Podcasts

Why is NAA’s Professional Learning Community for Emerging Leaders of Color (PLC) opportunity only for staff who identify as a person of color?

Research findings from the The Afterschool Leadership Landscape: Supporting and Strengthening Racial Equity report, along with research from the non-profit sector, shows that people of color are not being hired or promoted at the same rate as their white colleagues. One way to address this systemic inequity is to provide opportunities like these for leaders of color.

Research also shows that people of color thrive in leadership development spaces that are designed specifically for them and take into account their experiences with inequity, power, privilege and oppression.

Are we saying that people of color don’t have the skills to advance?

No. Leaders of color face systemic, institutional, interpersonal and cultural barriers to advanced leadership. This program acknowledges that this inequity exists and is creating an intentional space for leaders of color to explore leadership development that is designed for and by leaders of color.

What can supervisors expect of their staff who participate in this program?

Participants of this program will develop a heightened and sharpened analysis of the ways power, privilege and oppression operate. Participants will engage in deep self-reflection and will strengthen their awareness and understanding of their experience with power, privilege and oppression. Participants will gain tools, resources and skills that support their capacity to be equity-driven leaders and affect meaningful systems-level change.

What support will participants of the PLC need?

This is an intensive leadership experience that will require participants to devote time to attend the Opening Retreat March 15-18 in Washington, D.C., 4 virtual sessions from April-June and a closing retreat in July (location TBA). In addition to supporting participants to prioritize the work for the PLC, participating staff may need consistent space to reflect on their experience and support in implementing their Leadership Development plan.

What if I already know I have a conflict with one of the session dates?

This program is designed to create a space for participants to build a sense of community. Additionally, the content is progressive and for this reason, we ask that individuals apply only if they are able to attend ALL the sessions. As future funding is available to continue offering this program, NAA will work toward offering this leadership development opportunity in the future.

If my application is accepted, what are the costs for me to participate in this PLC?

Organizations are expected to cover staff costs, including wages, to enable their staff to participate fully in the PLC.

Participants of this program will receive:

• Complimentary air travel to the opening retreat at the NAA20 Convention (Washington, D.C. - March 14th-17th) and closing retreat (Location TBA - July); 1 dinner and 3 lunches at the opening retreat at the NAA20 Convention; all meals for the July closing retreat.
• Complimentary registration to attend the NAA20 Convention in Washington, D.C. ($600 value)
• An NAA Executive membership ($99 value)
• $1,900 stipend to offset travel costs, which includes:
  
  • Hotel accommodations for NAA20 Convention (approx. $1,000, Washington, D.C. - March) and Closing Retreat (approx. $200, location TBA - July)
  • Ground transportation for March and July retreats
  • All meals not included in retreats

Is this PLC only for people of color or are other underrepresented groups able to apply?

This PLC is specifically designed for people of color. While the analysis of systems and levels of oppression will be intersectional, the content will focus intensively on racial justice and equity.

If you have questions about the application, please contact Jimena Quiroga Hopkins at 833-605-4648 ext. 701.

 

Review each session by type

Leadership Intensive
Panel
Spark
Workshop

Best Practices for Hiring and Retaining High-Quality Staff

Leadership Intensive Proficient
Advocacy and Leadership

High-quality programs require high-quality staff. Unfortunately, staff turnover in the OST field is preventing us from doing our best work and depriving our youth of the quality programming they deserve. Join us to learn best practices to more effectively hire and retain high-quality staff. You will walk away with tangible ideas you can implement immediately as well as strategies to advocate for change on the systemic level.

Katherine Spinney, Katherine Spinney Coaching LLC

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Exploring How White Supremacy Culture Impacts Learning and Leading

Leadership Intensive Proficient
Advocacy and Leadership

Culture establishes the context and values for how people communicate, engage and work together. Culture is powerful because it is simultaneously ever-present and difficult to identify. Despite best intentions, even equity-driven leaders and organizations can find themselves perpetuating the exploitative White Supremacy norms that seek conformity and control rather than authenticity and critical thinking. Join us for a brave exploration of what White dominant culture looks like, sounds like, and feels like, how it impacts our capacity to learn and lead, and learn strategies, practices and mindsets that put us on a path back to honoring our shared humanity, interdependence and, ultimately, liberation.

Zakir Parpia, California School-Age Consortium (CalSAC)

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Finding Your Art in Leadership: The Deep Dive!

Leadership Intensive Proficient
Advocacy and Leadership

Finding Your ART in Leadership is back with new content, but the same fun! Join us to engage your creative potential to enhance your leadership. This session is designed to bridge leadership development and theatre arts together to enhance your leadership quality in life and the workplace. In this hands-on and engaging session, you will explore how to be an effective communicator, become an active listener, evoke empathy through a professional lens, understand bias so leaders provide equitable and inclusive leadership, and dig deeper into our leadership as supervisors, managers, and directors. We want to create a more effective and affective workplace environment for both the leader and the employer.

Jessica Vann, Creative Spaces

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Let's Raise the Room!

Leadership Intensive Advanced
Advocacy and Leadership

You’ve included parents on your board, created systems for youth-led advocacy, and empowered staff to lead their own professional growth because you know it’s time to step back and become the incredible Transformational Leader you’ve always wanted to be. This session will dive into the critical skills needed to make our public engagements (professional learning events, conferences, classes, meetings) truly participant-driven by focusing on facilitation strategies. If you regularly lead events or meetings, you will walk away inspired to try out new ideas that increase inclusion, equity, and participation from all stakeholders - and will be excited to give yourself the upgraded title of Transformational Facilitator.

Eva Meyers, Raise the Room

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Proactive Management : Preventing Program Fires

Leadership Intensive Proficient
Advocacy and Leadership

You were the best. That’s why you now lead staff. We can put out any “program fires”, but have we developed tools and practices to minimize their chances of occurring in the first place? We’ll dive into the approaches, habits, and best practices that define proactive managers in this highly interactive session.

Justin Hensley, After-School All-Stars North Texas

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SEL & Equity: Leading Systems Change Work with LOVE

Leadership Intensive Advanced
Advocacy and Leadership

In a field that is embracing the social-emotional learning of children/youth as a necessary component in their overall growth and development, we must also foster the same with the adults. In the session, participants will begin their personal mastery journey by exploring their own self-awareness to understand beliefs, values and cultural experiences that inform and make them the individuals they are. Participants will then apply an equity lens to use that knowledge to enlighten and possibly re-define how to use their personal experiences and influence to support building more equitable systems for all. Using empathy and equity, participants will begin to redefine what transformational change and success in a system could really look like.

Diego Arancibia, Santa Clara County Office of Education; Tiffany Gipson, California AfterSchool Network; Julie Sesser, Santa Clara County Office of Education

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Staff Development: Giving Them Skills-Keeping Them Motivated

Leadership Intensive Advanced
Advocacy and Leadership

Sometimes, it is not "what you teach", but "how you teach it". Equipped staff members build better and longer lasting relationships with their students, but staff training sometimes feels like pushing boulders uphill! This session presents techniques and strategies on how to conduct effective staff development that ensures that the knowledge you share turns into practice.

Gale Gorke, Kids Kan Inc.

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Virtualizing Your Professional Development Offerings

Leadership Intensive Advanced
Advocacy and Leadership

Don’t let time, distance, and budget be barriers to engaging your staff in professional learning! Come learn what it looks like to virtualize pd – but not in the standard ‘webinar’ kind-of-way. We’ll showcase tools and techniques for connecting with educators, including small group work, hands-on activities, and reflective peer-coaching.

Perrin Chick, ACRES Project At MMSA

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Evaluation in Afterschool: From Compliance to Transformation

Leadership Intensive Advanced
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

Data collection and reporting are often driven by funder requirements, and treated as an administrative chore on par with completing expense reports or sorting out old markers. It doesn’t have to be that way! Evaluation can serve a transformative role in afterschool organizations, supporting continuous quality improvement and deepening equity and access.

In this session, afterschool leaders will learn about what is looks like to shift evaluation from a compliance-oriented activity to a mission-aligned feature of the team’s everyday practice. We will share a variety of practical strategies that organizations can take, ranging from simple, low-cost steps to try tomorrow to more intensive, longer-term investments.

Stephanie Kong, Public Profit; Corey Newhouse, Public Profit

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It's Time to Address Equity in Leadership

Leadership Intensive Proficient
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

So, you’re ready to address issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion in your organization and in the field, but you don’t know where to start. You’re aware that leadership isn’t reflective of the young people served and you know that more can be done to create change. You see the glass ceiling we're perpetuating and are ready to break it. If this describes you, join us for this session!

Jimena Quiroga Hopkins, Development Without Limits; Ruth Obel Jorgensen, Self-employed

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Keep The Lights On! Sustainability Training For Directors/Coordinators

Leadership Intensive Proficient
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

Sustainability is not something you can achieve overnight on your own - it takes planning, a dedicated team, and a solid case for support. This workshop will take you step-by-step through sustainability best practices - assessing your program’s true needs, assembling a team with power and influence, and executing a well-developed plan. Join The Ohio Afterschool Network and the Ohio Department of Education in this active, hands on workshop to learn how your organization can use the Keep the Lights On Sustainability Toolkit and engage through the “Actors and Factors” sustainability role-playing game to plan for long-term program sustainability.

Charmaine Davis-Bey, Ohio Department of Education; Nichelle Shaskus, Ohio Afterschool Network

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Leveling up for Summer: Effective Planning Strategies for Leaders

Leadership Intensive Advanced
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

In Getting to Work on Summer Learning, 2nd Edition, the RAND Corporation observes that a good planning process might be the most important characteristic of a strong program. The good news is, you don’t have to develop your planning process from scratch! The Wallace Foundation’s Summer Learning Toolkit provides research-aligned guidance and resources to support planning high-quality summer programs that benefit a large number of children. During this session we will explore the Toolkit’s signature tool – the Summer Planning Calendar.

Hillary Oravec, The Learning Agenda; Katie Willse, The Learning Agenda

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Continuous Quality Improvement: Strategies to Optimize your Practices

Leadership Intensive Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Leading quality improvement efforts can be confusing- Where do I start? What resources are available? How do I gain buy-in? This leadership intensive will introduce you to Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and explore best practices in leading CQI system development. It will help you identify key processes and procedures necessary to developing and maintaining a CQI culture. You will walk away with tangible resources that will enhance CQI practices within your organization.

