By Andrea Erins, owner of the site: www.mastersineducation.com. Andrea has been a college educator for 13 years and likes to write about various subjects related to teaching.

Here are just a few of the many fantastic afterschool literacy programs that have come up with creative ways to get children excited about reading and writing. From publishing their own literary magazines to starting slam poetry clubs, these are ideas that work.

826 National – Founded by award-winning author Dave Eggers, the 826 National program features literacy centers in eight major cities across the country. They offer inventive after-school writing programs to underprivileged children between the ages of 6 to 18. Students work with a tutor to complete their homework and read together for two hours, then write independently for one hour. The centers also publish a number of student writing projects such as quarterlies, newspapers, chapbooks, and ‘zines. They also offer free workshops for a variety of creative projects.

AfterSchool KidzLit – AfterSchool KidzLit is an afterschool reading program for children in grades K-8 that promotes their motivation to read and their literacy skills. It also helps them to develop core social values. The program is centered around 120 books that appeal to children’s interests, with facilitator guides for each book to help organize activities such as read-alouds, partner reading, group discussions, or a related activity involving drama, art, movement, or writing.  Afterschool staff members who have worked with KidzLit have noticed several signs of improved literacy including more interest and enjoyment in reading, enhanced vocabularies, better capabilities to express ideas, stronger relationships with peers and adults, and a better understanding of self and others.

hArtworks – hArtworks is a literacy magazine written and edited by students at Charles Hart Middle School, an inner- city school in Washington, D.C. The afterschool program allows students to foster their creativity and speak their minds. The students produce three issues each year, which are distributed to family, friends, and other members of the community. hArtworks has served 400 students every year since 1999, helping them to achieve better grades in English, improve literacy skills, and engage in more extracurricular activities. They are also more likely to pursue higher education.

Youth Education for Tomorrow (YET) – YET serves over 500 afterschool programs across the country. They provide custom programs for a wide range of ages, grades, and reading levels. Some program components include “ShoutOuts,” which improves participation and comprehension, reading games, reading out loud, and writing activities. YET also encourages independent reading with the “100 Book Challenge” that rewards reading achievement. Children who spent over 180 days in the Philadelphia program, where the program originated, had reading scores that improved an average of 1.2 grade levels.

Youth Speaks - Youth Speaks is an organization dedicated to developing creativity and literacy skills in young people.  They offer poet residencies in middle and high schools, where a trained Poet-Mentor works with a teacher or educational professional to bring creative writing and performance poetry into the school. They help the students create a Student-Led Arts Movement (SLAM) club and teach them leadership skills so that the club can continue after the residency is over. Youth Speaks teaches students that their lives serve as their primary inspiration for writing, which helps students to find their own voice before engaging with other voices through literature.

By Emily Emerson, Professional Development Coordinator

What a day!  The Seattle Public School’s Community Learning Center Staff Retreat on Monday, August 22nd was packed full of learning.  Most of my time was spent on logistics, setting up food, cleaning up food, doing all sorts of things with food.  But the bits and pieces I caught were inspiring.  Staff were so engaged in learning during Shemille Brown’s morning session, they chose to work through and keep listening rather than break for lunch.  (By the way, lunch from Main Street Gyros was a huge hit.) 

Back to the learning…  Staff had a range of afternoon breakout session choices including racial equity, incorporating youth voice, setting goals for MAP and many more.  I overheard one CLC Director mention how each session she attended linked to the other; Niki Orando’s definition of compassion fatigue and how to prevent it built on Tracy Flynn’s focus on personal strengths which built on Shemille’s information on the brain and how we react to emotional stimulation.  All in all, I believe the attendees walked away with useful tools and facts to enhance program quality.

There is so much change happening locally for Community Learning Centers and schools and so many are being asked to do more with less.  This retreat provided a great opportunity to refocus, reenergize and reengage with our work.  Thanks to all of our trainers and supporters for making this day of learning happen.

What is next?  We are working on a professional development workshop on increasing attendance. 

