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Growing up in the 90s, I’ve watched more episodes of MTV’s Real World than I care to admit. The show was hailed for depicting relevant issues in young adulthood including prejudice, sexuality, politics, and more. For me, it was where I was introduced to the first openly gay person I saw represented on television.

High-quality out-of-school time programs play an important role in the lives of our nation’s young people by offering youth additional opportunities for positive experiences that support the development of important skills, attitudes, and behaviors. OST programs can be a key lever for community and local system leaders to help reverse longstanding inequities, but the lack of robust, comprehensive funding is often a barrier to program expansion and quality improvement efforts in:

If you are working as an advocate for job quality in the youth development profession and are looking for the sources behind the phrase “research shows that out-of-school time (OST) professionals are the linchpin to program quality,” look no further. 

The inaugural Achievery Learning cohort kicked off at the 2023 NAA national convention. It was a great time to come together as a group to learn, laugh, dance, and share their collective passion for OST. Meet our amazing group of leaders who will be working together through November to learn from each other and share strategies for finding, adapting, and implementing free online resources for use within OST programs.