Alise Dixon, Boys & Girls Clubs of America

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Ready S-E-T, Go: Building a Culture of SEL

Leadership Intensive Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is not just for kids- in fact, it begins with the adults! In this session, participants will explore what SEL is and learn firsthand how to create a culture of SEL in their program or school to grow an environment that is S-E-T: Supportive, Engaging and Teaching.
This framework guides educators and program leaders in building their own SE skills through interactive polls and discussions. During the session, participants will discuss specific ways to be S-E-T, including how to be supportive, engage kids during downtime, and begin teaching SEL by being a role model, observant and thoughtful. Introduce our SEL approach for curriculum and assessment.

Mallory Dorsey, WINGS for Kids; Cheryl Hollis, WINGS for Kids

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Safe Havens: Integrating Trauma-Informed Care

Leadership Intensive Advanced
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

Research suggest that nearly 60% of youth in the U.S. are exposed to a potentially traumatic event each year. Join us as we learn ways to engage young people by creating safe and supportive environments with the goal of helping youth thrive in the face of adversity.

Kirk Lowis, Portage Community Center

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The Truth about Trauma and Targeting SEL as an Intervention

Leadership Intensive Proficient
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

Trauma is one of the key leverage points that can underlie serious behavioral health problems and contribute to problematic behaviors, life circumstances, and community consequences for many children. Early identification of trauma resulting from Adverse Childhood Experiences is critically important. School-age afterschool programs equipped with the knowledge of how to be trauma informed and trauma responsive can play a vital role in not only identifying a need for trauma related intervention but provide engaging experiences that build positive adaptive skills and social and emotional skills for kids who may have exhausted their self-regulation capacity. Youth need to know how to build supportive relationships.

Lisa Demoulias, Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership; Jennifer Smith, Marshfield Clinic Health System

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Policy is Local! Connecting your work to federal education funding

Panel Proficient
Advocacy and Leadership

Federal policy may seem like a distant issue, but it provides billions of dollars in student support that reaches the local level to be used for student success, including during out-of-school time. Recent changes to the Career and Technical Education Act and increased funding to programs within the Every Student Succeeds Act provide new opportunities for afterschool providers to partner with school districts and local education agencies to leverage support for their efforts. Join the Afterschool Alliance to learn how to connect the work you’re already doing in your programs around workforce development, career exploration, or science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to the priorities of your local districts.

Jillian Luchner, Afterschool Alliance; Chris Neitzey, Afterschool Alliance

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What’s new in federal child care funding?

Panel Advanced
Advocacy and Leadership

States are out with new 2019-2021 CCDF plans, child care funding has been doubled, and consumer education websites are up. What does it all mean for your state, program, staff and students? Come to this session to hear an overview from the Afterschool Alliance on what they are seeing across state plans; hear from (provisional) or about the National Center for Afterschool and Summer Enrichment on how CCDBG’s required state consumer education websites can provide opportunities to support school-age programs; and engage with a practitioner who will share how professional development trainings in their state have helped spread quality practice in important areas of school-age care.

Jillian Luchner, Afterschool Alliance

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After School Parent Engagement and SEL Project in Illinois!

Panel Proficient
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

The Illinois Afterschool Network (IAN) and the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership (ICMHP) were awarded funding to support the After School Parent Engagement and SEL Project, a collaborative project that focuses on providing support to after school providers through the use of monthly mental health consultation that is specific to parent engagement. We created a framework for programs to engage parents in teaching social emotional skills to youth at home.

As part of the session, we will give an overview of the project, parent reflections and share our work on the Resource Guide that will be provided to staff and parents. Our vision also includes sharing this framework and model to programs across the country.

Parent - TBA Parent, Illinois AfterSchool Network; Curtis Peace, Illinois AfterSchool Network; Tajuana Rice, Illinois Mental Health Partnership

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Micro-Credentials – A Pathway of Learning and Recognition

Panel Advanced
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

Skilled staff are the key to the program quality that positively impacts youth, yet current professional development models reward staff for time spent rather than their skill-building. The NAA Professional Credentialing System with micro-credentials aligned to NAA’s Core Knowledge and Competencies and other research-based frameworks, such as the Dimensions of Success, provides a pathway that promotes professional learning, competence demonstration, assessment, and recognition. Learn about the NAAPCS and how it may be used to move individuals, organizations, and the afterschool profession forward.

Perrin Chick, ACRES Project At MMSA; Saundra Frerichs, Nebraska 4-H Youth Development; Heidi Ham, National AfterSchool Association; Gil Noam, The PEAR Institute

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Building A Continuous Quality Improvement Process

Panel Advanced
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Evaluation and program quality are interwoven when using a continuous improvement model. The Nebraska Afterschool Quality Continuous Improvement System (NAQCIS) was developed to enhance and improve programs through external observations, the use of self-assessments and data collection from multiple stakeholders including teachers, students, parents and community partners. NAQCIS is the comprehensive evaluation process that all 139 Nebraska sites use and participate in.

Our goal is to share the continuous quality improvement process developed and utilized by Nebraska 21st CCLC sites. The panel will discuss how the process is used at the district level, state level and by the external evaluator. The process is also aligned with state/federal initative.

Jan Handa, Nebraska Department of Education; Jolene Johnson, University of Nebraska Medical Center; Kim Larson, Nebraska Department of Education; Teresa Wanser-Ernst, Nebraska Educational Service Unit 18

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Wired to Learn: Social and Emotional Development in Adolescence

Panel Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Recent developments in brain science have shown that adolescence is a crucial time for influencing social, emotional, and cognitive growth. In adolescence, the brain is particularly well-suited to acquire social and emotional competencies that are vital for youth to navigate the world, yet we often see a fall-off in participation in youth development programs during this time.
Join us for a panel discussion featuring presenters from the Afterschool Alliance, American Institutes for Research, and expert practitioners focused on expanding opportunities for SEL in middle school settings. Participants will learn more about how afterschool programs can support youth’s social, emotional, and character development.

Dan Gilbert, Afterschool Alliance; Jessica Newman, American Institutes for Research

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Building Self-Esteem with Storytelling, Journaling, and Even Rapping!

Panel Proficient
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

This lively and interactive session explores the use of creativity and storytelling as tools to build young people’s self-esteem. Encouraging students to find and use their unique creative voices fosters an equitable learning environment where everyone’s perspective is welcome.

Participants will engage in a series of hands-on activities including verbal story-swapping, journaling to a prompt, and collaborating in groups to write and perform rap songs. Each of these activities is designed to empower young people to speak their minds without fear of judgment and encourages them to connect with one another. These activities can also be easily replicated in an afterschool environment.

Meredith Scott Lynn, WRiTE BRAiN BOOKS

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Building Student Voice Through Debate

Panel Advanced
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

We are at the dawn of an unprecedented era of student activism. Young people are leading climate protests across the globe and started a national movement to combat gun violence, just to name a few.

As educators, we should provide students with opportunities to learn about issues in their community, find their voices and develop advocacy skills. This session will bring together educators with debate and advocacy backgrounds from across the county to discuss the best ways for students to develop such advocacy skills and discuss how programs can create opportunities for authentic advocacy and engagement. Program Directors and Coordinators interested in diversifying their programming should attend.

Toni Candis, Harris County Department of Education - CASE; Ross Faith, Tulsa Debate League; Toinette Gunn, Chicago Debates; David Trigaux, Washington Urban Debate League

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Change Agents: Youth Voice & Equity

Panel Advanced
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

Want to gain a deeper understanding of key principles and concepts related to equity and inclusion? Are youth you serve ready to develop their skills and competences in equity leadership and go deep via connections to people, organizations, and tools that can be helpful in advancing social justice? Do you hope to affect change within your community in a way that leverages the power and voice of youth leaders? Learn more about 4-H’s True Leaders in Equity and Youth Voice Platform from both youth and adult system level leaders. Grounded in a framework for youth development and social capitals, participants will learn about the role of out-of-school time professionals and youth in creating community change.

Nia Fields, University of Maryland - 4-H Youth Development; Rebecca Kelley, National 4-H Council

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Learning from Youth Organizers

Panel Advanced
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

What can Afterschool programs learn from Youth Organizers? A lot! Especially regarding how to create high-quality, equitable, and inclusive environments for and with young people. A recent study shows that youth organizers experience significantly higher-quality positive youth development interactions and are developing strong youth/adult partnerships. This workshop will unpack the practices used in youth organizing groups and share ways Camp Fire and the YUSA are translating this work in afterschool settings. We will exlpore various tangible examples in order to engage the audience with these practices and invite them to consider how they might be realized in their programs.

Kim Flores, Algorhythm; Maria Guzman, The Y USA; Shawna Rosenzweig, Camp Fire National Headquarters

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2020 Census: How to Make Afterschool Count

Spark Developing
Advocacy and Leadership

The results of the 2020 Census in April will be used to determine how more than $900 billion of federal spending will be allocated for the next 10 years—including funding for afterschool and summer learning programs. If the census count is not accurate, children, families, and communities could lose access to a host of vital resources. Join this session to learn how afterschool programs can make an impact on the 2020 Census and help their communities be accurately counted.

Erin Hegarty, Afterschool Alliance

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CDC’s Voluntary Food Allergy Guidelines

Spark Proficient
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

Families trust afterschool programs to provide a safe environment for their children. Food allergies are a serious health condition that can cause a severe and life threatening reaction. Even if your program doesn’t serve snacks or beverages, children may bring their own food. How ready are your programs and staff for managing the needs of youth with food allergies? Don’t be scared. Get prepared!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed Voluntary Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies and resources to help schools prevent and manage severe allergic reactions in schools. These resources are also relevant for OST frontline staff as well as bus drivers responsible for bringing children from schools to afterschool programs.

Sarah Sliwa, CDC

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Ways To Assist Middle School Minority Boys To Overcome Trauma

Spark Proficient
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

Many middle school African American and Hispanic boys experience ongoing trauma in their everyday lives. Are you interested in learning how you and your program can assist them with overcoming or deal with some of their issues? Might you be interested in developing an afterschool program for minority males? If you don't know where to start, we have the information and tools to assist conferees from our experience in working with this target group.

Timothy Latham, Kentucky State University After School Program; herman walston, Kentucky State University

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A Rubric To Select A Survey Vendor

Spark Proficient
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

The YMCA of the USA has embraced a nation-wide character development initiative to support staff and volunteers so that they can better support youth. The initiative has taken hold in local Ys, each translating the focus to meet the needs of their staff and volunteers to ultimately develop youth character and social and emotional learning competencies. A key element to this translation from the national level to the programming level lies in identifying appropriate metrics and vendors responsive to the variety and different of needs of Ys across the country. In this session, we will share the rubric we used to select a vendor for youth SEL surveys and frontline guidance on lessons learned to better integrate tools into seamless practice.

