Professional Development
NAA publishes fresh, new content every week covering a wide variety of topics related to the field of aftershool. In addition, NAA offers a variety of opportunities for virtual professional development (PD) through meaningful content, conversations and connections. Click here to see full descriptions of virtual PD offerings.
Children categories
STEM Gems (1)
STEM Gems are short discovery-based experiences. They involve little or no materials and may be easily implemented by educators who are not STEM specialists. Each STEM Gem is designed to engage young people in active experiential learning. The activities begin by setting up connections to prior knowledge, then a hands on activity provides new concepts and the opportunity to design experiments to answer any questions the kids discover. Finally, a connection to a different scenario for the concept is provided to help cement and evaluate the learning.
STEM Gems are experiences designed to be used with kids of all ages. Younger children should be focused on one idea or concept and should perform the activity as a collective group with prompts and directions from the teacher. With older youth, the teacher should act as a facilitator. The older youth should be set up to work independently in small teams and encouraged to ask questions and try out their own experiments to answer them. Each team should report back on their findings, so a consensus around the concept is reached.
Each STEM Gem is presented in an easy to follow lesson plan:
Big Ideas and Science Talk
Central concepts and key words to give the adult the science background for the experience.
Engage
Open ended questions to stimulate discussion and generate connections to prior knowledge.
What You Will Need
A list of the materials.
Before You Begin
The preparation needed for the activity.
Explore and Experiment
The directions for the experience designed using open ended questions that focus the children on discovering answers.
Make the Connection and Extend and Evaluate
Connections to other scenarios that use the same concepts and related question(s) or additional activity to evaluate knowledge.
STEM Gems are available to members only. Login to access STEM Gems.
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Helen Soulé
Dr. Helen Soulé is the Executive Director of P21. She has led the organization's state recruitment and support effort, the 21st Century Learning Exemplar Program, and other initiatives. Soulé is a lifelong educator with P-16 leadership experience at the local, state and national level. Soulé served as chief of staff to the assistant secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education in the U.S. Department of Education, and as Executive Director of Cable in the Classroom. She is a founding SETDA member and the recipient of several awards, including Converge magazine's 30 "Shapers of the Future" award, E-School News "Impact 30 Award for Excellence", and the Mississippi Educational Computing Association's Technology Educator of the Year award.
Previous NAA Exhibitors
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CAB Convening
Join Us for this "Don't Miss" event!
SEPTEMBER 29, 2015
9:30AM-3:30PM
Space is limited
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
Once Discovery Place
Silver Spring, MD 20910
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Data Research on Social Emotional Learning, by Consortium on Chicago School Research
PANEL DISCUSSIONS: Achieving Social Impact Through Corporate Investment & Addressing the Skills Gap for Success in the Workplace
Click here to download the schedule!
RSVP to jennifer@naaweb.org
Thank you to our sponsors!
AfterSchool Today Reader Advisory Panel
Thank you for your interest in joining the Afterschool Today Reader Advisory Panel!
For FAQs about the responsibilities with this role, please click here.
Reader Advisory Panel Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions:
What will Advisory Panel members do?
Quite simply, as an AST Reader Advisory Panel member you'll help guide us in planning and executing our editorial coverage by letting us know what issues and topics are important to you and your colleagues. We want to "pick your brain" as the saying goes. We want to hear your great ideas for topics, people, reading, tools, and issues AfterSchool Today should seek to address. We are also interested in your ideas, tips, tricks and tools. We want to learn about the concerns that keep you awake at night—what you need to stay on top of to support your staff and run and improve your programs. How do you go about creatively resolving most pressing problems of your day? This kind of valuable information sharing among members is what NAA is all about.
What's in it for you?
You'll be part of an exclusive group that helps guide our editorial coverage to make AfterSchool Today the most valuable publication to cross your desk. Periodically, Advisory panel members will be acknowledged in AfterSchool Today and thanked for their contributions with a personal letter from the Executive Director that is suitable for your professional portfolio and performance reviews.
What will be required of you?
We know you're busy, so we won't flood your inbox. Rather, we'll ask you to participate in at least one of these ways.
• First: We'll send you a quarterly online survey about the issues and topics we have covered and should cover in the future. This will help us assess how well we are doing, as well as help us better shape what we cover.
• Second: We'll share our editorial calendar with you in advance. If you feel you, your program, or someone you know has something to offer to a story, please let us know so we may call on you as a possible resource.
