Professional Development

Summer is a period of opportunity and concern when it comes to children and youth. However, a new report from the RAND Corporation commissioned by The Wallace Foundation shows that collaboration among community stakeholders can help identify and prioritize high-quality summer programming. The report, which focuses on the experiences of four cities, demonstrates that building successful summer networks requires a shared vision, strong leadership, coordinated action, funding for sustainability, and diagnostic data. The progress made and lessons learned in Boston, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. can serve as a roadmap for communities across the country.

Currently over 10 million children and youth--many from historically-excluded groups--participate in afterschool and summer programs nationwide. In fact, for every one young person enrolled in an afterschool program there are three more waiting to get in, totaling 25 million kids who aren’t able to access programs.  At the National AfterSchool Association (NAA), we believe every young person deserves quality, enriching experiences outside of school that positively impact their development and help them thrive, however, currently there are multiple systemic barriers that impact access. 

To help students catch up on lost instructional time during the pandemic, schools and afterschool programs are taking advantage of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding to implement new learning programs. Key to those efforts is finding programming that aligns with ESSER funding requirements but that is also easy to use, effective, and fun for students.

As an OST professional, you likely understand why it's crucial to integrate choices and decision-making into programming. If that's the case, what prevents you from doing it?