, Executive Director of Project Morry, we sat down to discuss how the program is fostering a safe space for youth to re-engage during the summer and how youth are able to define success on their own terms. Project Morry was one of the 36 grantees of the 2021 Aim...

BY: Maria Rizo      01/19/23

January is National Mentoring Month

Afterschool programs are excellent places for young people to meet and engage with supportive adults and find mentors. From STEM superheroes introducing girls to 21st century STEM careers, to caring adults helping with homework and encouraging students realize their full potential, mentorship in...

BY: Charlotte Steinecke      01/10/23

New video: This Is Afterschool

We're starting 2023 off with the release of our anthem video, This Is Afterschool, which puts a spotlight on some of the amazing activities available in quality afterschool and summer learning programs. From ballet to sailing, and from rocketry to theater, afterschool programs are...

BY: Charlotte Steinecke      01/03/23

Celebrating 25 years of masterpieces with a masterpiece of a movie

“We want to show the softness.” – Mingotae Kebede, director and producer A filmmaker and former staff of a long running Washington, DC Afterschool program, Life Pieces to Masterpieces was asked to help the program create a small video to commemorate the program’s 25th...

BY: Jillian Luchner      12/09/22

California celebrates the 20th Anniversary of Proposition 49

The energy was buzzing at Bell Gardens Intermediate as students, school leaders, and afterschool advocates including former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona gathered to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Proposition 49, the initiative that created...

BY: Emily Murtaugh      12/05/22

Program Toolbox recently updated for new, established, and growing programs

Starting a new program or working to grow a program can be exciting and fulfilling—but it can take hard work. We’ve created a toolbox of resources to help you at every point in the process. With a variety of guides, tools, case studies, and best practices from out-of-school time experts...

BY: Maria Rizo      11/22/22

"I want every girl to know that her voice can change the world": An interview with Girls Empowerment Network

We spoke with Ami Kane, Deputy Director at the Girls Empowerment Network, to discuss how the Spark Change Project is empowering girls to become advocates for the issues that matter the most to them and strengthening critical supports for their students with help from the New York Life...

BY: Maria Rizo      10/24/22

Expanding possibilities for students with The Wooden Floor, a New York Life Foundation Aim High grantee

In a follow-up conversation with 2021 New York Life Foundation Aim High grantee The Wooden Floor, we spoke with Chief Executive Officer Dawn S. Reese to discuss more on how the Aim High grant has continued to support the program in the past year and what she is seeing among youth today. Read our...

BY: Maria Rizo      09/29/22

Guest blog: Council for a Strong America identifies afterschool as key policy to help next generation succeed

By Barry Ford is the President & CEO of Council for a Strong America. Council for a Strong America has long advocated for high-quality afterschool programs as a way to strengthen communities and our country. Our organization is a national, bipartisan nonprofit that unites membership...

BY: Guest Blogger      08/08/22

YouthForce NOLA: Creating a path for career exploration and readiness

Welcome to our new series on credit for learning in afterschool programs! Afterschool programs can provide older youth opportunities to find their inspiration and gain skills that will benefit them in and outside of the classroom while allowing them to earn school credits. Credit-for-learning...

BY: Charlotte Steinecke      02/25/22

New guide to support district engagement in the National Partnership for Student Success

The National Partnership for Student Success (NPSS) just published a helpful resource for the field: a District Partnership Toolkit. NPSS is public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of Education, AmeriCorps, and John Hopkins Everyone Graduates Center, with a goal to bring 250,000...

BY: Jillian Luchner      04/25/23

"I want every girl to know that her voice can change the world": An interview with Girls Empowerment Network

We spoke with Ami Kane, Deputy Director at the Girls Empowerment Network, to discuss how the Spark Change Project is empowering girls to become advocates for the issues that matter the most to them and strengthening critical supports for their students with help from the New York Life...

BY: Maria Rizo      10/24/22

Resources to help you Engage Every Student from wherever you sit

New parent data shows that for every child in an afterschool program, there are now four more who are waiting for an available program. It is more important than ever to amplify ways for programs, communities, districts, and states to connect every student to an afterschool program that wants...

BY: Maria Rizo      09/08/22

Guest blog: Foundations, Inc.'s REACH model accelerates learning recovery in afterschool

By Elizabeth Cieri and Paula Houghton of Foundations, Inc.  Educators across the nation are dealing with academic losses due to the pandemic -- mitigating those losses requires inventive thinking and better practices. “Coming out of the pandemic, we knew all kids suffered learning...

BY: Guest Blogger      08/29/22

Ensuring access to school meals this fall

As we approach the upcoming school year, school nutrition programs are increasingly important in ensuring children are fed during the hours they are in and out of school and addressing food insecurity exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, the Afterschool Alliance participated in the...

