Newsletter January 2012

Celebrating 25 Years!

Join us in celebrating the tremendous impact our staff, funders and partners have made on the lives of young people for the past 25 years. We have an exciting year of celebrations ahead, which includes contests, events and special surprises.

As we reflect upon our first 25 years, we are launching an annual fundraising campaign to ensure many successful years ahead. In keeping with the theme,

We ask that you please contribute $25 to assure future generations have safe places to learn and grow when not in school.

Click to make your gift!

WAN News & Policy: Work Session

U pdates & Announcements
- Healthy Youth Grants
- Quality Enhancement Grants

We have played a key role in training and guiding youth-serving organizations, and now you too have the opportunity to play an incredibly important role in our children’s future.

From our stellar training and professional development services, to our hard-hitting advocacy work on issues impacting the afterschool and youth development field, to our cutting-edge statewide professional development system; School's Out Washington continues to be committed to building community systems to support quality out-of-school time programs for Washington's 5-18 year olds.

Look for further announcements about fun events throughout the year. Visit our website, blog, Facebook and Twitter pages to hear the news as its happening.

What did School's Out look like in 1987 (besides shoulder pads and big hair)?

by Billie Young, Sr., Early Childhood Workforce Systems Advisor, NAEYC & SOWA Founder

School’s Out Washington has come a long way from its humble beginning in 1987. Founded by the City of Seattle with a small, but mighty grant from DSHS, the School’s Out Consortium was launched as a true collaborative of directors and leaders in school age care who wanted to work together to create more and better options for school age children and youth. I remember the first few meetings in a conference room at the City of Seattle, staffed by the energetic and imaginative Carol Goss.

In those early years, we were trying to see what we could do together to provide more training for staff working with kids in elementary schools and how we could provide start-up funds to expand programs to even more schools and communities. We offered workshops and a lot of hope and maybe some vision for thinking about out-of-school time as a unique field, linked to early childhood education, but also to K-12 and recreation.

We struggled with issues like how to staff before and afterschool care with variable school calendars, and how to pay a decent wage and offer benefits. We dreamed of dedicated spaces, so that providers didn't have to perch in cafeterias and deal with creating and storing materials and activities each day.

The 1990's brought tremendous opportunities and thanks to the YWCA and the visionary leadership of Tema Nesoff, Mari Offenbecher and Janet Frieling, SOWA took off to places we'd never imagined in the beginning. With the Families and Education Levy (and the City's Kathleen Groshong), we were able to create a partnership with Seattle Public Schools and Seattle Parks Department to expand quality, dedicated spaces for afterschool and align our goals and strategies for students.

Our understanding of how to recruit and nurture talented staff and how to sustain quality programming has grown, thanks to the MOST Initiative, Project Lift-Off, SOAR, 21st Century Community Learning Centers and generous foundation partners. School’s Out has grown from a Seattle-based consortium to a state-wide venture with national recognition and respect.

What's ahead? Well, I'd say one lesson of the past is that we'd better dream big, because School's Out is probably going to make it happen!

The Bridge from School to Afterschool and Back Marks its 10th Anniversary

by Zach Wilson, Educational Services Director/Bridge Conference Coordinator

We are very excited to be celebrating our tenth annual Bridge Conference in 2012 during the 25^th year anniversary of School’s Out Washington (SOWA). Transitioning into a new year often brings about a time for reflection. I have had the opportunity to coordinate the past six Bridge Conferences and this will be lucky number seven (and it’s the year of the dragon, so watch out). I also had the chance to attend the second and third year of the conference, so I also have the perspective of a past attendee. This article is a trip down memory lane to share highlights from each year of the conference’s history and to get you excited for the tenth annual which will surely be the best one yet.

2003: Visionary leaders from the states of Washington and Oregon came together to provide an innovative professional development experience bringing together formal and informal educators. It was a rich collaboration which included the two state education agencies. It set an example and a tone to focus on partnerships across education and community systems intended to support young people’s learning across the hours.

2004: The questions related to the role of afterschool and youth development (AYD) programs supporting academic outcomes were at the center of this year’s conference. Drs. Gil Noam and Robert Halpern led a joint session exploring a new framework for school/AYD partnerships and the associated risks, such as the potential loss of social and emotional outcomes that AYD programs have been supporting for the long haul.

