Colleagues,
It is hard to believe that our school-year programs are beginning to wind down, and soon it will be crucial for Rhode Island children and youth to be engaged in summer programming to keep their minds and bodies engaged while school is on hiatus. All children and youth experience summer learning loss when they are unengaged in the summer, and as out-of-school-time professionals and advocates, it is our duty to ensure that there are many options for local children and youth to participate in fun, simulating, and affordable activities.
We are lucky to have parents on our side as well! A recent survey commissioned by RIASPA and the United Way of Rhode Island yielded that 93% of Rhode Island parents believe that summer learning is crucial to a child’s continuing educational experience. We couldn’t agree more. We plan to release the rest of the survey results on our website later this week!
Sincerely,
The RIASPA Staff
A VOICE FROM THE FIELD
“The afterschool community in Rhode Island has made a collective push to be taken more seriously: better communicating with districts about being a resource to help bolster student achievement and producing outcomes, better evaluating our programs and using data, etc. I think in a few years the afterschool field will have made some great accomplishments and contributions to education.” – Kelly Whaley, Cranston Community Learning Center
Read more about Kelly’s afterschool philosophy and experience!
Want to share your point-of-view with the field? RIASPA is collecting stories, opinions, reflections, lessons learned, and accolades about afterschool!
RESEARCH/TAKE ACTION
The Expanded Learning and Afterschool Project
The Expanded Learning and Afterschool Project is built on a solid belief that high-quality expanded learning, afterschool, and summer programs should incorporate school-community partnerships, engaged learning practices, affordability, family engagement, and health and wellness. This 50-state initiative aims to harness the power of networks and leaders to help schools and communities leverage the time beyond school to accelerate student achievement. If you would like to participate in this promising initiative, sign up on their website!
2012 Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Factbook – Out-Of-School Time Indicator
Last month, the 2012 Rhode Island Kids COUNT Factbook was released. Of relevance to our field are the data that were collected about out-of-school time in our state. In addition to some enlightening national facts about out-of-school time, of particular interest is a chart which displays the number of school-age children in each municipality versus the number of slots available at licensed school-age child care centers.
GRANTS & SCHOLARSHIPS
Get Ur Good On Grant – deadline May 27
Would youth in your program jump at the chance to lead and organize a community service project this summer? Youth Service America and Get Ur Good On, an online network for youth working to improve their communities, are inviting children and young adults (5 to 25 years of age) worldwide to apply for a $500 Get Ur Good On Grant in support of a youth-led community service project. The grants are made possible with support from the Starkey Hearing Foundation.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Webinar: Building Strong Alignment between School and Afterschool
5/15 – 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
cost: free
Research and good practice tell us that aligning our afterschool programs (e.g., policies, programming, etc.) with the school in a way that complements and reinforces the school day is important in supporting student success. However, figuring out how to best create and maintain that alignment is no easy task. In this webinar, Ph.D. candidate Tracy Bennett will share from her research identifying key elements needed to build strong school-afterschool alignment. Ken Anthony from the CT After School Network will contribute practical tips and examples on how to take the findings from the research and build better collaborations in our programs.
Supporting Boys: Healthy Relationships for Boys Training
5/11, 5/18, 5/25, 6/1 – 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
cost: $30
This four-part training provides youth workers with effective strategies and activities on how to integrate the youth-development approach into programming that supports boys. The training will help participants bring activities back to their programs that introduce boys to critical thought about gender, positive stereotypes, and their positive skill development and outcomes.