• Third: If you are interested and willing, we may send you an advance copy of an article or book that we think will interest you, and ask for your timely feedback.
You choose what ways you contribute, and how much or how little, by responding to our requests.
What's in it for us?
Your expertise. We want your opinions and your feedback. We want you to tell us what you want to see, as well as what you don't want to see. In this way, we'll be able to deliver the targeted editorial content that you need to do your job better, grow your career, and strengthen our field.
More questions? Please e-mail Gina Warner: gwarner@naaweb.org
Ready to apply? Click here.
Virtual Convention Workshops
Experiences, environments and engagement are at the core of positive youth development. Afterschool professionals with competency in these areas run the quality programs that research shows benefit youth. Leaders and their teams should join NAA’s 2018 Virtual Convention featuring experts from the NAA Community (including top rated workshop presenters from the in-person convention) to become inspired, connected, and equipped to provide valuable opportunities for young people.
All workshops target NAA Core Knowledge and Competencies Content Areas 1-6, Levels 1 - 3.
Training certificates are awarded for eight hours of participation in the Virtual Convention which included the following content. Participation includes interaction with presentation + videos, hands-on activities, reflection, planning, and sharing.
Safe Havens – Integrating Trauma-Informed Care
Kirk Lowis, Portage Community Center
Research suggests that nearly 60 percent of youth in the U.S. are exposed to a 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.
How to Meaningfully Address Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Jimena Quiroga Hopkins, Development Without Limits
For programs to truly serve the needs of all young people, it is important to address equity, diversity, and inclusion intentionally and in a meaningful way. In this workshop, we will delve deeper into what it takes to address the three spheres of change when it comes to doing equity, diversity, and inclusion work – people, policies, and practices. You’ll gain strategies and tools for moving this work forward in your organizations and programs.
Afterschool Tech Toolkit
Jennifer Brady, Development Without Limits
Afterschool programs have long been known as a solution to support students and families through positive relationships with adults and peers. With the right professional development, afterschool professionals can help students actively navigate technology to create deep learning experiences and develop digital citizenship and responsibility in a safe, facilitated setting. Afterschool professionals are skilled at using a wide range of tools to build relationships, set high expectations and ensure youth experience all kinds of age-appropriate opportunities – with the Afterschool Tech Toolkit you’ll be able to confidently use technology to help students thrive.
Reframing Behavior Management
Katherine Gopie and Jennifer Jones, Prime Time Palm Beach County
Do you struggle with managing challenging behaviors of the youth in your program? Would you like to learn a way to facilitate youths’ self-management skills when they misbehave? This training shows you how to approach all youth behavior as opportunities to learn responsibility, emotion management, and problem-solving skills. Walk away with practical strategies you can use immediately!
Bringing Social and Emotional Learning to Life through Healthy Eating and Physical Activity
Daniel Hatcher, Alliance for a Healthier Generation
Interested in increasing the quality of physical activity for youth through inclusive program activities that encourage relationship building? Looking for fun family engagement activities that combine cooperation and compassion with nutrition education? Join this interactive workshop and you’ll leave with simple (and budget-friendly) resources for family engagement and program activities with these goals in mind. Quality afterschool is healthy afterschool!
Giving Youth More Voice and Choice
Perrin Chick, Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance
Join us to learn essential STEM facilitation skills. Reflect on your practice and learn ways to increase the youth voice within your program. The more students have the opportunity to talk through STEM challenges within afterschool programs and take on leadership roles, the more inclined they will be to pursue STEM careers and act as agents of change within communities. Participants will also learn how virtual professional learning communities and peer coaching can increase camaraderie and improve practice.
Helping Youth Develop Coping Skills
Heather Wojciuch, Kids Included Together (KIT)
Have you ever wondered why some youth seem to bounce back from stress easier than others? Youth learn to bounce back or cope at varying levels, and through social-emotional experiences. Youth face many social demands during their school day and during out-of-school time such as following a routine, responding to social cues, communicating with others, and making appropriate choices. Many times, youth do not have the skills necessary to handle these stressors and require adult assistance to find a solution. Participants will learn new tools and strategies to teach youth how to cope and become more resilient during stressful times. As a result, youth are better able to self-regulate, become self-aware, build relationships skills, and make better decisions.