2005: Issues around equity were explored, with an emphasis on serving young people with disabilities. A keynote address by Norm Kunc challenged the audience’s perspectives and biases related to individuals with disabilities. It drove home the need to focus on the inherent assets and gifts that each person brings to the community and to strive to find ways of welcoming all people into our programs and schools.

2006: Vanessa Gaston delivered an address on the state of youth of color in public education. She drew upon empirical data obtained from the College Board, EPE Research Center and the National Urban League’s State of Black America 2006. She explored the growing need to assist students of color in overcoming barriers within current education systems and how AYD programs can support such a cause. (Zach in 2006, below).

2007: Dr. Deborah Lowe Vandell drew upon 20 years of research from her work and that of others in the AYD field to summarize some enduring lessons about the essential elements of program quality that distinguish successful programs. She shared findings from the two-year longitudinal Study of Promising After-School Programs which indicated that the students who participated in quality AYD programs, alone or in combination with other structured AYD opportunities, demonstrated significant gains in standardized math test scores, compared to their peers who were regularly unsupervised after-school (Vandell, D. 2007 – Outcomes linked to high-quality after school programs: longitudinal findings from the study of promising practices.)

2008: Donna Klein spoke to the audience about the crises facing businesses throughout the United States. She addressed how young people are often unprepared to succeed in a knowledge-based economy and how this threatens our nation’s ability to compete in the rapidly changing, more competitive global economy. It shed light on the research articulating current business perspectives on new entrants into the job market – what skills they have and what’s lacking.

2009: Earl Martin Phalen set the tone for this year’s conference with his opening address on the tremendous potential of young people and the importance of role models. He challenged the audience to see their own power as advocates for better educational outcomes for youth. Mawi Asgedom brought down the house, calling out the reality of youth increasingly living 24x7 lifestyles that transcend any program or book. Mawi shed light on how these lifestyles are built on connectivity and media influence unimaginable to previous generations.

2010: Philly Youth Poetry Movement (PYPM) touched the hearts of everyone in the building with their artistic form of expression to enlighten and capture the visions of those that heard them speak. It was a true reminder of “the brilliance of youth who serve as the backbone for the beautiful future we all look forward to experiencing” (Gregory Corbin). Eric Gurna also facilitated a powerful and thought-provoking debate between Drs. Paul Heckman and Tiffany Cooper Gueye. Both speakers discussed their differing definitions of success, the ways they believe that data should inform program design, the research and results they have experienced and the implications for the AYD field.

2011: It was truly an honor to have Karen Pittman involved throughout this year’s conference. The Forum’s Ready by 21® is the most comprehensive solution to the current challenges facing our young people that I have come across in my 14+ years in the AYD field. Dr. Shawn Ginwright also blew away participants on the note of responding to equity issues in ways that hold promise for social, racial and ecological justice.

2012: With nine years of the Bridge Conference under our belt, we are gearing up to provide a life-changing experience that builds upon the amazing highlights from conferences of the past. We have reached participants from well over half the country and we look forward to setting the nation ablaze with new insights and partnerships that will benefit young people across the school day and beyond. Keep your eyes open for the upcoming announcements of this year’s theme and speakers

Save the date for this year’s conference on October 8 & 9, 2012 at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel in Seattle, WA. Look out for more information and updates as they become available.

Washington Afterschool Network (WAN) & Policy News

Policy Update

Join us for a Work Session on Thursday in Olympia

The focus of the work session is to give an overview of Expanded Learning Opportunities, the Supporting Student Success-S3 Initiative and the development of a new state plan for afterschool and youth development. In the first new plan since 2003, we will emphasize programs that intentionally support academic outcomes for youth of color, from low-income families, and English Language Learners. The plan will also identify strategies for all programs serving children and youth in the hours they are not in school.

WHAT: Work session before the Education Appropriations and Oversight Committee for the House of Representatives

WHEN: Thursday, January 12th, 2012, 1:30 pm-3:30 pm.

WHERE: John L. O’Brien Building House Hearing Room A, 504 15th Avenue Southeast, Olympia.