What topics are you interested in learning more about? Please comment below or contact me by email or at (206) 336-6921.

By Emily Emerson, Professional Development Coordinator

I just returned from the Asia Society’s Partnership for Global Learning Annual Conference and I am so excited about what I learned.  I was 100% engaged during the entire conference.  The keynotes and session workshops were well balanced with theoretical information, scientific data and practical applications for making global learning happen during the school day and during extended learning times (aka after-school and youth development). 

One big message I walked away with: global learning is not about implementing another curriculum or creating more to do, it really is about enhancing programming from local based project learning to global based project learning.  And in the end for me, it is about social justice.  It is about challenging your perspective and youth’s perspective by growing global core competencies like “recognizing and expressing their own perspective on situations, events, issues or phenomena and identify the influences on that perspective” and “examine the perspectives of other people, groups, or schools of thought and identify the influences on those perspectives.”  Focusing on these competencies not only provides meaningful life skills for youth but also meets the requirements of the new Common Core State Standards. 

Technology was a dominate theme at the conference.  One presenter, Dr. Alan November, shared an important twitter tip.  He suggested following the great thinkers in our field in order to keep up with new ideas and resources.  I will admit that I hadn’t considered using twitter for that type of resource. 

Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs shared her website where you can find tons of online tools that support student learning.  She has already vetted the websites and has conveniently categorized them so you have everything you need at your finger tips. 

Last but not least, I received information on tools created to implement global learning during the school day and during afterschool.  These tools are easy to use and extremely helpful to build effective learning experiences for youth.  All of these resources can be found on the Asia Society’s website.  Needless to say I am completely re-energized and ready to share the great information and resources on global learning.  Email me or give me a call at (206) 336-6921 and I’d be happy to share more.

By Louie Praseuth

I wanted to share some reflections with you now that we have completed our implementation process with the Pathway to Excellence Project Year 4. As you may know, the content strand was “Addressing Equity & Diversity in Afterschool Programs”. This focus has always been a personal passion for me to work on, not only for afterschool sites and staff but individually and personally as well. Walking through this process over the last academic year with the 18 program sites, the staff and the communities they serve has confirmed even more so that I, we, have a lot to learn about ourselves and each other around diversity, creating more equitable opportunities for children and youth, and recognizing our own biases that mold our paradigms through media and false assumptions.

My favorite aspect of the components within the PTE model is the accountability. Whether it was an uncomfortable conversation at our Learning Community Meetings, receiving access to resources online through our Facebook PTE 4 Groups page, or being challenged to think differently through the on-site coaching; the work on equity and diversity kept moving forward. Yes it was messy at times and will continue to be. But I’ve witnessed that “messiness” become o.k., because growing in our identity and embracing other’s differences is not a perfect process. Another observation is to accept people and communities where they are at and not push our agenda and expectations on others.

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” This quote rings true in any community building effort. The power of relationships played a major role in seeing the successes and positive outcomes that we experienced over the last year. The following are some quotes that speak to that:

“As a high-poverty and ethnically diverse community, issues of racial equity are a daily battle. So many of the youth that we work with are faced with extreme challenges that are so much a part of their life that the challenges they face in terms of racial equity become normalized and internalized in such a way that they often do not even know that they exist. PTE 4 has given us the tools, support and resources to help the youth we work with to begin to think deeply about issues of racial equity and diversity in significant ways. PTE 4 has helped me in my role as the Chair of an Anti-Racism Committee, to push my organization to take racial equity seriously and to address the areas that there needs to be change. In both areas I have seen the benefits of the work and am grateful for having been a part of the Pathways to Excellence Project.” – Karly Feria – Tyee High School, Community Schools Collaboration

“My work with PTE has enabled me to submerge myself and work more in depth with the community at Tyee and youth within it. PTE has given me strength and reinforcement in my abilities to help young people understand their identities; identities that encompass stories of their family, community, and culture; stories they will share and use to act for change; and change that addresses gaps and disparities in their community.” – Tony Innouvong – Tyee High School, Community Schools Collaboration

