Pathway to Excellence Mini-Grant
Pathway to Excellence Learning Lab featured at the
2011 Bridge from School to Afterschool and Back Conference
School’s Out Washington’s 9th annual Bridge Conference is in Seattle, WA on October 17-18, 2011. Our 2011 theme: "Connect. Act. Transform." will inspire participants to feel a part of a vital larger movement impacting young people both in and out of school. This year, there will be an emphasis on youth engagement, racial equity, global competencies, education transformation, outcome measurement and much more! Our ultimate goal is to deliver a professional development experience where participants return to their programs with tools and knowledge to provide high-quality services to youth generated by strong and healthy partnerships between schools and afterschool and youth development programs.
Mini-Grant
The purpose of the Pathway to Excellence (PTE) Learning Lab Mini-Grant is to provide an opportunity for a team of two participants from an afterschool network, an intermediary or an afterschool organization to attend the 2011 The Bridge from School to Afterschool and Back conference (aka Bridge) and participate in a full day session to learn how to replicate and implement this professional development model in their afterschool and youth development (AYD) communities.
School’s Out Washington is awarding Pathway to Excellence Project Mini-Grants (valued at $1,500) to 12 afterschool networks, afterschool organizations or intermediaries to learn how to replicate the model within their own AYD communities. This includes two conference registrations and an $800.00 travel stipend. The Learning Lab will be a hands-on session that will take participants through the process of learning how to implement the full PTE model. PTE coaches will assist School’s Out Washington staff in facilitating the day. We will use resources from our years one and two, Supporting English Language Learners as our sample content strand and will provide participants with materials and resources that they can take back to their communities.
We are looking for teams of administrators and coaches that are involved in systems that support multiple afterschool programs. Applicants will commit to attend the PTE learning lab session at the Bridge conference and plan to share and/or implement the model with AYD programs and agencies in their communities. Monday, October 17th is when the learning lab session will take place. All mini-grant recipients are required to attend this full day session. All participants will attend all conference keynote sessions and the full conference on day two.
What is Pathway to Excellence?
Pathway to Excellence (PTE) is an innovative professional development model that supports afterschool and youth development (AYD) professionals in building critical skills to produce positive outcomes for children, youth and program staff. The goal of PTE is to focus on an emerging issue in the AYD field through a multi-component and intentional programming approach that provides AYD professionals with the skills and knowledge they need to advance their own professional development while improving the quality of their programs. This then benefits the community by leading to change of practice and ultimately higher quality programming for children and youth. The PTE model recognizes that, just as youth in AYD programs need help reaching their potential, AYD professionals need support in reaching theirs.
An adaptive and proven model
One of the main strengths of the PTE model is that its components can be customized to the emerging issues specific to your staff and community. While the model is meant for youth-serving organizations with multiple AYD program sites, it can be modified and scaled to size depending on whether you work in a rural, suburban or urban setting at a Community Based Organization (CBO), school-based program or multi-service organization. Whatever the size or type of organization, the PTE model will provide your staff with an innovative professional development experience. Results from a rigorous, two-year outcome evaluation to inform the model’s efficacy performed by Organizational Research Services (ORS), a nationally recognized leader in outcome-based planning and evaluation, show that staff sustained the knowledge and skills gained at the initial training around a specific content strand and made intentional changes to improve their program practices.
The Four Components of Pathway to Excellence
Content-specific training
Content-specific training allows AYD professionals to acquire specific skills and knowledge around an emerging issue in the AYD field. Organizations choose a content area or “strand” and train staff in that specific topic. Staff use their newly acquired knowledge to implement new activities learned during their training and coaching sessions. Some examples of content areas include English Language Learning, Health and Fitness, Science & Global Learning and Anti-Bullying.
Professional on-site coaching
AYD professionals receive on-site coaching to develop and support implementation strategies related to their content-specific training. Some examples of support coaches provide include on-site modeling of a specific activity, program planning and training and troubleshooting. Content coaches listen to ideas from program staff and provide resources to help turn those ideas into action. Results from the ORS evaluation supported the benefits of coaching. The evaluation showed that the unique contribution of coaching was “a strong component of the model.” The support provided by coaches helps programs on their path to providing higher quality programming.
Learning communities
Learning communities bring together AYD professionals participating in the PTE model to network, share resources, tools and other program related insights on a specific content area. Learning communities are facilitated by coaches and/or peers and are made up of other AYD professionals in a specific geographic region who attended the same content training. AYD professionals often comment that one of the most rewarding parts of the PTE model is connecting with others in the AYD field doing similar work.
Online discussion board
Online discussion boards or social network forums are an easy and efficient way to share ideas, discuss concerns and find solutions to issues important to AYD professionals. This component of the PTE model uses a structured format of a participants-only online discussion forum to connect staff with peers engaged in the same process. Because the discussion boards are private, they often become an important place for AYD staff to engage in honest and open discussions about challenges and solutions. They are also a low-cost way for AYD staff in different geographic regions “meet online” and discuss emerging issues on a daily basis.
School’s Out Washington will provide the teams with support, guidance, and tools on how to plan and implement the PTE project. Teams will receive a replication guide, a process evaluation manual and content strand resources from School’s Out Washington.
Who May Apply?
Applicants should either represent 501(c) 3 organizations or public entities, or identify one such organization as a fiscal sponsor for the project. We strongly encourage applications from: Afterschool Networks, Intermediaries and Organizations serving multiple sites & organizations with technical assistance systems in place. We cannot fund efforts that promote discrimination or intolerance, or which use funds for profit or for religious purposes.
How much are Mini-Grants?
Each team will receive 2 registrations to attend the Bridge conference and an $800.00 travel stipend.
Applications must be received by 5:00 pm Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Contact: Jackie Jainga Hyllseth, (206) 336-6929.