Earlier this month, NAA led a delegation of 22 afterschool leaders to Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia to explore child and youth development systems and meet with youth policy experts in these two countries.

My daughter just finished her last year of elementary school. Next year, middle school will be a big, scary, exciting (fill in with any adjective you want—I think they all work!) transition for her and our family.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my visit to our NAA storage facility to go through years and years of organizational files. With NAA's 30th anniversary coming up in 2018, I find myself spending more and more time thinking about how to honor the past of our work, while also looking toward the future.

A couple of weeks ago, I set out to do something that I have been putting off for a long time—driving over to Alexandria, Virginia, to go through all of the old NAA files that have been in storage since we moved offices from Boston, Massachusetts, to Washington, D.C., around 2008.

I remember so vividly how I felt this time last year: Overwhelmed. Frustrated. Mad at myself that another year had slipped by and I wasn't where I wanted to be in achieving my leadership goals.

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

Note: Tissues recommended.

Like so many of you, I first experienced the power of the NAA community through the annual Convention. The crazy part is ... I didn't even attend that particular Convention!

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

As the Journal of Youth Development: Bridging Research and Practice (JYD) releases a new special issue on character development in youth programs, it is pleased to announce both a new publisher and a new partnership.

On Tuesday, March 8, Gina Warner, President and CEO of the National AfterSchool Association, will host the panel discussion "School's Out, So Let the Learning Continue" at SXSWedu in Austin, Texas.