“PTE has given me a new lens in which to view Vietnamese Friendship Association, (VFA) and our programs and services. At the beginning, I struggled with how a Vietnamese oriented organizations can truly be equitable. But over time, I realized that we provide valuable and responsive services to those who need it. More importantly, it has helped me to critically think about how VFA can move forward with our youth and family programs to ensure that they truly meet the unique needs of the people we serve – rather than using generic programming models. I’m really proud to be a part of VFA, and to participate in PTE, because the deeper I go into this work, the more committed and invested I feel toward all of our shared vision of creating a more just and equitable society.” – James Hong, Vietnamese Friendship Association

“The PTE 4 Training that Devin and I have received has given us a new lens in which to view our afterschool program. We are more aware and attentive to the challenges and needs of our children than ever before, and are working to make Racial Equality and Social Justice everyday parts of our program. This journey has been so valuable to our site professionally and to me personally. It has been a pleasure and I look forward to continuing this work long after the trainings end.” – Jerrod Gonzales – Jefferson Community Center , ARC

“PTE 4 has impacted Evergreen in ways that we did not expect. Through very thoughtful coaching sessions with all of the team members at our site we have been able to revisit and analyze our personal stories. This guided us in making the direct connection between our different personal upbringings and how that has shaped the work that we choose to do and the way we go about doing it. We grew up with the experiences of being children of immigrant families, latchkey children, misguided young students of a messed up educational system, and victims of racism from the people we would least expect it. Rather than recreating our programs, we found ways to incorporate what we learned through PTE 4 into the things that already exist on our campus: leadership development for our ASB officers, First Aid and CPR training for our Brothers and Sisters Project, culturally relevant recipes for our Cooking Club, encouraging strong moral character and physical discipline through Vovinam, Vietnamese Martial Arts, and addressing racial tension and uniting in our World Cup Soccer Tournament…just to name a few. Thanks for all your hard work and for joining on this ongoing journey.”  - Chel Cendana – Evergreen High School,  Community Schools Collaboration

The work on Addressing Equity and Diversity will continue, and I hope that we can all commit to creating equitable opportunities for our future leaders in whatever role we play within our communities.
 

By Glen Osborn, Training Director, School's Out Washington

What happens when 85 Trainers and Educators gather together at Lake Chelan for 3 days of learning laughter and face to face networking?   The Trainer Educator Conference - a one of a kind event designed to educate and slightly spoil Adult Educators.  Conference planning happens all year long by a dedicated (and some say demented) group of folks representing independent and agency based trainers. The original cast of Amber Havens from Ed. Training Partners, Jim Teeters from Adults teaching Adults, Glen Osborn from SOWA and Tenlee Bell – an organizational master mind, were joined this year by Selena Allen from WA. Association for the Education of Young Children and and Kristine Williford and Mandy Aaberg from WA.Child Care Resource & Referral network.  

A few highlights from the gathering include an amazing presentation by Tracy Flynn called “Put Learners First: A Servant Leadership Approach” which changed up my teaching/training paradigm.  The open mike reception had spontaneous performances of talents ranging from German folksongs to poetry, storytelling and the banana dance.  During the multiple network sessions I learned new interactive energizers, how connected with dozens of people, including 2 Maryland based NASA trainers, whom I hope to see again soon and hopefully get to work with.  Gotta go, I’m off to start planning next year’s conference –May 21-23, 2012 at Lake Chelan.  Feel free to contact me for more information about the Trainer Educator Conference.
 

By Ariane Barr, MSW Practicum Intern, School's Out Washington

It’s about halfway through the final year of the Pathway to Excellence (PTE) project. The Year 4 Content Strand: “Addressing Equity and Diversity in Afterschool and Youth Programs” began at last year’s annual Bridge Conference. PTE participants were introduced to a toolkit complete with a variety of resources, engaging activities, and creative tools designed to increase cultural awareness for youth. Also introduced were methods for promoting greater equity and understanding through their own work, organizations and communities. I have had the privilege of observing the project since Bridge and have seen so much progress in such a short period of time. Last month all three regions, Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane came together for a learning community meeting at Reach in Tacoma facilitated by ThrivePoint Group.

ThrivePoint Group is an innovative and introspective consulting organization that strives to improve the life and educational experiences and outcomes of children and youth who face inequities due to their race, class or immigration experience. The facilitators, Jimena Quiroga and Jhumpa Bhattacharya, are amazing individuals and their experience in the field includes research, curriculum development, and training. They have worked on issues such as equity and diversity, social justice, youth leadership, cultural and linguistic implications on learning, bridging school and afterschool, and promising practices in the afterschool and youth development field. They work with individuals, groups and organizations that seek to gain the understanding and skills to effectively engage with and educate marginalized youth and communities and have been offering support to the PTE project.

Learning community meetings include opportunities for sharing activities and resources, problem solving related to the content strand and networking. All of this and more were on the day’s agenda as well as more creative and interactive ways to channel expression through personal collages and group body sculptures. Such activities were a great way to engage the group and energize participants prior to presenting on their successes and challenges in their programs over the past few months.  It was very inspiring to hear about all the achievements and the innovative ways everyone was utilizing to promote understanding of racial equity in their communities.

As for the challenges, an afternoon troubleshooting session was organized to connect with one another and exchange ideas and strategies for addressing concerns. Table stations were spread throughout the room with a different theme or topic that participants had been struggling with. Although there were seats for those seeking advice and those that were “experts” on the issues, it was clear that there were many great ideas and discussions from all members at each of the tables. The opportunity to process complex problems as a group greatly benefited participants and helped to gain multiple perspectives.

The last activity for the day involved defining our roles in racial equity work. Each of us is a healer, educator, organizer, advocate, bridge builder, ally, risk-taker, role model, analyst or facilitator. Our roles may vary from one situation to the next, and we may notice that our ability to make an impact may fluctuate as well. We each learned that all roles are important and needed in this work, so we should not be discouraged with measuring our own impact and just know the significance of taking part.

By Emily Emerson, Professional Development Coordinator

A big part of implementing an effective afterschool program is the partnership afterschool staff develop with school administrative and teaching staff, particularly when it comes to working with young people who are struggling.  There can be so many barriers to communication, very busy staff, unclear expectations regarding shared space, competing afterschool programming, budget cuts, and staff turnover just to name a few.  It was clear from my recent visit to Concord International Elementary YMCA Community Learning Center (CLC), that for this school community the kids come first and the adults are working hard to provide a strong collaborative foundation of support.

Ruby Fontilea, Program Supervisor, shared a story with me about a child who was struggling academically and having a difficult time following behavior expectations during the school day.  Some school staff questioned whether CLC would be a good fit for the child but they were willing to give it a try.  CLC staff implemented different strategies to help the child succeed in the CLC environment, including placing him in different program groups with different leaders.  CLC Staff found enrichment activities that the child enjoyed and where he excelled.   He was placed in a life skills class to learn effective ways to manage his emotions and make healthy decisions.  CLC staff used weekly homework check-ins to address concerns and track progress.  The Family Support Worker, one of the boy’s teachers, and the CLC Program Supervisor worked together to provide the boy with essential needs such as a backpack to keep track of his homework and taxi rides to and from school.  They also collaborated and problem solved when issues came up for the boy and his family, addressing academic and social emotional needs.  

Ruby shared with me that as a result of all of these during the school day and afterschool interventions, the boy has begun to complete his homework, get along better with his peers and show signs of increased self-esteem.  Because of the many challenges the boy faced, he was best supported by a strong school community bringing multiple people, agencies and resources together.  The afterschool/school partnership played a foundational role in serving the whole child so that each intervention could contribute to the boy’s successful progress. 

When a child faces so many challenges and school and afterschool communities face so many potential barriers to working together, it is such a treat to see everyone working as a team to make a difference in not only the child’s life, but the family’s life.

Through a contract with the City of Seattle, School's Out Washington provides training and technical assistance to 13 middle and elementary school community learning centers within the Seattle School District.  For any questions about this project, contact Emily Emerson at (206) 336-6921.

The Pathway to Excellence (PTE) Project is a research based professional development model created to plan, implement and evaluate afterschool programs. By focusing on a specific content strand for a full academic year, afterschool practitioners are able to address emerging needs within their communities as well as internal organizational needs. PTE offers this approach through four basic components: Conference Training by content experts in a specific focus (i.e., 2010-2011 "Addressing Equity and Diversity in Afterschool Programs), On-Site Coaching and support, quarterly Learning Community Meetings and an available 24 hours 7 days a week online media tool - all of which are customizable based on agency and practitioner preference.

By committing to implementing these components, PTE ensures that practitioners are consistently applying the tools and curriculums made available from the initial training. For the last four years, our content trainings have been held at School's Out Washington's annual Bridge Conference. We have strong evidence from our research experts that there were significant increases in program staff and practitioner capacity that led to increases in effective program changes and ultimately showing positive results in the children and youth served at their sites.

Now that we have a great professional development tool with research backed results, and a "recently completed" replication manual of the PTE Project, I would like to share my personal thoughts as to what made the whole experience extra special to me:

I had the privilege to recruit willing sites to be a part of this journey and the honor to work with highly motivated, smart and compassionate coaches. My great leadership from Professional Development Director, Jackie Jainga Hyllseth allowed me to grow professionally and bring positive impacts to children and youth in Washington State. Outside of the great outcomes from the project, I truly enjoyed seeing others grow in their passion for children and youth development. By no means was the process completely perfect and flawless but with the commitment to "being" and "doing" better for our communities, we were able to address and tackle whatever challenges that emerged along the way.

The sense of community that was built within the cohort is also a big takeaway. We were able to bring people together, share ideas, resources and strengthen relationships through similar passions. "You get out what you put in," is a saying that has always stuck with me in life, and I will say that many of us received more than we expected.

By Sam Burns, Southeast Washington WRAP Specialist (Washington Regional Afterschool Project is a collaborative of agencies that provides a regional approach to enhancing a system of afterschool care)

Hello everyone, this is my first ever blog entry and I’m very excited! I am going to be bloggin’ about this year’s School Age Child Care Conference taking place in Pasco, WA.   The annual conference is held in both English and Spanish and offers 5 MERIT hours. We separate Spanish and English speakers for workshops and the keynote and then everyone comes together for lunch and the closing session.  In the past we did not separate the Spanish and English keynote, but decided that it was more beneficial to have the presentations separate because half the time was spent translating.

For everyone here at the Franklin County WSU Extension Office, the School Age Child Care Conference is always a priority.  We feel that there are limited opportunities for providers in the Tri-City area to go to conferences and trainings.  It is hard for providers to take off work to attend conferences in Seattle or those happening during the workday. There are even more limitations for providers to find a conference that focuses on issues specific to school-age children.   

Some examples of this years' presenters and workshop topics include Sue Delucchi whose workshop will teach providers practical ways to tackling behavioral challenges and Natalie Kinion (English) and Cody Tapia (Spanish) who will teach effective tools, techniques, and tips for talking through crucial conversations.

So where and when is this awesome conference going to take place?  I know you are dying to know so here it is:

The School Age Child Care Conference will be Saturday February 5th at the TRAC Center in Pasco. The conference will start at 8:30, doors open at 7:30, with breakfast and keynote. After the keynote there will be 3 breakout sessions/workshops and lunch. The conference is held in both English and Spanish. If you would like more information about the conference or would like a registration packet you can contact me at slburns@wsu.edu!

So what do you think about the School Age Child Care Conference? Think we should offer more MERIT hours? Should the Spanish and English participants be more integrated? Should I never write a blog entry again? Let me know what you think!