Aasha Joshi, YMCA of the USA; Sally Munemitsu, Algorhythm

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Safety Training Plan - Are You Prepared?

Spark Proficient
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

Are your program staff clear on roles and expectations during various emergencies? Are program students and families aware of and ready to implement set safety procedures? This workshop will help program directors, site coordinators and other program leaders in implementing and revising existing organizational safety plans for the needs of your program. Learn about building your program’s capacity to respond effectively to emergencies as we will provide strategies for implementing your safety plan and safety training plan in ways that are sensitive to the emotional and mental health needs of children, staff and families.

Kathleen Bethke, Synergy Enterprises, Inc.; Sarah Brightwell, Synergy Enterprises, Inc; Sherri Lauver, Synergy Enterprises Inc.

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Social Media and Licensing: The New Frontier

Spark Developing
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

Every year, more and more licensing agencies are enforcing new and existing rules around social media in child care; including school-age programs.

Jill Brown, Champions

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Stronger Together: Team Building Activities for the program year

Spark Developing
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

We all want a team that is on the same page, though that's not always the case for the entire program year, especially if you have either a whole new team or a mix of new and returning staff members. This interactive session will provide you with team building activities that will strengthen your team's communication, support and work ethic.

Gerald Bolden, Wonders Early Learning and Extended Day

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Time’s Going By Anyway...It's Never Too Late To Return To College

Spark Developing
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

This session is for the After School Professional who is considering returning to college as an adult working professional to earn a college degree, tackle the challenges of being an adult learner and how to set goals for achieving growth in their career.

After 20 years of letting life happen and exploring various career paths, speaker Kerry Phillips took hold of her life, set her goals and spent time in extensive soul-searching before returning to college full-time at age 36 - She completed three years of remaining college credits in two years while working part-time at a community center, on top of being a wife and mother of two young children. She also balanced her spouse's full-time job and part-time college schedule.

Kerry Phillips, City of Ithaca - Greater Ithaca Activities Center

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An Accidental Journey: Design Thinking to Diplomacy and Back

Spark Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

“Pursuing an architecture degree wasn't the most logical path to becoming a U.S. Diplomat or a non-profit leader, but it gave me the tools to succeed.”

Architecture school forces students to "think outside the box", to critically analyze situations and pose creative and dynamic solutions to real-world problems. Success comes from working with others, so actively listening to differing points view and clearly articulating your ideas are essential. Add in project-based learning and you’ve provided a pathway for all learning styles.

Lay the foundation for success through a collaborative, project-based approach to creatively addressing challenging real-world problems that helps students practice critical thinking and communication skills.

Kenn Jones, Salvadori Center

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Integrating SEL research into frontline professional development

Spark Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

The YMCA of the USA has embraced a nation-wide character development initiative to support staff and volunteers so that they can better support youth. The initiative has taken hold in local Ys, each translating the focus to meet the needs of their staff and volunteers to ultimately develop youth character and social and emotional learning competencies. A key element to this translation at the YMCA of Silicon Valley was to revamp professional development so that the research about SEL was accessible and actionable to frontline staff and volunteers. In this session, we will share the YMCA of Silicon Valley’s process to operationalize SEL best practices into frontline behaviors.

Aasha Joshi, YMCA of the USA; Thomas Russell, YMCA of Silicon Valley

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Read Up/Write Up/Talk Up: Building Literacy Rich Environments in OST

Spark Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Proficient skill in reading is critical for success in school, college and career readiness, and viable employment in 21st century society. Unfortunately, the vast majority of children from low-income families are not proficient in reading by Grade 3. A growing body of literature shows that high-quality OST programs can support youth learning and development by providing additional time and opportunities to learn and practice specific literacy skills and strategies. OST programs can in fact include program components that have been shown to support the development of critical literacy skills during the early elementary years, such as family engagement and high-quality literacy activities.

Georgia Hall, National Institute on Out-of-School Time

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Adults as Mirrors and Models: Targeting Adult SEL Competencies

Workshop Advanced
Advocacy and Leadership

Out of school time programming is a great opportunity for young people to develop social emotional learning (SEL) skills. This development is dependent on the ability of the adults working within program to actively and consistently model and teach SEL skills. The challenge is that many adults are still working to develop their own SEL skills. This session will present the findings of a pilot evaluation study conducted by Ramapo for Children that explored adult SEL skill development and application in after-school programs in the New York City area. Participants will think strategically about their approach to assessment and development of SEL skills among their staff and how to build a program in which adults are SEL role models.

Brett Gurwitz, Ramapo for Children; Cecily Mitchell-Harper, Ramapo for Children

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Advocacy 101: Making Your Voice Heard

Workshop Proficient
Advocacy and Leadership

Advocacy does not need to be hard! It's more important than ever to tell the story of your program's impact. This session will provide tips, tools, and strategies to help make your voice heard in support of afterschool programs.

Katie Landes, Georgia Statewide Afterschool Network

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Burnout Happens: What It Is and How to Avoid It

Workshop Proficient
Advocacy and Leadership

Burnout is a very real problem that is often experienced by administrators and staff in the world of afterschool. Come learn about what burnout looks like and take-away strategies to help staff stay mentally healthy.

Brad Lademann, Missouri Afterschool Network

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Community EDinburgh (Inspiration from Scotland)

Workshop Proficient
Advocacy and Leadership

The National AfterSchool Association hosted its 2019 International Learning Exchange in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Scotland is a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (the U.S. is the only nation that has yet to ratify the Convention). Learn how this commitment impacts national policy development, such as Scotland’s National Play Strategy, and how the Play Strategy's "Action Plan" guides after school program design and professional development efforts.

Emily Holder, Saint Paul Public Schools

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Creating Leaders: Strategies to Inspire, Teach, Model, and Mold

Workshop Advanced
Advocacy and Leadership

Developing impressive leaders is key to growing and sustaining quality programs. Effective teachers may not be effective leaders, though. As a leader, it is your responsibility to inspire, teach, model, and mold the future leaders for your program and the profession. Through thought-provoking conversations and small group activities, participants will characterize the qualities of leadership, distinguish strategies that create leaders within their staff, and plan management strategies to build a productive and effective team.

Holly Scheibe, Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral Association; Kimberly Shibley, Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral Association

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Election 2020: Strategies for Afterschool Advocates

Workshop Proficient
Advocacy and Leadership

Election season is upon us! As afterschool advocates, we have an opportunity to make our voices heard. Join us to discover tested strategies and trade new ideas for educating elected officials and candidates about the importance of afterschool and summer learning programs. Presenters from the national Afterschool Alliance and the Iowa Afterschool Alliance will share success stories from their efforts to reach members of Congress, presidential primary candidates, and local leaders. Leave this session with resources, materials, and inspiration to reach out elected officials in your community!

Britney Samuelson, Iowa Afterschool Alliance; Alexis Steines, Afterschool Alliance

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EMPATHY AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: THE SECRET SAUCE OF SUCCESS

Workshop Proficient
Advocacy and Leadership

In a climate in which violence and hatred are preeminent in decision making and charismatic leadership is used to fuel fanatacism and hate, emotional intelligence and empathy are sorely needed. Modern day leadership defined by the skills, attitudes, and behaviors characteristic of emotional intelligence and empathy are essential ingredients of youth development leadership. This workshop will explore both as key levers of success for next generation leadership by specifically examining attributes associated with empathy and emotional intelligence through their definitions and applied context in afterschool settings. Participants will practice empathetic listening and tap into their threshold of emotional intelligence.

Tasha Johnson, YMCA of the USA; Shannon Matthews, YMCA Greater Grand Rapids; Kelly Wise, YMCA of the USA

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Finding federal funding that works for you

Workshop Advanced
Advocacy and Leadership

Did you know that the latest federal education legislation includes several funding streams that can help support your afterschool or summer learning program? Did you know other education, human services and related federal funding streams and programs can be leveraged to strengthen your program? Did you know that states are holding schools accountable for factors on which afterschool and summer learning programs have a direct impact? Participants will leave this workshop with the knowledge and tools needed to partner with their schools, school districts, and community-based organizations to take advantage of a variety of federal opportunities to sustain and grow their programs: from 21stCCLC to Child Care funds and more.

Erik Peterson, Afterschool Alliance

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How to Lead Your Teams Through Change

Workshop Developing
Advocacy and Leadership

This session will provide tools for leaders to prepare, support, and manage their teams in times of change. In the ever-evolving field of afterschool, the adage “the only constant is change” can be challenging for staff to experience – this session will provide leaders with examples of how to develop manageable systems of change. Participants will explore the effects of change and create a plan for developing teams who embrace the change mindset and use it as a chance for opportunity, positivity, and productivity.

Jaclyn Aviles, Think Together; Irene Bobadilla, Think Together; Jeanette Cruz, Think Together

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Leadership Tool Box

Workshop Proficient
Advocacy and Leadership

You’re a good leader. You enjoy the challenges of the leadership role and the results you see when it all comes together. Leadership is a talent that is supported by many tools. Join this interactive workshop and take an in-depth look at a few critical leadership tools including non-violent communication, demand prioritization, strength leveraging, healthy risk-taking and responsible decision making.

Beverlee Wenzel, The ROCK Center for Youth Development

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Leading a multi-generational Workforce

Workshop Advanced
Advocacy and Leadership

Imagine a 22 year old frontline staff asking to share her lesson plans with her director in a Google Doc for feedback, or a frontline staff suggesting that the director communicate with staff in a GroupMe. Because workplaces today often include four generations of workers, our session will define generations and discuss the challenges in communication and collaboration between generations. Four tips for creating a cooperative and collaborative workplace will be shared along with discussions regarding the challenges that leaders have faced with different generations in their workplace and what solutions and techniques have worked for them.

Alice Hall, Georgia Southern University

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Leading your Leaders! Multi-Program Management

Workshop Advanced
Advocacy and Leadership

Being a leader in afterschool is as rewarding as it is challenging. Great leaders know that they are only as good as their team. How do you, as a leader, successfully oversee multiple afterschool programs? You can’t be everywhere, so you need to lead through your team. How do you prioritize your to-do list to meet the needs of your people while encouraging them to become leaders themselves? Join us to share best practices in leading your team so you can focus on the bigger picture.

Kaitlin Grant, KCE Champions; Teresa Trawick, KCE Champions

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Let’s Talk About Afterschool: Telling Your Story

Workshop Developing
Advocacy and Leadership

You appreciate the value of afterschool, but what can you do to help rally more support around afterschool? If you feel that it is harder than it should be to grow support for afterschool programs—whether it is support from schools, from funders, or from policy makers—you are not alone. Join us for a session that is one part messaging research, one part honest assessment of the challenges programs face, and learn about strategies that can help you make a stronger case for afterschool.

TBD- A 21st CCLC program provider TBD, 21st CCLC program; Nikki Yamashiro, Afterschool Alliance

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Mastermind Magic: Leveraging the Minds of OST Leaders

Workshop Advanced
Advocacy and Leadership

A mastermind group is designed to solve real-life problems by maximizing the collective skill and influence of the individual members. In this session, you will gain insight on how to infuse the mastermind framework within leadership development offerings to stimulate innovation, cultivate relationships and advance the professionalization of the OST field. Liven up your sessions and empower your participants by leveraging this powerful technique!

Nicole Edwards, Prime Time Palm Beach County, Inc.

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Resilience Building: A Practical Approach for OST

Workshop Proficient
Advocacy and Leadership

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to bounce back from hardship quicker than others? Join us for a rich conversation centered around ground-breaking research about how human beings can courageously face adversity and learn how to develop the skill of resilience.

We will explore the concept of personal resiliency based on research from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University and information provided in Sheryl Sandberg and Dr. Adam Grant’s New York Times Best Selling book "Option B". Additionally, we will delve into the science of resilience, discover practical tips for developing resiliency to kids, teens and adults and explore how to support helping professionals combat compassion fatigue.

Elizabeth Rich, Salt Lake City Corp - YouthCity

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Young, Educated, and Diverse...We Think

Workshop Advanced
Advocacy and Leadership

The afterschool workforce is young, educated, diverse, and mostly women – we think. A lack of comprehensive understanding of who makes up the national afterschool workforce limits our ability to truly design programs and policies that best support them. Presenters will share early efforts to advance the workforce in California and will call on participants to help build national momentum around defining, understanding, and promoting afterschool as a robust and viable career pathway. Participants will leave with knowledge and tools to move us all toward the recognition and professionalization that the afterschool workforce deserves.

Aleah Rosario, Foundation for California Community Colleges; Haden Springer, Foundation for California Community Colleges

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5 Resources to Engage Families through Wellness and Nature

Workshop Proficient
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

Families and afterschool provide essential protective factors for children experiencing adversity. We’ll emphasize simple, inclusive and intergenerational resources and discuss strategies for successful community partnerships. Participants will leave this hands-on workshop with at least 5 resources to engage and support families through wellness and nature.

Daniel Hatcher, Alliance for a Healthier Generation

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Aligning Resources to Create Change!

Workshop Advanced
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

Toledo Public Schools, Aspire Toledo and TutorSmart have partnered to create a comprehensive system of support to improve the quality and alignment of resources supporting student success. Participants will learn the scope of this alignment project- specifically the foundation of partner expectations, a program assessment, a student level data system, and ongoing professional development in continuous improvement methodology. The presentation will detail stakeholder involvement and investment along with lessons learned. The session is most relevant for those at the systems level who support multiple partnerships; particularly school district administrators, community schools leadership, and other leaders in collective impact.

Tiffany Adamski, TutorSmart; Kristen Kania, Aspire Toledo; Gayle Lake, Toledo Public Schools

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Aspiration to Action: Developing Culturally Agile Leaders and Staff

Workshop Advanced
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

“Best practices” is our go to, however developing and retaining BEST PRACTITIONERS, who demonstrate cultural agility and create equitable spaces, is missing in a lot of educational preparation and employee development. Many in the field express wanting equitable and inclusive OST environments but are uncertain where to start. This work starts with Self; becoming a culturally agile and effective multicultural leader requires personal and professional commitment. This engaging session provides attendees with individual insight into how personal bias, default messages, and Unhelpful Social Narratives contribute unintentionally to exclusion and low retention, plus how awareness can lead to inclusion and increased retention of staff and youth.

Marcy Peake, The Center for Cultural Agility & WMU

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Breaking Down Cultural Barriers to STEM Education for Middle School

Workshop Developing
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

In this session we will be talking to participants on how to integrate cultural responsiveness into the structure and pedagogy of programs to promote youth development. The presentation will provide examples of how OregonASK has implemented a bilingual neuroscience curriculum that engages Latinx youth and their families, including creation of a safe space and building authentic relationships with Latinx families.

Kassandra Rousselle, OregonASK; Alicia Santiago, Twin Cities PBS

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Empowering Young Professionals for Community Change

Workshop Proficient
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

Engaging emerging leaders, young professionals and passionate millennials is an important step for afterschool to “Show Up & Speak Up.” You’ll leave this hands-on workshop with 5 simple activities to create a thriving workplace culture that supports the mental and physical health of your staff. Come prepared to share your staff engagement challenges and brainstorm solutions with other attendees.

Daniel Hatcher, Alliance for a Healthier Generation; Lindsey Jorstad, Gwinnett County Department of Community Services

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Free Insanely Great Resources For SEL, Wellness, & Community

Workshop Proficient
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

For professionals needing resources and budget for social emotional learning, health and wellness, and community engagement, there are global companies, agencies, and foundations that support your work by creating materials for these programs. Such support is meaningful, entirely free, and may feature interactive websites, videos, and student challenges (including prizes for student work). Most also include video field trips that are shot live for students and made downloadable for after school programs, while others require no technology. Some are available in both English and Spanish, and most materials open to web-based translation tools for multiple languages. They are all powerful and effective.

Hall Davidson, Discovery Education; Jacqueline Kavege, Discovery Education

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How to Engage Your School Community Through Music & Dance

Workshop Proficient
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

Music and dance can be a powerful way to foster SEL, celebrate cultural diversity, and promote parent involvement. In this session, we’ll explore strategies for infusing OST programs, including family engagement activities with these art forms.

This session will provide OST program leaders with ideas and resources to incorporate music and dance into student programming. We will explore specific models for family engagement from there, including how to host events that actively engage parents in the arts alongside their children.

Lastly, the session will explore how music and dance can complement an OST program’s approach to SEL and explore how the arts can be a powerful strategy for addressing issues of equity and inclusion.

Margot Toppen, EduMotion

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Incorporating Equity-Based Principles into Evaluation

Workshop Proficient
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

Afterschool programs are increasingly focused on equity. Improving access to high-quality out-of-school time programs and assuring that such programs are responsive to the unique interests and needs of diverse communities are some examples of this focus. Tailoring programs’ evaluation design to suit these goals is a key part of the overall strategy as well. It can be tough to know where to start, though, particularly for programs with limited time and resources. In this session, presenters will share a flexible framework for incorporating an equity lens into evaluation along with a variety of practical strategies programs can use to solicit meaningful input from participants and stakeholders.

Stephanie Kong, Public Profit; Corey Newhouse, Public Profit

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Influences of Culture and Implicit Bias

Workshop Advanced
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

This training will explore the influence of culture and why it matters. It will inform individuals and educators to the components of cultural competencies, implicit biases and diversity. Professionals will be equipped with the know-how to develop strategies and best practices for you and your students to provide safer spaces while supporting all of your students-regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, religion etc.

Lourdes Lonergan, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago; Kealy Schroeder, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago

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Integrating Service and Volunteering in Out-of-School Time Programs

Workshop Proficient
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

In this presentation, attendees will learn how to introduce the concept of volunteering to youth of any age and how to integrate service into an existing out-of-school time program. In addition, attendees will learn about how engaging youth in service can be life-changing for a child via academic research and real-life examples. Overall, attendees will leave with a plethora of information, including a "how-to" guide for creating a youth volunteer group in their own out-of-school time program.

Ryan Barton, Enterprise Community Development (ECD)

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Navigating Gender & STEM: How Our Practices Impact Youths’ Lives

Workshop Proficient
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

Participants will begin by brainstorming in small groups about how cultural messaging shapes gender expectations and stereotypes, particularly in the context of STEM and STEM careers. Participants will then be introduced to and discuss a set of Gender-Responsive Strategies they can immediately implement in their own programs. We will watch short videos of STEM programs next, and discuss in small groups how the Gender-Responsive strategies show up and can be strengthened within each real-world program. Finally, participants will take part in a personal reflection of their own practice and identify 1-2 strategies they can commit to enhance the gender responsiveness in their own programs.

Meeta Sharma-Holt, Techbridge Girls; Tania Tauer, Techbridge Girls

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Providing More Equitable Services through Evaluation

Workshop Proficient
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

Learn how Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, a national youth mentoring organization, is embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion practices to better support youth and families. From identifying the unique strengths and needs of each individual served to assessing effective community partnerships, their DEI work is grounded in evaluation. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how to assess and better serve youth through evaluation tools, wraparound services, and community partnerships, as well as strategies on how to approach DEI at their own organization.

Hillary Bardwell, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America; Jessica Mitchell, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

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Restorative Practices: Circles with Friends

Workshop Proficient
Equity, Family, School, Community Engagement, Safety and Wellness

The purpose of this workshop is to understand the importance of repairing harm and restoring relationships to maintain a safe school community. Participants will be empowered with tools to strengthen students' connections from both “staff to student” and “student to student.” Additionally, participants will engage in interactive roleplays and activities to demonstrate restorative circles in “real life” situations. This workshop supports community building, restorative justice and social-emotional learning; “Circles with Friends” is recommended for beginner to intermediate level youth development professionals.

Kenrick Wagner, Project Gametime

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Change Happens or Does it?: Humans at the Center of Designing Change

Workshop Proficient
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

The YMCA of the USA has launched a nation-wide character development initiative to support staff and volunteers so that they can better support youth. Prior to the national roll out to local Ys, we wanted to learn how staff and volunteers in an out of school time setting trust and learn how to do something different and make it stick. Join us as we talk about how the human centered design process can be used to support organizational and professional change management. Furthermore, in this session the YMCA and Greater Good Studio will share our learnings about professional behavior change and how to integrate it within your youth development organization.

George Aye, Greater Good Studio; Tasha Johnson, YMCA of the USA; Aasha Joshi, YMCA of the USA

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Coaching 101

Workshop Proficient
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

Do you ever put off uncomfortable conversations with your staff? Has anyone told you how to coach your team? The improvement of your team rests on your shoulders, so we invite you to come and learn how to be a better Coach! In this session, we will discuss your fears and learn new skills that empower you to have coaching conversations that will ultimately help your team grow.

Hilary Disch, Wayzata Schools; Kathy Kuklok, Wayzata Schools Home Base

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Create a More Efficient Program through Technology

Workshop Proficient
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

Love it or hate it, technology is an integral part of what we do after school. Take your OST program to new heights by embracing easy to implement technology strategies for every part of your program. Participants will discover ways to immediately improve program efficiency through more effective digital communication, enhanced data reporting practices, innovative daily procedures, and more.

Weston Bell, ACE Clubs - Anderson Community Schools; Grant Fulton, ACE Clubs - Anderson Community Schools

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Everything You Wanted to Know About Licensing

Workshop Developing
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

Participants will learn to interpret state Child Care Licensing Regulations, communicate with licensors, and the best ways to organize licensing paperwork. We will also discuss staff, social media and the connection to licensing (texting, posting online.) The workshop focuses on licensing as a whole with time for Q & A to discuss state issues.

Jill Brown, Champions

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Finding and Keeping Your Most Important Assets: Human Resources

Workshop Developing
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

Do you have trouble finding qualified staff? Puzzled by a high rate of staff turnover? Feel uncertain about your interviewing skills? These challenges are not uncommon, even among the best out-of-school time programs. This session will help you develop knowledge and strategies for finding and retaining effective staff members. You’ll practice a scenario-based interviewing approach, learn about effective on-the-job communication, and consider ways to embed positivity and encourage intrinsic motivation by all program participants.

Kathleen Bethke, Synergy Enterprises, Inc.; Sherri Lauver, Synergy Enterprises Inc.

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Flying While You Build: Coaching and Capacity

Workshop Proficient
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

Is your staff able to put your program mission into practice? Do your expectations match what you see in action? What are some best practices and strategies to make this happen? How do you improve program quality and involve staff? This session provides insight into how three Statewide Afterschool Networks are helping build program capacity to help leaders coach for quality. Participants will learn how to connect with larger initiatives in their states to improve programming, and coaching and staff engagement practices that best build staff confidence and competence in supporting youth will also be part of the discussion. Presenters will share models from three states and highlight tools and resources with next steps programs can use back home.

Kenneth Anthony, Connecticut After School Network; Shannon Robinson, School's Out Washington; Ben Trentelman, Utah Afterschool Network

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Make an Impact: Effective Planning for Summer Academics & Enrichment

Workshop Advanced
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

Does your summer program include time for academics or enrichment? Dedicating time to plan the curricula and partnerships will help students make gains and have fun while doing it. The Wallace Foundation’s Summer Learning Toolkit draws from the experience of both practitioners and researchers to feature more than 50 practical, adaptable tools and sample planning resources. During this session we will explore the Toolkit’s strategies and resources to help leaders select and modify summer curricula, build partnerships for high-quality enrichment, and maximize time for learning. You’ll walk away ready to use the Toolkit to support your priorities for this summer and beyond.

Hillary Oravec, The Learning Agenda; Katie Willse, The Learning Agenda

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Managing & Motivating Part-Time Staff

Workshop Proficient
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

From not clocking in to forgetting to take attendance, we all have similar challenges when working with our frontline staff. Each year, Girlstart supervises a growing team of 120+ part-time staff who lead 90+ after school programs and community events in California, Massachusetts, and Texas. This session will share strategies to engage and manage part-time employees to improve communication and increase retention. Explore ways to manage the onboarding process, techniques to support recruitment, strategies to help with training, and tips for infusing your culture across multiple sites. Girlstart will share the tips and tricks we use to maintain our program fidelity and manager sanity.

Itzel Gutierrez, Girlstart; Shelby Schaefer, Girlstart

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MASLOW WAS A WORKING PARENT: Engaging CareTakers Beyond the Carpool!

Workshop Proficient
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

If it takes a village to raise the child, how do you get the villagers to
partner with you beyond permission slips and carpool pickup? We know that the key to effective work with young people often also includes engaging the adults and family neighbors that they live, learn and grow up with. Don't miss this tool and example-filled workshop to showcase six different strategies and approaches to effectively attract and engage parents, family members, and caretakers! We'll introduce you to a ton of FREE resources that can be used immediately with your outreach and engagement efforts - from the Period Table of Texting to an awesome onslaught of online tools.

Eric Rowles, Leading To Change

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Mentoring: Transforming Professional Development in OST

Workshop Proficient
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

How do you increase the skill set of professionals without costly and time-intensive training? Ohio has great success in establishing a mentoring project that may be replicated to target professionals’ desired skill sets by using internal or external program staff as mentors to colleagues. This mentorship program is also uniquely designed for professionals at all levels. In this session, participants will examine ten characteristics of successful mentoring partnerships and discuss strategies for developing an effective mentoring program. Participants will actively reflect and strategize on how mentoring may impact their organizations and create an action plan to implement a mentorship program.

Holly Scheibe, Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral Association; Kimberly Shibley, Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral Association

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Rediscovering the joy at work for ourselves and our staff

Workshop Advanced
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

Do you ever feel as if the fun has left your work or work place? Have the problems, issues and concerns overtaken the joy? In this session we will discuss how to rediscover and reignite the joy in our work place. We will discuss how to get re-engaged and re-inspired to do the work that we love. The workshop is specifically designed for individuals in a leadership or supervisory role.

Margaret Jackson, MEJ Resources

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Rethinking the Pretest/Posttest Survey Design

Workshop Proficient
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

How do you know what you don’t know? Why did awareness and understanding decrease as a result of your program? When survey results suggest your program had a negative impact on participants, the problem may lie in your instrument. The pretest/posttest format is a typical approach for measuring program impact, but it is fraught with potential for invalidity and unreliability, especially when program objectives include changes in knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior. We will share a case study in program assessment that demonstrates how response shift bias can complicate self-assessment of changes in attitude and knowledge. Then, we will provide examples of post-then-pre survey design as a means of increasing validity.

Steven Brawley, Area Resources for Community and Human Services; Courtney Dowdall, Area Resources for Community and Human Services

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School-Community Partnerships: What Works?! A Comprehensive Study

Workshop Advanced
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

This session will share the findings of a doctoral dissertation research project studying the interactions between school leaders and out-of-school learning organization leaders to determine what the elements of successful school-community interactions and partnerships are. The goal of the study is to determine what these elements look like in practice and what OSL programs and schools can do to ensure success in future collaborations.

James Doyle, Environmental Charter School

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Starting at the Top: Social-Emotional Learning Begins with Staff

Workshop Proficient
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

Given the growing interest and devotion to social-emotional learning (SEL) in afterschool programs, staff are increasingly asked to assess and cultivate students' SEL competencies. Through its work in after school, schools, foster care, and juvenile justice, Youth Communication has learned that SEL instructors staff must first understand their own SEL strengths and weaknesses before they can support their youth in doing the same to achieve success. Meant for supervisory staff, this session will allow participants to take part in several interactive activities with the intention of supporting staff in their future SEL work with students. Activities include reading a teen-written story and doing an SEL assessment.

Janelle Greco, Youth Communication

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The Art of Active Supervision Through Engagement

Workshop Developing
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

Do you want to increase the quality of your programming while reducing behavioral issues? Are your staff aware of the benefits of active supervision through engagement? Through defining active supervision we will learn to create a safer, enriching environment and experience for youth and staff. Participants will be able to utilize and implement the knowledge and resources gained in this workshop through our breakdown of how we think about active supervision and engagement in such programs.

Kris Dingfelder, Minneapolis Kids; Angie Parker, Minneapolis Kids

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The Business of After School: Effective Grant Writing for Sustainable

Workshop Proficient
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

“We don’t have the funding”: The after school cry heard ‘round the world. Figuring out how to find and secure funding can be a daily stressor for those charged with running after school programs. As an organization that has successfully partnered with companies and school districts around the country to secure millions in funding throughout the past twenty years, we feel your pain! And, we’ve learned a thing or two along the way. In this workshop participants will gain tips and tools for writing grants that get funded, as well as insight on where to look for funding streams. You will leave brimming with ideas and excited to get back to your office.

Blonka Winkfield, The Leadership Program

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We Ride Together: Uniting Staff Towards Common Goals

Workshop Proficient
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

This interactive session will ask participants to consider what drives them to work in the field of after school, and how to unite people with diverse motivations to work towards a common mission. Utilizing games, case studies, and discussion, participants will learn how to apply principles of teamwork to working effectively with young people and families in challenging circumstances. This session is meant for direct service staff and those in supervisory roles.

Darren Alridge, Youth Empowerment Project; Shana Rubinstein, Youth Empowerment Project

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You Matter: Messaging the Importance of Afterschool to Staff

Workshop Developing
Program Planning and Administration, Staff Development

Whether you are new to the field or a seasoned veteran, you need to know how valued you are and that you are making a difference. This session will review the history of expanded learning opportunities, relevant statistics related to youth outcomes, and the bridge between national resources to local programs. This leads to you: your crucial role as an afterschool provider and the need to communicate the importance of your job impacting youth development. Within the bigger picture, this session hopes to increase staff recruitment, retention, and morale. Participants will leave this session feeling affirmed in their role, encouraged to share this message with colleagues, and prepared with practical tools to apply upon returning to programs.

Helene Hancock, OregonASK

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“Redefining STEM” STEM learning with a Social Justice lens

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

A. WELCOME/VOICES:
This session will begin with introductions of participants, a brief " challenge/ice-breaker" activity, and "check-ins" to get audience/participant feedback regarding what they are interested in hearing/learning about from this session.

B. WORKSHOP/CONTENT:
Youth workers will lead a presentation (w/ slides) of the KAYSC’s Pathway program beginning with the first step of the 3-step pathway, the Design Team after school program.

1. Overview of history, mission/vision/values, our definition of STEM Justice, and description of our 3-step pathway program (Primary/Middle School, High School, Intern/Career), and how youth participant are set up to become adult program educators and/or STEM Justice professionals.
2. Sampler

Emmanuel Donaby, Science Museum of Minnesota; Kayla Swanson, Science Museum of Minnesota's Kitty Anderson Youth Science Center

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Afterschool STEM – How to show students are making gains?

Workshop Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Afterschool programs are a growing part of STEM learning – parents want STEM learning opportunities for their children and young people value the hands-on nature of STEM in afterschool. These afterschool programs need to be able to show that they are helping young people achieve STEM related outcomes, though. Join us to unpack the wide range STEM related outcomes that programs are trying to achieve and see how those outcomes align (or don’t align) with existing measurement tools. Together we will map outcomes and tools to discover where there is alignment that can help you better measure your STEM learning goals.

