Posted in General, Resources on February 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »
The National League of Cities’ Institute for Youth, Education, and Families is partnering with The Wallace Foundation to support a survey to identify the types of tools and resources that cities and afterschool providers would find most useful to expand their afterschool, summer, and expanded learning efforts.
If you have just 10 minutes, please click on the link below to take the survey:
Posted in General on June 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Are you finding it more challenging than ever to provide leadership to your sites? This seminar will help you maintain and continue to make program improvements while weathering cost-cutting and new requirements. Join afterschool professionals from all over Tucson who are tackling the same issue.
Sponsored by the Sonoran Alliance for Youth
When:
Friday, August 27 and Saturday, August 28, 2010
9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Where:
Hilton Tucson East
7600 E Broadway
Tucson, AZ 85710
Who should attend?
• New to the field Directors
• Experienced Directors
• Afterschool Coordinators
Cost: $250 and includes breakfast, lunch and materials
What:
This training will focus on the administrative components of a quality afterschool program. Included will be effective systems to manage fiscal resources and administrative policies, evaluation and outcomes, workplace issues, strategies for recruitment and retention, staff development and training, ideas for building a family-responsive program, building a “learning organization,” leadership and management styles, and working collaboratively with schools and communities.
Goals:
• Recognize and address the unique context and components of an effective OST program
• Acquire skills and strategies for improving leadership and teamwork
• Learn strategies to support program improvement and development within your system
Topics Covered:
• Creating a Learning Organization
• Systems thinking
• How Do You Lead/Manage within your program?
• Supervisor competencies
• Situational Leadership
• How does your system, its policies/procedures, impact your program delivery?
• Building Strong Staff
• Self-assessment
Lodging: Hilton Tucson East Rooms can be purchased for $69 plus tax if reserved ahead
Space is very limited so register online NOW! Registration ends when the seminar is sold out or July 30, whichever occurs first.
Click here to register: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3QMXR5V
About the presenters:
The presenters for this session work with the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST). For more than two decades, NIOST has been the national leader in providing highly interactive, research based training for directors and staff, school administrators, community leaders, and others committed to providing high quality afterschool programs for children and youth.
Ellen Clippinger, MS Ed, is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of AYS, Inc., a not-for-profit youth-serving agency operating over 50 programs in a four-county area in the Indianapolis community. Ellen has been instrumental in piloting various types of programs to meet the needs of working parents-early childhood programs housed in school settings, wrap-around kindergarten programs within the school, as well as winter and spring breaks and summer camps. A summer camp devoted to arts education with a culminating final performance by the children and youth from the camp is now in its fifth season.
Lisa Rice, founder and director of Innovative Learning Solutions, has worked in all sectors of the afterschool field since 1984; public schools, universities, child care centers and nonprofit organizations. Lisa is known for her ability to work closely with program directors and staff to create training that specifically meets the program’s needs. She is able to facilitate long-range strategic planning retreats and consults with program leaders, boards and policymakers to build local, state and national systems that support high quality afterschool programs.
Space is very limited so register online NOW! Click here to register: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3QMXR5V
Please call Marie Benson at 520-749-0147 or Lisa Rice at 520-982-4032 if you have any questions.
Posted in Events, General, Professional Development and Training on May 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Tuesday, June 29 at 7:00 PM
Vail Theatre of the Arts at Empire High School
10701 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way, Tucson, AZ 85747
Take Houghton exit off of I-10 and go north. Then turn east on Mary Ann Cleveland Way
http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e2wapya7449ebfb8
Posted in Advocacy, Events, General, Professional Development and Training on May 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
10:00-11:30 a.m.
562 Dirksen Senate Office Building
The National Summer Learning Association invites you to a briefing to explore a New Vision for Summer School. Summer learning loss is a major contributor to the achievement gap and an untapped resource for addressing the nation’s education crisis. Despite the difficult economic times, several districts are addressing this issue through innovative summer programming. This event will feature pioneering summer learning programs and leaders from across the nation and provide recommendations on how federal policy can help make summer programs an essential component of education reform.
Invited speakers include Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Philadelphia Public Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, and Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Richard Lugar (R-IN).
For additional information on the event visit: www.summerlearning.org/NVSS To RSVP visit: www.summerlearning.org/NVSSbriefing
Seating is limited, so please RSVP by Tuesday, June 8.
Posted in Advocacy, General on May 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Released in May 2010, Special Report on Summer (PDF | Powerpoint) presents summer specific data from America After 3PM and provides state level data on how many kids are in summer programs, how many would be likely to participate and how strong parent support is for programs. Find all you need to know about America After 3PM Special Report on Summer in Arizona here http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/AA3PM_states.cfm?state_abbr=AZ&level=1
Posted in General, Research on May 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Teens who were in high-quality child care settings as young children scored slightly higher on measures of academic and cognitive achievement and were slightly less likely to report acting-out behaviors than peers who were in lower-quality child care arrangements during their early years, according to the latest analysis of a long-running study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Read more at http://www.nih.gov/news/health/may2010/nichd-14.htm
Posted in General, Resources on May 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »
A helpful guide from the National Women’s Law Center provides the most comprehensive state-by-state information available on how economic recovery funds are being used by states for child care and early education efforts.
http://www.nwlc.org/pdf/supportingstatechildcareeffortswitharra.pdf
Posted in Activities, General on May 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Heidi Spietz from American Montessori Consulting has a blog with great ideas for activities
http://montessori21stcentury.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/sizzling-summertime-lesson-planning/
Posted in Funding Opportunities, General, Resources on March 16, 2010| Leave a Comment »
DoSomething.org has teamed up with Six Flags Friends to award college scholarships to young leaders who are taking action to make their community a better place. Scholarships will be awarded based on past, current and planned action in the community as well as the applicant’s passion, commitment and proven leadership skills.
How many: Six winners will receive a $1,500 college scholarships
Application deadline: April 30th
For more information go to www.dosomething.org/six-flags/scholarships
Questions? Email Amanda at grants@dosomething.org
About DoSomething.org: DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the United States that helps young people rock causes they care about. A driving force in creating a culture of volunteerism, DoSomething.org is on track to activate two million young people in 2011. By leveraging the web, television, mobile, and pop culture, DoSomething.org inspires, empowers and celebrates a generation of doers: teenagers who recognize the need to do something, believe in their ability to get it done, and then take action. Plug in at www.DoSomething.org.
About Six Flags Friends: Six Flags Friends is a series of programs throughout the Six Flags family of parks that make a difference in communities by encouraging local involvement, supporting the mission of various non-profit organizations, and bringing the thrill of Six Flags to children and families across North America.
Posted in General, tagged linkedin on March 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Cutting Cost, Keeping Quality: Financing Strategies for Youth-Serving Organizations in a Difficult Economy
Due to the economic downturn, many youth-serving organizations are facing budget reductions while also experiencing increased demand for their services.
To maintain high-quality services with limited resources, youth-serving organizations need to embrace a strategic and proactive approach to their financial management.
This brief highlights financing strategies that successful youth-serving organizations are using to maintain quality services despite difficult economic times.
Drawing on interviews with leaders of 17 successful youth programs, the brief illustrates how organizations have aggressively managed costs, creatively generated new revenues, and created partnerships to mitigate the effects of funding cuts. In-depth examples help leaders understand how to implement and adapt these strategies to their unique context.
Innovative Learning Solutions 