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Greetings!
Happy New Year! We hope that you have enjoyed the holiday season and are ready to start 2011 off with a burst of new energy and enthusiasm as we are! In this first monthly newsletter of the year, we have lots of exciting news to share with you. The party isn't over, it is just beginning!
The AfterschoolPGH Team
Program information is brought to you by SPARC  
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Welcome Aimee LeFevers - APOST Quality Campaign Director
APOST welcomes Aimee LeFevers as the new Afterschool Quality Campaign Director for the United Way. Aimee is thrilled to take on the challenge of strengthening the afterschool system in Allegheny County and brings with her a wealth of experiences in the educational field including teaching, program management of educational initiatives, professional development provider, and advocacy for public education issues. She looks forward to collaborating with the afterschool programming community to help implement high quality practices in afterschool programs that motivate kids to succeed in school and prevent youth violence. If you want to talk with Aimee about building an afterschool system, she can be reached at 412-456-6876 or via email at alefevers@uwac.org. Share your insights, thoughts, or things you just always wished you could voice to help out-of-school time in enhancing the lives of youth and their families.
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Upcoming Professional Development
APOST Symposium Series: Best Practices in Integrating the Arts in Out of School Time
Date: 1/27/10
Time: 8:00 - 10:00 AM
IBEW Local Union # 5
5 Hot Metal St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
This is the second event for the APOST Symposium Series and will focus on arts in out-of-school time and the
importance of data collection and program evaluation.
Agenda
· Breakfast, networking and learn about major happenings in
afterschool, including APOST's data and communications committee
work, professional development including opportunities available via the
University of Pittsburgh Applied Developmental Psychology Program,
and others from 8:00 to 8:30AM
· Keynote Speaker: Sharnita Johnson, The Skillman Foundation
"Integrating the Arts in Out-of-School Time" and panel discussion
with Justin Laing and Wayne Jones, Heinz Endowments. Q&A to
follow - 8:30 to 9:15AM
· Collecting data useful to your program. Panel Discussion: Hear
from three out of school time agencies on their data collection and
program evaluation efforts. Featured agencies: Manchester Youth
Development Center, The Pittsburgh Project and Sarah Heinz House -
9:15 to 9:45AM
· Working with Teaching Artists - Gateway to the Arts - 9:45 to
10AM
Event Flyer
Questions about this event?
Contact Caitlin Terling via email at
Terling@forbesfunds.org
Save the date for the next APOST Symposium on May 23rd!
SARAH HEINZ HOUSE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WIRELESS NEIGHBORHOODS, A PAR EDUCATIONAL LLC, AND APOST PRESENTS:
PSAYDN STATEMENT OF QUALITY ELEMENT TRAININGS
Location: Family Resources (East Liberty) 5877 Commerce Street Pittsburgh, PA 15206
Trainings are free, but space is limited! Light Refreshments will be Provided
Register online at www.pakeys.org or directly to Jennifer Engel at: engel@sarahheinzhouse.com or 412-231-2377.
This series of trainings has been developed to introduce Out of School Time professionals to the PSAYDN Statement of Quality Elements. Save the Date for these upcoming events:
Thursday, January 11th 10am - 12pm Structure and Management
Thursday, January 20th 10am - 12pm Activities
Tuesday, February 1st 10am - 12pm Positive Connections
Thursday, February 24th 10am - 12pm Safety and Health
Click here for more information and the flyer.
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Participate in the Child/Youth Worker Survey
PSAYDN and the Philadelphia Out-of-School Time Professional Development Project (OST PD Project) are invested in the professional growth of child/youth workers in the state of Pennsylvania. Staff working directly with K-12 children and youth are requested to complete the Child/Youth Worker Survey, which will increase understanding of the profession. The survey will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. If you are a direct service worker, please click here to fill out the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/childyouthworkersurvey. A print version is also available for hard copy distribution and available by emailing PSAYDN Director Kacy Conley at kconley@csc.csiu.org. As a way of saying thank you for taking the time to complete the survey, there will a raffle drawing to receive an Apple I-Pad courtesy of the Philadelphia Out-of-School Time Professional Development Project. At the end of the survey, respondents will be prompted to enter their contact information. Their name will not be connected to their survey answers during data analysis. The contact information will only be used for the purpose of the raffle and will not be shared with or distributed to other organizations. Your response matters! It will assist us in making the case for increased funding and in developing career pathways, so that, ultimately, staff can earn a decent wage, receive stable benefits, and be recognized as professionals for the valuable work that they do. If you do not work directly with youth, please forward this email to encourage your staff, colleagues, and friends to complete this survey. The survey is being administered by the OST PD Project under the direction of United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania's Center for Youth Development, the Out-of-School Time Resource Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and PSAYDN.
Survey needs to be completed no later than February 15, 2011. Thank you for your assistance.
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Fall 2010 Afterschool Matters Journal Published
The newest issue of Afterschool Matters is now available! A national, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting professionalism, scholarship, and consciousness in the field of afterschool education, the publication is published by the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (link to http://www.niost.org) at the Wellesley Centers for Women, with support from the Robert Bowne Foundation. The journal serves those involved in developing and managing programs for youth during the out-of-school time hours, in addition to those engaged in research and in shaping youth development policy.
Articles featured in the new issue include:
· "Participation Over Time: Keeping Youth Engaged from Middle School to High School," by Sarah Deschenes, Priscilla Little, Jean Grossman, and Amy Arbreton
· "Using Professional Development to Enhance Staff Retention," by Denise Huang and Jamie Cho
· "The Changing Landscape of Afterschool Programs," by Kathryn Hynes and Felicia Sanders
· "Honoring 15 Years of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program: A Policy-Centered Analysis," by Sarah Fierberg Phillips
· "A System That Works: Highlights of Effective Intervention Strategies in a Quality Improvement System," by Diana Sinisterra and Stephen Baker
· "New Faces, New Places: A 4-H Science Learning Program in Urban Out-of-School Settings," by Walter A. Barker, Eric Killian, and William P. Evan
· "Can We Talk? Creating Effective Partnerships between School and Afterschool Programs," by Lisa Sweet Dilles.
To receive a print copy, please contact NIOST@wellesley.edu. The full issue is also available online as a PDF.
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Support Funding for Afterschool Programs
Proposals to divert afterschool funds for other uses resulting in less funding for afterschool, before school and summer programs have been raised for both appropriations and education legislation. If you have not signed the Petition to Save Afterschool Funding or sent a message to Congress, please do so today!
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Funding Opportunity
NIH Offers Funding for Reducing Risky Behaviors by Promoting Positive Youth Development
The National Institute of Health has funding for research to enhance the understanding of Positive Youth Development (PYD) and the mechanisms responsible for positive health and developmental outcomes. The grants support the development, implementation and evaluation of new or improved PYD programs, the evaluation of existing successful programs, or the evaluation of effective, evidence-based, gender-inclusive programs that are adapted and disseminated for new populations of youth and adolescents. The deadline is February 5, 2011. For more information and to apply, click here.
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Contact Us
We look forward to hearing from you! Please click here to contact us. If you would like to submit something for consideration for an upcoming newsletter, please email us at support@afterschoolpgh.org by the last Tuesday of the month. |
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