Karen Peterson, National Girls Collaborative; Leah Silverberg, Afterschool Alliance

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Answers to Implementing SEL at Multi-site Locations

Workshop Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

The results have been published! Are you looking for the right recipe to successfully implementing SEL training, procedure & curriculum across multiple locations? Come learn helpful tools, effective monitoring assessments, vetted pre/post survey, and tips from other attendees.

Jaime Garcia, Extend-A-Care YMCA of Austin

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Are You SEL to the Core?

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Join us to learn more about NAA's newest resource, SEL to the Core. NAA and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) developed this guide as a supplement to the NAA Core Knowledge and Competencies for Afterschool and Youth Development Professionals. In this session, you will learn more about the eight essential SEL practices. You will have the chance to share strategies, learn new ideas for implementation, and really get SEL to the core!

Jessica Newman, American Institutes for Research

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Be a Math Champion! No skills required.

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Math is the single strongest indicator of future academic and financial success. That is why becoming a math champion is essential to helping students in their mathematical journey. You don’t need to be an Einstein to help students succeed in math, you just need to be positive and supportive.

This session will teach you fun games and activities you can do with students to help them gain math fact mastery and problem-solving development. The games help students to think beyond the math that is on a worksheet and look to the math they will see in really world context. The games we will play help to develop an understanding of number sense, algebraic thinking and problem solving that leads to build math success. You can do it! Be a math champion.

Mary Curry, MANGO Math

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BEYOND PIZZA TOPPINGS: Authentically Engaging Youth Voice and Power

Workshop Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

“Youth ownership”, “youth empowerment”, “youth development”, “youth adult
Partnerships”… the buzz words of engaging young people are often used,
but how are they really practiced? In this provocative and reflective training
experience, participants will have the opportunity to assess their own
agency’s level of youth engagement and explore tangible strategies that
can be implemented to authentically involve young people far beyond
picking the color of t-shirts or what’s on the pizza!

Eric Rowles, Leading To Change

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Building Character, Changing Lives

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

All are invited to join two former educators to learn about the importance of character education and social/emotional learning. Try out our new after school curriculum called Kindhearted Kids Make A Difference, in which children learn to identify, recognize and practice eight core values - Fairness, Kindness, Respect, Responsibility, Empathy, Cooperation, Perseverance, and Citizenship - through the support of animal mascots and engaging activities. In addition, try out our other favorite programs - Kindhearted Kids, which teaches kids to use their heads, hearts, and think about others and the Family Toolkit of Character, which provides a valuable link between home and school. Win a Family Toolkit of Character for your educational setting!

Nan Welch, Two by Two Character Development; Kristin Woodward-Vaassen, Two by Two Character Development

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Career-Focused Learning

Workshop Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Career readiness is an integral part of learning in the 21st century; however, it can be hard for students to see the connection from what they learn in the classroom to real world careers. Girlstart believes a student is never too young to discover a career, and incorporating this belief within the after school time helps students feel safe to explore. Participants will receive insight on how to get students thinking and learning about career options through engaging hands-on activities. This workshop will not only provide tips, tricks and resources for integrating careers into activities, but participants will also take home free STEM curricula.

Shelby Schaefer, Girlstart; Jessica Skelton, Girlstart

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Choosing Green Time over Screen Time

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Join us to find ways to gain more green time with your 5 to 11 year old youth. As Richard Louv shares in the Nature Principle, “the more high-tech we become, the more nature we need.” But where does one start? After school is a great time to explore nature and gain its rejuvenating effects on attention and stress relief. Join NSTA (National Science Teaching Association) experts to explore ideas that engage youth in outdoor nature activities while using literacy and science resources like the The Next Time You See children’s book series, which helps students gain a new awareness and appreciation of objects in nature like pill bugs and sunsets.

Dennis Schatz, National Science Teaching Association (NSTA)

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Comics, Gaming, and Play: Leveraging Digital Platforms to Engage Youth

Workshop Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Discover how to integrate innovative learning approaches that deepen investigations into complex STEM topics through the utilization of digital platforms. Specifically, we will explore using an interactive online science comic, an embodied play app, and a computational thinking game. Participants will thereby gain an understanding of the affordances of each tool and hands-on experience with these digital platforms.

Geralyn Abinader, New York Hall of Science; Dorothy Bennett, New York Hall of Science

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Creative SEL in Middle & High School Programs

Workshop Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Middle and high school students are actively building skillsets around self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationships, and responsible decision making – Join us to learn creative ways to develop these critical skills through activities, language and modeling that are directed specifically to this age group.

Beverlee Wenzel, The ROCK Center for Youth Development

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Creative Ways to Solicit Stakeholder Feedback

Workshop Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Break out of the survey box! Afterschool programs are at their best when stakeholders’ opinions are at the heart of program design and planning. We often survey youth, families, and staff for this purpose, but is that always the best way to solicit feedback? Interactive feedback methods can offer a more engaging, rich sets of information for afterschool professionals to use in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of their work.

This hands-on workshop will provide ample opportunities to practice different ways to solicit feedback, along with planning time to decide what methods will work best for program. Everyone who attends will also receive a free copy of our step-by-step guide, Creative Ways to Solicit Stakeholder Feedback.

Ava Elliott; Corey Newhouse, Public Profit

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Deep Breaths! Integrating Mindfulness into After-School Enrichment Act

Workshop Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Mindfulness, present-moment awareness, and emotional awareness that fosters emotional regulation have been incredibly impactful on student behavior both in the school-day classroom and after-school. Kid Power, a DC-based non-profit that provides free after-school and summer programming for youth at Title I schools, has had great success creating enrichment activities based around these practices. They have positively impacted student behavior by normalizing personal expression and facilitating communication around difficult topics. Learn a more about the mindfulness movement and how an after-school provider effectively integrated it into enrichment offerings.

Jessica Truitt, Kid Power, Inc.

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Dollar Store STEM

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Meaningful and engaging STEM from the dollar store? That's right! Attendees will take a hands-on journey to learn exciting STEM lessons with supplies purchased from the dollar store. Attendees will leave with a new appreciation for affordable STEM projects.

Donna Rippey, Boys and Girls Clubs of America

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Driving to Impact with Data: essential, rewarding, but hard!

Workshop Advanced
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Programs often struggle to put mandated and accrued performance measures aside to make sense of what can be a tower of babel of data collection. Horizons’ approach started with a data audit and boldly suspended collection of over half the data that had been annually collected. We then developed core organizational, financial and program performance measures and piloted the Summer Learning Program Quality Assessment, as well as a set of AIR’s SEL survey scales in our annual student survey. While far from over (you never are), we will draw on our national process and the experiences of our program in D.C. to lead an exploration and discussion on assessing and capturing student experience. Participants will leave with continuous quality improvement.

Steve Ehrman, Horizons National; Dara Rose, Horizons National; Lauren Simmons, Horizons Greater Washington

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Explore the Stars with Robotic Telescopes!

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Learn to control real robotic telescopes from your after school setting to pursue curriculum-based projects, or personal astronomy interests!

Using our network of MicroObservatory robotic telescopes— along with user-friendly image analysis tools and project-based materials— your middle school youth can explore space while building their own STEM identity. FREE curricula and resources created by the Smithsonian and NASA engages learners with a wide variety of space science topics and promotes skills and knowledge that transfers across many disciplines.

Experience hands-on activities and bring your own laptop or phone to control our telescopes. We will share research results on how these activities promote STEM interest, identity, and learning.

Erika Wright, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

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Frankenstein-ing Purposeful Programming

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Frankenstein-ing | verb
To create something new by combining useful parts.

While traditional curricula can be a challenge to facilitate in an afterschool setting, purposeful programming can happen throughout the session - if you know how to schedule it in. Learn how adding a variety of curricula and program elements can ensure high-quality programming in even the trickiest of afterschool schedules. By Frankenstein-ing your purposeful programming, you can meet the needs of all youth in your program and get more out of your afterschool sessions.

Taylor Westfall, Camp Fire National Headquarters

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Help your students create stand-out resumes

Workshop Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Empower your students with the resume skills they need to land their Dream Job.

Learn advanced tips for creating a stand-out resume that will attract employers regardless of experience level and how to infuse this content into your program.

You'll take home our lesson plan that will help you teach this topic along with a proven, downloadable template each student can use for their own resume.

Joseph Moheban, 220 Youth Leadership; Matthew Moheban, 220

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Hey Hero, You Can Change the World!

Workshop Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Join us for this fun, interactive session that will inspire you and your kiddos to IGNITE GOOD!®

Studies show that developing a service mindset and leadership skills positively increases academic performance, empathy, and empowerment. Global Game Changers (GGC) cultivates civic engagement and service learning by giving children tools to fight apathy within their community by using our Superpower Equation: MY TALENT+ MY HEART = MY SUPERPOWER. Our FREE, innovative, evidence-based program uses SEL and character development as a vehicle to develop the whole child so that giving back becomes a part of who kids are, not just something they do. Let’s empower ALL children to discover their inner superpower to make the world a better place!

Anne Walker, Global Game Changers Student Empowerment Program

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Hurry Up & Wait . . .

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Waiting for the bus? The bathroom? The other kids to finish up in the gym? Instead of standing around, take out your “Hurry Up & Wait . . .” tool kit of activities and ideas for anytime your group finds itself with some unscheduled time on its hands. This very active, hands on workshop introduces quick, engaging activities for a broad range of ages that keeps groups positively engaged even during the most unexpected times so that everyone has fun instead of hurrying up and waiting.

Dagmar Wojcik, NJSACC

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Implementing Engaging, High-Quality Arts Programming in Afterschool

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

With current events being center stage in the news and social media, youth are becoming more engaged in activism and exploring creative modes of self-expression. Afterschool and Youth Professionals have the unique opportunity to harness this passion to co-create meaningful, relevant arts experiences with the youth they serve. This interactive workshop provides best practices and resources from Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Youth Arts Initiative. Using the 10 Success Principles for Implementing High-Quality Arts Programming, Afterschool and Youth Professionals will learn how to create engaging, responsive experiences in partnership with youth.

Rebecca Brown, Boys & Girls Clubs of America; Rachel Greene-Wilber, Boys & Girls Clubs of America; Valerie HD Killebrew, Boys & Girls Clubs of America

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It's All Fun and STEM Games for Indoors

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

During rainy or cold times of the year, there's nothing more important than active indoor games for kids. Kids don't slow down for weather, so our go-to list of active indoor STEM games has to be ready at all times! You know the days when you’re stuck inside yet need to keep kids moving and having a great time? Our favorite active STEM games will keep kids of all ages happy, active, and learning even on the gloomiest of days. Come ready to have fun, learn, and make noise in this active session.

