With the nomination last week of Betsy DeVos to serve as Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, it is widely accepted that school choice will play a large role in the new presidential administration. What does this mean for afterschool?

Know a program that excels in improving its students' reading, writing and critical thinking skills? For the third year in a row, the Afterschool Alliance and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation seek nominations for the $10,000 Dollar General Afterschool Literacy Award.

This year we lost several great musicians—first Prince and David Bowie, and then last week we said goodbye to two musical legends, Leon Russell and Leonard Cohen.

Yesterday, my daughter came home from school and told me they were getting a new student in class today and that he doesn't speak any English at all. As a parent trying to encourage—and practice!—inclusion, I asked "How do you think he must be feeling? How can you make him feel included?"

NAA's Virtual Convention runs November 6 – 20, 2016. It's free for NAA Executive members and just $49 for Ambassador members. Here's a sneak peek at four of the awesome workshops you'll experience when you participate!

NAA's Virtual Convention runs November 6 – 20, 2016. It's FREE for NAA Executive members and just $49 for Ambassadors. Here's a sneak peek at three of the awesome workshops you'll experience when you participate!

Youth development professionals come from many backgrounds and work in a variety of settings. They can be childcare providers, camp leaders, afterschool professionals or even volunteers with little to no background in development or education.

The National AfterSchool Association (NAA) received the Alliance for a Healthier Generation's Healthy Out-of-School Time Hero Award. The award recognizes an integral community organization that contributes to the healthy development of its youth by focusing on healthy eating and physical activity.

People too often associate leadership with a status to be earned, or a title that bestows power. Certainly, under some circumstances, those definitions are accurate. But I like to think of leadership differently.

The NAA Core Knowledge and Competencies (CKCs) for Afterschool and Youth Development Professionals were designed through the collaborative efforts of NAA, the Child & Youth Care Certification Board, and the National Institute of Out-of-School Time.