BY: Maria Rizo      08/11/22

From afterschool to the White House: A conversation with Life Pieces to Masterpieces alum Cateo Hilton

In February of this year, soon-to-be-high-school-graduate Cateo Hilton of Washington, D.C.’s Life Pieces to Masterpieces afterschool program was asked to speak at the White House at an event marking the end of Black History Month. Life Pieces to Masterpieces’ Andrew Blickle serves as an...

BY: Matt Freeman      07/12/22

Investing ARP in afterschool & summer: Overview of trends, opportunities, challenges

We’ve released a new overview looking at the trends, opportunities, and challenges around investing American Rescue Plan (ARP) dollars in afterschool and summer programs. Use this overview to help educate partners, policymakers, local leaders, and educators on the opportunity to support youth...

BY: Ursula Helminski      06/06/22

New resources to plan for summer learning and make the case for afterschool

Sharing the latest on COVID funds for afterschool or summer programs that support students’ well-being and academic growth, preparing for summer 2022, and more: The latest updates and tools to help you advance partnerships between schools and afterschool or summer programs to support...

BY: Charlotte Steinecke      04/28/22

MAP: Where are COVID funds supporting afterschool & summer programs?

If you’ve been following our COVID work, you know we’ve been working to track how and where federal COVID relief funding has been tapped to support young people with comprehensive afterschool and summer enrichment programs. Three major funding bills – the Coronavirus Aid, Relief,...

BY: Ursula Helminski      04/19/22

Giving a big #AmeriThanks to AmeriCorps VISTA members!

It’s AmeriCorps Week! Organizations around the country are taking this opportunity to acknowledge the work of national service members that participate in programs such as AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps VISTA, Senior Corps, and National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC). In that spirit, we want to...

BY: Alexis Steines      03/18/22

Creating a path for career exploration and readiness at L.E.A.D. Afterschool

Welcome back to our series on credit for learning in afterschool programs! Afterschool programs can provide older youth opportunities to find their inspiration and gain skills that will benefit them in and outside of the classroom while allowing them to earn school credits. Credit-for-learning...

BY: Charlotte Steinecke      08/23/22

Celebrating Juneteenth in afterschool programs

Image by William Adams from Pixabay Juneteenth National Independence Day also known as Freedom Day, or Jubilee day honors the emancipation of slaves in the United States. More than 150 years after its first celebration, the Juneteenth holiday provides an opportunity to learn and teach about the...

BY: Tierra Easter      06/17/22

Youth mental health is top of mind for voters

By Olivia Allen, strategy director at Children’s Funding Project. Public opinion polling during the COVID-19 pandemic shows that voters feel intense concern about youth mental health and are willing to prioritize public investment in programs that support young people. In fact, 79...

BY: Guest Blogger      05/26/22

Arts education and training program at Riverzedge Arts helps students earn credit

Welcome to our series on credit for learning in afterschool programs! Afterschool programs can provide older youth opportunities to find their inspiration and gain skills that will benefit them in and outside of the classroom while allowing them to earn school credits. Credit-for-learning programs...

BY: Charlotte Steinecke      05/06/22

You're invited: Help amplify youth voices in afterschool!

Join us next week for Youth Voice Week! We want to hear from, and amplify, the perspectives and experiences of young people.  From Monday, March 28 to Friday, April 1, we will be sharing pieces by youth about their afterschool experiences, and what youth need after school. Afterschool...

BY: Maria Rizo      03/21/22

YouthForce NOLA: Creating a path for career exploration and readiness

Welcome to our new series on credit for learning in afterschool programs! Afterschool programs can provide older youth opportunities to find their inspiration and gain skills that will benefit them in and outside of the classroom while allowing them to earn school credits. Credit-for-learning...

BY: Charlotte Steinecke      02/25/22

Tips for afterschool to support trans and gender non-conforming young people

Photo courtesy of The Gender Spectrum Collection. Thanks to a growing number of supports for transgender and nonbinary youth to feel safe within their school settings, afterschool programs have more resources than ever to ensure that every young person who enters their doors between the hours of...

BY: Shaun Gray      02/14/22

Meet our 2022 Youth Afterschool Ambassadors

We're thrilled to introduce the 2022 class of Youth Afterschool Ambassadors—our largest group ever! Nine students from across the country were chosen on the basis of their essays and video submissions in a competition held in 2021. The Youth Ambassadors promote the value of...

BY: Charlotte Steinecke      01/04/22

Ohio Afterschool Network is unleashing student creativity, and fostering pandemic recovery, through entrepreneurship

At RISE Afterschool, which is expanding entrepreneurial education with help from the Ohio Afterschool Network and YEI, students are cultivating entrepreneurial skills as they create a garden business with raised beds. Photo: CBI Middletown, Inc. By Laurie Posner. Laurie Posner is a...

BY: Guest Blogger      12/14/21

Afterschool programs can help young people access vaccines

With the COVID-19 vaccine recommended by the CDC for everyone aged 5 and older, afterschool programs are positioned to help their communities’ young people access vaccines. The U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, has traveled to various schools, including afterschool programs, to...

BY: Nicole Pettenati      12/06/21