Kelly Jimenez, Pasco County School Board PLACE; Jeanine Mouret, Pasco County School Board PLACE

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Kuleana: Responsibility, taking care of the details

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Kuleana in Hawaiian translates to “responsibility”. In this lively and interactive session we will share ideas to help you prepare for the unexpected. We will explore transitions and activities for large groups, taking care of the little things to avoid larger problems in the longrun, and other tricks of the trade.

Alyson Danford, Kama'aina Kids; Von Galdeira, Kama'aina Kids; Tia Loa, ; Jacque Shin, Kama'aina Kids

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Making learning fun! Integrating playful learning into your program.

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Looking for simple ways to make learning more fun? Did you know there are five specific things that make learning fun? And six easy-to-remember concepts that make learning playful? Using a framework called “playful learning”, participants will be able to deepen their existing OST programming whether it focuses on STEAM, sports, or homework.

Rebecca Fabiano, Fab Youth Philly

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Making Math Meaningful and accessible in Afterschool Programs

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Are you looking for fun ways to help youth build number sense and problem-solving skills? Math can take on new meaning when it is integrated into daily routines in our afterschool programs. During this workshop, afterschool educators will explore hands-on strategies for making math engaging and accessible. And, to close the session, we’ll have a rich discussion about what additional information and resources you need to help support your students to succeed in math. You’ll walk away with fun and easy-to-implement strategies, as well as access to more personalized resources after the convention based on our discussions.

Perrin Chick, ACRES Project At MMSA; Hannah Lakin, ACRES Project At MMSA

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Managing Behaviors, What is Their Story

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Every day that you walk into your program, you wonder, "what challenges will I face?" Today we seem to be tested more by behaviors than by the fun things we want to do with our students. Together we will work on solutions to lessen these days and get back to having a joyful, loving program.

Deborah Gavilan, Before & After School Child Care

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No Growth Without Grit

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

“Humans are creatures of habit. If you quit when things get tough, it gets that much easier to quit the next time.” -Travis Bradberry. Having a growth mindset helps youth to develop Grit and overcome challenges that they might face in life. So, how can you help foster this mindset in your youth? In this session, you will consider how your feedback can promote or detract from youths’ growth mindset. Participants will experience how different types of students need different forms of feedback through scenario role-playing exercises and come away with strategies to build growth mindsets and grow Grit in ALL of your youth.

Chaz Pounder, Utah Afterschool Network

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Program-a-Rama! 2.0

Workshop Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Throughout this session participants will learn hands-on activities, events and strategies that they can immediately bring back to their programs. Learn how you can maximize activity structure for impact, utilize minimal resources, and increase youth engagement. Participants will leave this session with some new tricks of the trade, ready and eager to get back to their program. Make sure to dress to play!

Amanda Borbee, Kids in the Game; Jenn Ward, NORY

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Real Talk: Developing our Emotional Intelligence for our kids’ sake!

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

As humans, we develop our capacity to understand the world, grow our self-worth and find our purpose in life through our conversations with others. This workshop will explore how we can create a culture of responsibility and self-awareness in our classrooms so that children and youth learn how to effectively communicate, develop their emotional intelligence, and foster critical thinking skills. We will introduce techniques that support communication about things that are important to our children and youth, and seek to understand their perceptions of world issues today.

Sonia Toledo, Dignity of Children, Inc.

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Rethinking ADHD: What Works, What Doesn't and Why

Workshop Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Many believe that children with ADHD suffer from poor parenting or lack of moral fortitude to behave appropriately. This workshop explores how the ADHD brain works differently than non-ADHD brains, and participants will learn ways to focus on the strengths of these children along with strategies that can be put to use immediately.

Gloria Sherman, Parenting and Teaching with G.L.O., LLC

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So You Think You Can Dance/Step….that is using Math and Code Language

Workshop Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

AOS provides curriculum based, educational and enrichment STEM/STEAM focused programs under the Remo and AOS brands. AOS takes Stepping (A/Arts in STEAM) and, by way of written Mathematical codes (M/Math in STEAM), has developed the ONLY educational program that allows participants the ability to document every beat, movement and sound that creates original choreography. AOS is also developing the FIRST EVER instructional and educational Beta mobile app (T/Technology in STEAM) that is an interactive method for users to write alpha numeric codes that equate to Stepping movements/dance, so users can then watch these codes come alive through an animated avatar. AOS is the only program that does this, making us the expert!

Jessica Saul, Art of Stepping

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Solve for WHY: Finding Joy and Belonging in Afterschool Math

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

As young children, most people delight in early math concepts. We play with rhythm, pattern, and counting. Somewhere along the way, we begin to sort ourselves — or we get sorted — into those who are good at math and those who aren’t. Though it is socially acceptable to say, “I’m not a math person”, this self- and/or externally-imposed label prevents many creative thinkers from pursuing a number of interests and careers. As an afterschool professional, you can help youth reclaim their inborn identity as ‘math people’. In this interactive session, we will explore a variety of ways to support youth (and maybe even yourself) in seeing the relevance of math in their worlds and experience the joy of playing with math again.

Krista Galloway, AYD Geek

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STEMgineering - Fun, Easy to Implement STEM

Workshop Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Middle schoolers have fun while they use their brain with this novel STEM program! Kids gain a deeper understanding of the engineering design process in these brief, high-impact, hands-on activities. For example, kids explore designing a prosthetic leg with household materials (biomechanical engineering) or create lemonade (food science).

In this workshop, we will demonstrate how easy and fun it is for staff to lead, and for kids to engage in, an activity. After a brief overview, attendees will wear a facilitator hat to review guides and then switch to a participant hat to collaboratively complete one of our 22 hands-on activities.

STEMgineering Academy was developed by Hofstra University with Boys & Girls Clubs, funded by the National Science Foundation.

Ellen Furuya, Hofstra U

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Supporting Youth Development Through STEM Curriculum

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

OST educators hold the key to youth development and STEM habits of mind — Are you looking for a FREE OST STEM curriculum from NASA that is research-based and easy to follow? This is the session for you! High-quality STEM curricular materials are essential for increasing knowledge and promoting youth identity, agency, and 21st Century Skills. Come learn what you can do to further support youth in developing the skills and dispositions necessary for solving tomorrow’s problems. Learn about new STEM units that integrate engineering and planetary science for grades 3-8; learn how to access them, engage in a sample activity, engage in the research, and find out about online educator support materials.

Joelle Clark, Center for Science Teaching & Learning

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Teaching Girls to Code and Change the World

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

At Girls Who Code, we believe that all girls are capable of making a positive impact on the world through computer science. That is why we are leading the movement to close the gender gap in tech and change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. We do this by providing FREE curricula resources for the afterschool space. Join Amy Layman’s discussion on how to inspire and equip girls in your community with the computing skills, bravery, and resilience they need to succeed in the 21st century. Together, you will discuss how to join the movement for gender parity, participate in hands-on activities that you can implement, and engage in a design thinking activity to help you bring code and digital equity to your community.

Amy Layman, Girls Who Code

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The Laws of Motion: Integrating STEM with Physical Activity!

Workshop Advanced
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Numerous studies have shown that children who are active and healthy have a lower risk of juvenile behavior, an increase in academic achievement, and tend to have a much better self-image. This workshop integrates STEM and Physical Activity in a unique format that helps develop healthier, more productive children.

The workshop begins with a discussion about active learning, what it is and why it is important. Participants are left knowing how active learning directly affects children's behavior and test scores in their programs.

Once the initial discussion is completed, get ready for some fun! The remainder of the session is filled with fun games and activities that combine physical activity and STEM learning.

Jess Wadleigh, Skillastics

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The QuEST for Continuous Improvement Systems.

Workshop Advanced
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

This session explores the key considerations and components for Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) systems that improve young people's experiences in out-of-school time (OST) settings. As OST systems begin to work collaboratively on Social and Emotional Learning , a focus on CQI provides an opportunity to ensure alignment of adult practices across settings and contexts. The session will identify five key elements of the CQI system and provide examples for how they might look in practice across different settings. Building from research on CQI from the National Commission of Social, Emotional, and Academic Development and the Science of Learning and Development Initiative, participants will discuss how to build and apply these aligned practices.

Poonam Borah, David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality; Kimberly Robinson, Forum for Youth Investment, Weikart Center

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The Thinking Game

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

It's easy to think of games as ‘just fun and games’, but many games can be taught and played in a way that truly helps develop children's analytical and problem solving skills. Come play along and see if you can up your game – this workshop is perfect for after school providers looking to provide fun learning opportunities for their kids!

Wendi Fischer, America's Foundation for Chess; Karen Klages, America's Foundation for Chess

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Using Pulse Checks to Improve Program Quality

Workshop Proficient
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Pulse checks can serve as a fast, inexpensive, and fun way to collect data and gather input in real-time from young people, their families, and/or your staff. Pulse checks are also an effective youth development strategy that can promote a culture of openness and learning.
During this hands-on session, we will discuss how pulse checks can be used to support quality improvement efforts and address important considerations– purpose, cadence, engagement, data use, and sharing findings. Using free Boys & Girls Clubs tools, participants will have a chance to consider and plan for two specific types of pulse checks: polls and listening sessions.

Omar Guessous, Boys & Girls Clubs of America

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What in the World are They Thinking? Yikes, I May Need to Adjust

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

Ever wonder what's going on inside the minds of the people you teach? During this workshop, afterschool educators will try out a sampling of strategies that will also serve as discussion points for how and why one would use formative assessment in their afterschool programs. Through games, art endeavors, and purposeful questioning strategies, we will test drive strategies used to get a better understanding of what youth are thinking and talk about how to adjust our approach. Using these easy to implement/ready-to-go strategies in your program can create an atmosphere that sparks curiosity, informs teaching, promotes learning, and empowers youth to discuss ideas. This session will have a STEM focus, but the strategies are transferable across ages.

Perrin Chick, ACRES Project At MMSA; Hannah Lakin, ACRES Project At MMSA

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Workforce Development - Afterschool Style!

Workshop Developing
Youth Development, Learning Environments, Curriculum, and Assessment

How often do you think about the fact that our future software designers, manufacturers, architects, and engineers are walking through the doors of your afterschool program each day? Afterschool programs create a unique opportunity for youth to engage in fun, multi-disciplinary workforce development activities that can help prepare them for their future careers. Guided by examples from across the afterschool field, this interactive workshop will explore the fundamental components of workforce development and prompt Developing Professionals to design prototypes of high-quality workforce development activities that take you back to your youth.

Stacy Ruff, Boys & Girls Clubs of America

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A Dinner Party for Equity and Inclusion!

Workshop Developing
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

Dive into a deeper perspective that distinguishes Diversity, Equity, Equality and Inclusion. Build your awareness of these definitions by engaging in hands-on activities that cover missing perspectives and acknowledge cultural values in a youth-program context. Participants will develop strategies and skills for adapting programs so they include an equity and inclusion lens, so that the right stakeholders are in the room to make inclusive decisions.

The overall goal of this session is to build staff capacity to make youth programs more inclusive and more culturally responsive, to ultimately embrace the diversity of the youth we serve.

Margo Herman, U of M Extension Center for Youth Development; Kathryn Sharpe, University of Minnesota Extension Center for Youth Development

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Art to Promote Youth Voice

Workshop Developing
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

This hands on training gives afterschool facilitators tools for sharing empowering art with school age youth. We will explore activities aligned with national art standards to find flexible ways to use a range of materials, create an inclusive atmosphere for youth, explore youth voice, and offer youth skills for interacting positively in groups. Example curriculum will be provided.

Rachel Kessler, OregonASK

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Beyond Safety: Supporting Social & Emotional Learning for LGBTQ Youth

Workshop Proficient
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

This session will include a review of the challenges LGBTQ youth encounter during adolescence, a review of current research on the mental health disparities affecting LGBTQ youth, and an introduction to programming options designed to support LGBTQ adolescent development. Activities will include an opportunity to self-assess the level of LGBTQ inclusion in after school programs, and practice responding effectively to LGBTQ scenarios typical for after school settings.

Bridget Hughes, The Hetrick-Martin Institute

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Creating a Bag of Tricks for Success with Behavior Challenges

Workshop Developing
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

This highly interactive workshop will prepare every participant to create an effective, portable treasure chest of behavior and sensory supports, referred to as a “Bag of Tricks”. Participants will discover simple and inexpensive items found in any dollar store that can be used to support youth when they are struggling. Highlights include a competition for the most creative use of an item and a door prize drawing for a complete Bag of Tricks.

Kathryn King, Kids Included Together

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Empowering Emotions and Relationship Building in Youth

Workshop Proficient
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

Children and youth go through a range of emotions every day. Hear from Inclusion expert, Taunya Banta, on empowering children and youth to gain a stronger sense of what they're feeling. Participants will gain an understanding of how to support children and youth in expressing those emotions via practical tips that can easily be adapted to or implemented in your program.

Taunya Banta, Champions; Tyreca King, Champions

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Engage teens! Change the world!

Workshop Developing
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

Do you want to engage teens in your program? Do you want to help middle and high school students build their leadership skills? Do you want to make a difference in the lives of diverse youth and communities? If this is you, come join us as we explore the foundational programming pieces needed for engaging teens in leadership and community action. When teens are engaged, it allows them to address problems and issues in their local, state, national, and world communities, leading to lasting positive change. You will learn about barriers facilitators face, and walk away with solutions to common problems through this unique programming that helps to create action steps you can implement in your organization.

Dawn Wiley, Girls Inc.

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I DO Have a Dream Community…but I Don’t Think I Matter

Workshop Developing
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

Learn about a visioning process that supports civic engagement in an interactive way. Youth professionals will learn a practical strategy that is attractive to youth and fun to implement, so youth will begin a process of exploring what is possible in their communities and how they matter in the process. We will also cover resource distribution and how to advocate for equity.

Additionally, this session is designed to foster an intentional, prosocial approach that engages youth with their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, and families in a manner that is productive and constructive. It recognizes, utilizes, and enhances young people’s strengths and promotes positive outcomes for them.

Fakelia Guyton, DECC c/o: YWCA Metropolitan Chicago; Marianne Pokorny, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago

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If you can’t beat them, join them!

Workshop Developing
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

As afterschool professionals, where we are the masters of engaging youth, social media is tough competition! The youth of today love social media because it’s fun, engaging and a great way to showcase their voices while connecting with others. Instead of competing with social media for youth investment, why not create a safe and social space online during program hours? In this session, learn how to incorporate social media into your afterschool programs and daily activities while promoting safe practices for engaging students and professionals online. This informative session is for educators striving to close the digital divide, engage students and build stronger relationships with them. Join us so you can join them!

Chasidy Celestine, Harris County Department of Education

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Inclusion 101: Physical Activity for All Learners

Workshop Developing
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

Like all children, kids with intellectual disability (ID) love to move, play games and learn new skills. In fact, experiencing physical activity in social settings is a critical part of their maturation process and connects them to the broader community. During this session, afterschool instructors will learn about the different ID categories they may encounter in their work, common behavioral traits exhibited by kids with ID, and easy-to-use adaptation and reframing strategies for managing these traits during physical activity time. Participants will also learn about free online resources, including an Inclusion Guide and short training videos that help to reinforce inclusion concepts and can be shared with their afterschool colleagues.

Shana Green, CATCH Global Foundation

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Make Connections! Meaningful Math Learning Applying SEL Competencies!

Workshop Developing
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

Math learning permeates the world around us, and our role is to support and inspire the next generation of innovators, problem solvers and creators. Come learn why math learning is so important for toddlers, preschoolers and school age youth. Participants will have an opportunity to engage with math resources, materials and lessons that develop and reinforce a strong math foundation that is critical for student success. All resources and strategies presented are designed to build on community strengths and reflect current research and best practices. These practices use everyday materials and are aligned with evidenced-based behaviors that promote SEL and character development

Doreen Hassan, YMCA of Silicon Valley; Thomas Russell, YMCA of Silicon Valley

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Responding to Conflict

Workshop Developing
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

This session will introduce a toolbox of strategies for responding, reflecting, and repairing relationships with young people when conflict occurs. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of their triggers and learn a framework for understanding conflict as a cycle that begins with stressful incidents that trigger difficult feelings. We will identify de-escalation strategies for preventing and responding to triggers as well as breaking the conflict cycle.

Brett Gurwitz, Ramapo for Children; Cecily Mitchell-Harper, Ramapo for Children

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See and be seen: Best practices in observation of children and youth

Workshop Proficient
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

In this session we will focus on the tools of observation for afterschool teachers working on socio-emotional learning (SEL) objectives. First, we will discuss the importance of observational methods for understanding child development in context and discuss how both behavioral observation and verbal interactions with children/youth provide information about skills. Next, we will review film and apply observation methods to catch both obvious and subtle cues about child/youth skills. Finally, we will review several frameworks and tools that can be used to make systematic observation a part of your daily program routines.

Charles Smith, QTurn LLC; Lorraine Thoreson, Michigan Department of Education

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Self-Regulation - The Right Thing @ The Right Time

Workshop Developing
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

An unregulated adult cannot help youth regulate. They do not go where we cannot lead. Modeling a variety of appropriate coping and stress management skills can therefore be the best lesson for youth, because emotional recognition and regulation are essential in building healthy and lasting relationships with others.

Gale Gorke, Kids Kan Inc.

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She is TOO grown: The Adultification of young black children

Workshop Developing
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

This session will address the societal epidemic of "adultifying" young black children. Recent studies have uncovered that black children are often mistaken for being "older and more mature" than their other nonblack peers. This stereotype has left black children in precarious situations where they are believed to have "adult-like tendencies" that then raises their culpability level and diminishes their actual capacity as children. The objective of this session is to dive into the history of the adultification of black children, how this stereotype affects educators interactions with these students, and provide participants with tools to remove this stigma from their educational setting. This session is encouraged for developing professionals.

Ty Manning, Village Learning Place

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The value-add of intentional mentoring in afterschool

Workshop Developing
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

Out of school settings provide a unique opportunity for positive youth development programs to provide young people with a mentor. Since 2014, the National Urban League’s (NUL) signature youth development program, Project Ready, has begun to intentionally integrate mentoring to further the objectives of the program. The Project Ready Mentor program is built on the research-based best practices for mentoring programs outlined in the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring. Through an iterative program development process, the NUL has integrated mentoring into their group activities and tailored the mentoring approach to the unique conditions of each affiliate.

Darlene Marlin, National Urban League; Rebecca Stelter, innovation Research & Training

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You Gotta Laugh! Improving Outcomes the Fun Way!

Workshop Proficient
Youth Engagement, Interactions with Youth, Diversity, and Inclusion

Are your students laughing? Are you? Embrace the power of laughter and how it can improve outcomes in your out-of-school time program. Laughter can energize you, your staff, and your students! Participants will learn about the physical, emotional, and social benefits of laughter and when not to ROTFL. Hear anecdotes, tips and strategies for using humor and laughter in your out-of-school time program as well as in your personal life. This is a highly interactive and fun session led by a certified laughter yoga instructor. If you want happier, healthier, more engaged students, and staff, then You Gotta Laugh!

Clint Darr, Missouri Afterschool Network

 

 

What's our role as leaders in elevating the field of afterschool as a profession, making it a profession that people acknowledge as important and want to be a part of?

The National AfterSchool Association is looking for 85 Ambassador members to celebrate “Play All May”– an annual celebration spearheaded by The Genius of Play.

This contest is closed.

What is Play All May?
A month-long celebration of play championed by The Genius of Play, a non-profit initiative whose mission is to spread the word about the benefits of play and encourage families to play more. The second annual Play All May will take place in May 2020.

How Can Afterschool Professionals Participate?
Enter above to participate, choose any day in May to hold an event in celebration of Play All May and receive a turn-key Play All May Backpack and Kit! The Genius of Play asks that you provide the date and location of your event in advance so that they can notify local media (yes, free PR for your program!) Following the event, you will be asked to submit 2-3 pictures of it (the pictures will not be shared publicly by The Genius of Play and are just requested as a proof that the event has taken place).

What is in the Kit?

• Laminated cards with six fun, easy-to-implement group activities for kids (primary focus is 6-8 years old but can be adapted for younger/older).
• Simple “equipment” for those activities that require it (e.g. a stress ball for Hot Potato).
• Reproducible letter to parents with facts about the benefits of play and a family activity to do at home.
• A poster about play with six additional play-based, skill-building activities you can implement in your program.

Why Do We Need a Special Celebration of Play?
While experts continue to make a powerful argument for the importance of play in children’s lives, the actual time children spend playing continues to decrease. Crowded and overly structured schedules, competitive parenting culture, increased focus on academics and testing in schools and the growing amount of screen time are some of the key reasons behind the decline in play. Play All May brings play back in the spotlight by celebrating its critical role in child development and reminding everyone about the benefits of playtime.

For more information on the importance of play, visit https://www.thegeniusofplay.org/

Questions? Contact info@naaweb.org