THE LEADERS:

Representative Kathy Haigh (35th district) helped to schedule this work session because of her passion and commitment to education (pictured, right).
“Team Washington," the champions working with us to create a new state plan for expanded learning opportunities:
- Martin Mueller, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Jonelle Adams, Executive Director of the Washington School Directors Assoc.
- Karen Waters, Excellent Schools Now Coalition
- Amanda Thomas and Janet Frieling, SOWA
Funders and supporters
- National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practice, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Council of Chief State School Officers and the C. S. Mott Foundation along with many other Washington Afterschool Network partners and supporters.

THE PLAN: The 2012 plan will highlight Expanded Learning Opportunities as an educational equity strategy and center on evidence-based programs that intentionally align activities and support for academic outcomes for children and youth, particularly youth of color, from low income families and those for whom English is a second language. We know there are many high quality programs serving the youth in our state and we believe that with a focus on intentional academic activities, we may see better academic outcomes. The plan will also make field level recommendations that will identify strategies for all programs serving children and youth in the hours they are not in school.

WHY NOW: The landscape has changed dramatically since 2003: the Common Core Standards have been adopted, the Achievement Gap continues to widen, Washington’s dropout rate continues to increase, and community and state resources have decreased.

SOLUTIONS: Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELOs) offer ways to maximize resources, connect and engage community based organizations and offer additional supports to those who struggle the most academically.

GET INVOLVED: Consider attending the work session. Have conversations within your community about the need for a state plan with a focus on expanded learning opportunities, that support the most vulnerable students, might produce better academic outcomes. Stay tuned for future announcements about how you can attend community gatherings or provide important feedback on this work.

For more questions or to find out more about the Washington Afterschool Network, please contact the Network Director, Janet Frieling, or call her at 206.323.2396

Washington Afterschool Network (WAN) Partnership Group Meetings

Join us Friday, March 2^nd in Tumwater. Stay tuned for more information on the topics to be discussed at the meeting. Visit our website to learn more about the WAN Partnership Group.

Updates & Announcements

2012 Healthy Youth Healthy Futures Washington Mini-Grant Award Winners

For three years now, the Washington Afterschool Network led by School’s Out Washington has awarded funds to coalitions, organizations, groups and other collaborative entities through the Healthy Youth, Healthy Futures Washington Mini-Grants. The goal of the grant is for communities to work together to raise awareness about the importance of afterschool and youth development programs in supporting healthy behaviors among young people in their communities. These collaborative efforts rely on solid partnerships between afterschool programs, schools and health entities to work on projects that will address a relevant health issue in their community. In doing so, they will showcase how afterschool and youth development programs are instrumental in supporting healthy youth.

Since 2010, SOWA has funded 14 innovative projects across the state. Among these projects, we are pleased to announce the 2012 Healthy Youth Healthy Futures Washington Mini-Grant award winners!

White Center Community Development Association (Renton, WA) has partnered with WSU/King County Food and Fitness Initiative, NeighborCare Health Centers, Neighborhood House, Chief Sealth International High School, and Evergreen High School for their project, Build Our Own Movement (BOOM) Youth Summit, which will promote youth leadership and education around healthy eating, active living and the promotion of healthy behaviors amongst youth in South King County.

Sunset Elementary School Trailblazers After School Program (Airway Heights, WA) has partnered with Airway Heights Parks and Recreation Department, Communities in Schools of Spokane County, and Cheney School District for a community garden project featuring science-based nutrition lessons, family activities and summer education events.

Quincy School District (Quincy, WA) has partnered with Quincy Valley Medical Center, City of Quincy Recreation Department, and Quincy Readiness to Learn to host their first annual Leprechaun Chase Fun Run Event and Fitness Training Program which will promote the importance of family, school, and community fitness in raising healthy children and youth.

Jack Straw Productions (Seattle, WA) has partnered with Seattle Public Schools, Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center, Refugee Women’s Alliance, International Community Health Services, and Campana Quetzal for their project.

2012 Quality Enhancement Grant Winners

We are proud to announce the 11 winners of this year’s Quality Enhancement Grants who will receive $1,500 to $3,000 each. The Quality Enhancement Grant project is designed to improve the quality of Washington State's licensed or certified afterschool.

Central Region: