Posts

COVID-19 Learning Gap: Opportunities for Educational Re-invention

By Kameryn Point, Reprinted from the American Youth Policy Forum While the COVID-19 pandemic has created significant learning gaps for students nationwide, youth impacted by systemic inequities were disproportionately affected, which exacerbated disparities that already existed within our education systems. Educators are now challenged to meet students where they are, while simultaneously addressing the learning […]

Using the Web of Support Framework

By Dr. Shannon Vargar & Dr. Jonathan Zaff, Reprinted from CERES Institute for Children & Youth  Every day young people attend schools, participate in after school programs, show up for jobs, and navigate their neighborhoods filled with adults and peers who have the potential to help them as they pursue their education, work, life, and […]

Can after-school programs foster positive youth development? New study has answers

Goodman, A. C., Ouellette, R. R., D’Agostino, E. M., Hansen, E., Lee, T., & Frazier, S. L. (2021). Promoting healthy trajectories for urban middle school youth through county-funded, parks-based after-school programming. Journal of Community Psychology.  https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22587 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest:  Early adolescence is a critical time where risky decisions can lead to consequences, especially […]

Top 10 Tips to Deepen Social-Emotional Learning in Virtual After-School Programs

By Joshua Barrow, Alexandra Lotero, & David Adams, Reprinted from Youth Today With fewer resources and increased constraints, program facilitators and educators are now tasked with rising to the occasion of providing high-quality experiences during a time of unprecedented need. This includes developing Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) skills in all settings, including remotely, and in support […]

American Rescue Plan Gives Out-of-school Time Programs Big Role in Pandemic Recovery

Featured Article by Stell Simonton, Youth Today With the latest COVID-19 relief package (the American Rescue Plan) underway, youths, and potentially educators & developmental professionals in after-school or summer program settings, will be provided with some financial relief.  This article encourages state education departments, local school districts, and school partnerships to be strategic about how […]

Tinkering Afterschool Program Demonstrates Moving Beyond Binary of Adult- Versus Child-centered Education

By Shirin Vossoughi, Meg Escudé, and Natalie R. Davis, Reprinted from Youth Today  Throughout our work in youth programs and critical educational spaces, we have witnessed how educators, mentors, and facilitators committed to liberatory learning often wrestle with the “pendulum swing” between adult- and child-centered education. Many of us come to youth work to struggle […]

Bill Seeks ‘Pandemic Funding’ For 21st Century After-school Programs

Featured Article by Stell Simonton, Youth Today Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Sen. Tina Smith recently introduced legislation that requests for an extra $1.2 billion for 21st Century after-school programs. According to Erik Peterson, Afterschool Alliance’s vice president of policy, there’s a chance that this new bill will come in a COVID-19 relief package or as […]

8 Ways to Evolve Your OST Programs Online

By Shira Woolf Cohen, Reprinted from Youth Today This summer was filled with disappointments as each camp I had enrolled my daughter in — both day camp and overnight camp — were cancelled. All around the country, young campers’ hearts were broken. As a past camper myself, I felt these young people’s pain. Camps are […]

More After-school Suppers Are Key Support For Food-insecure Households, Report Says

By Stell Simonton, Reprinted from Youth Today More kids in after-school programs are getting an evening meal through the program, according to a recent report from Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). An additional 86,900 children received supper through the federal Afterschool Meals Program in October 2019 compared with October in the previous year — […]

The Importance of Healing-Centered Afterschool Programs in the COVID-19 era

By Shawn Knecht, Reprinted from American Youth Policy Forum For a moment, imagine you are about to enter a room for a big test or an important job interview. How do you feel? Anxious? Overwhelmed? Do you have trouble concentrating? Maybe you could not sleep the night before? Perhaps you would experience all the above […]