Social Emotional and Mindful Learning in Afterschool
Jaime Garcia, Extend-a-Care for Kids
How much time do you spend helping young people understand their emotions, recognizing a friend’s perspective, resolving conflict in a positive way, and helping them make safe choices? Discover the why and how of bringing social emotional learning (SEL) to your program. Create peace paths, cool down areas, and embrace group meeting times to give kids a better chance of understanding themselves and building relationships with others.
Erika Petrelli
Senior Vice President of Leadership Development, The Leadership Program
Erika Petrelli is the senior vice president of leadership development (and self-declared minister of mischief) for The Leadership Program, an organization dedicated to helping individuals discover, and step into, their own brand of leadership to positively change their lives and communities. At The Leadership Program, Erika oversees the support the development of over 200 employees, the creation of new and evolving content and curriculum, and the implementation of services throughout the country.
With a Master’s degree in secondary education from Indiana University, Erika has been in the field of teaching and training for more than 15 years and nurtures the individual leadership spirit in students and adults across the country, through trainings, coaching, and writing. She blogs weekly, and is the author of the interactive journal On Wings & Whimsy: Thoughts on Finding the Extraordinary Within the Ordinary.
Byron Garrett
Chairman, National Family Engagement Alliance
Byron Garett is chairman of the National Family Engagement Alliance (NFEA), a non-profit dedicated to transforming education through meaningful family engagement. He also serves as the director for educational leadership and policy at Microsoft, and is a consulting author for Scholastic. Throughout his career, Byron has been a visionary agent of change promoting the idea that everyone has an obligation and opportunity to serve the best interests of our nation’s most precious resource – children. Byron is a Huffington Post blogger and lead strategist NBC News’ Education Nation. As the former CEO of the National Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), Byron has a unique combination of experience from both the non-profit and governmental sectors. He served as National Program Leader for the National 4-H Headquarters at the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the program’s seven million participants and 90,000 clubs. While at USDA he was appointed by The White House as co-convener of the Helping America’s Youth initiative, an interagency effort to address challenges facing youth and to promote successful solutions. Byron is the author of The ABC’s of Life, a guide for adolescents and adults alike to take ownership of their lives and work toward excellence and success, even when life’s inevitable obstacles arise, and Greatness on the Inside, a children’s book that counteracts the limiting messages projected at children by today's media-driven world in this beautifully illustrated, uplifting book for children of all ages.
Gina Warner
President & CEO, National AfterSchool Association
Gina Warner is president and CEO of the National AfterSchool Alliance. Gina began her afterschool career as a teen in 4-H programs in rural Alabama, and has continued to work at the intersection of education, youth development, public policy, and nonpro t leadership throughout her career. She relies on her experience as a classroom teacher, an attorney, a U.S. Senate staffer, and a citywide out-of-school time leader to guide her work. As the leader of NAA, Gina works to meet the needs of both emerging and experienced afterschool professionals through enhanced training and development, increased communication, outreach, and membership engagement.
Exhibitor Workshop Proposals
We host a small number of workshops by our Exhibitors that do allow product pitches, demos, and other sales-specific content that we do not allow in our regular workshops. Our Exhibitor Call for Proposals closed on December 17 and we've received more submissions than ever before. We are reading through your proposals and will be back in touch on January 8.
Exhibitor Call for Proposals Key Dates
Open Call for Proposals (CFP) July 22
CFP Informational Webinar July 22
Close Call for Proposals December 17
Notification of Acceptance January 8
Confirmation Deadline January 15
Registration Deadline January 15
Presenter Prep Webinar #1 Friday, January 22, 1:00pm EST/10:00am PST - Register now.
Presenter Prep Webinar #2 Friday, February 26, 1:00pm EST/10:00am PST - Register now.
Tools & Techniques for Effectively Collecting Fees
Free webinar sponsored by EZ-CARE
Date: Thursday, June 25th, 1:00 PM EDT
Many before and after school programs are adopting new technologies designed to streamline billing and payment processing, reduce bad debt, and increase the speed of payment collection. This 30 minute webinar will share real-life success stories and educate you about how integrated electronic payments can do the following for your program:
- Improve cash flow
- Encourage immediate payments
- Reduce late payment collection costs
- Better security and control of funds
- Less administrative work and paperwork
Registration is now closed.
National AfterSchool Association • 2961A Hunter Mill Road, #626 • Oakton, VA 22124 • info@naaweb.org