The Afterschool Advisor 

April 2014

In This Issue
Impact Conference a Success
2014 Afterschool Champions
IAA Partner Honored
Afterschool Provider Survey
New Expanded Learning Publication
Grant Opportunities
Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities

About

the Afterschool Advisor

The Afterschool Advisor is a publication of the Iowa Afterschool Alliance for practitioners seeking resources to improve, sustain, and develop their afterschool program.

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Impact Conference a Success! 

  Thank you to everyone who made the 2014 Impact After School Conference a success!

About 200 afterschool coordinators, administrators, front-line staff, educators, and others attended the conference! If you were among them, thank you! We hope you took lots of ideas, resources, and valuable contacts back to your programs. Any resources that presenters forward to us will be posted on the IAA website

 

Planning is already underway for a 2015 conference! Stay tuned for more information in the coming months.  

 

This year's conference doubled in size over last year! Here, attendees listen to the opening keynote from Bob Seidel of the National Summer Learning Association. 

 

Participants in a workshop on STEM activities try them out firsthand.   

 

Mary Daily Lange with United Way of Central Iowa received the 2014 Advocate of the Year award from the Iowa Afterschool Alliance during the Afterschool Champions program. Students from the PIECES afterschool program in Burlington created handmade awards for recipients and assisted with the ceremony. Also pictured is IAA board member Dave Welter.
Iowa 21st Century Community Learning Centers
 

2014 Afterschool Champions Announced  

The 2014 recipients of the IAA's Afterschool Champions awards were announced during the Impact After School Conference on April 25. This years honorees are:

2014 Outstanding Afterschool Student  

Katie Foley

Community!Youth Concepts participant, Des Moines

  

Advocate of the Year

Mary Daily Lange 

United Way of Central Iowa, Des Moines   

 

Afterschool Innovator

Stepping Stones 

Davenport Community School District

 

Collaboration Award 

Boys and Girls Clubs of the Cedar Valley

Waterloo/Cedar Falls 


Friend of Afterschool 

State Representative Ron Jorgensen

Sioux City

  

Click here to see the program from the awards ceremony and read more about the honorees. Congratulations to this year's Afterschool Champions, and thank you!

IAA Partner Receives State Volunteer Honor 

Community!Youth Concepts, an afterschool program provider in Des Moines and an Iowa Afterschool Alliance partner, was inducted into the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame earlier this month. Induction into the Volunteer Hall of Fame is the highest honor given to individuals and organizations in Iowa for their commitment to volunteer service. CYC's executive director, Amy Ostrander Croll, is an IAA board member. Read more about the Volunteer Hall of Fame and the 2014 honorees here. Congratulations to all the CYC staff, youth, and volunteers!

Digital Learning & Afterschool Survey  

The IAA was asked to forward a survey on digital learning and afterschool to the Iowa afterschool network. The survey is being conducted by the University of Southern California and will help the researchers understand how afterschool programs use digital learning and advocacy tools as they develop resources for providers. Click here to compete the 5-minute survey.

New Expanded Learning Online Journal 

Check out the Journal of Expanded Learning Opportunities, a new online, free, peer-reviewed publication on research and best practices in out-of-school time. The first issue includes articles on creating engaged, critical thinkers in out-of-school time and bringing families into out-of-school time learning. Learn more about the Journal of Expanded Learning Opportunities here.

Grant Opportunities

Ordered by Deadline
Wellmark Foundation Grant Program

Deadline: Letter of Intent due May 6, 2014 (submission of full proposals by invitation only following Letter of Intent) 

The Wellmark Foundation's Matching Assets to Community Health (MATCH) grant program aims to help improve the health of Iowans by providing financial and technical assistance. This challenge grant approach specifically seeks to help recipients use a grant-funding award from The Wellmark Foundation to leverage other funding to support a health promotion project. Funding focuses on programs targeting childhood obesity prevention and community-based wellness and prevention. Specific preference for this funding is to advance work in: 1) 

Promoting active living and built environments, or 2) Increasing access and consumption of nutritious foods.

For more information visit the Wellmark Foundation website here.

 

WaysToHelp Youth Grants

Deadline: Rolling

WaysToHelp awards grants to youth for projects that make a difference in the areas of the environment, democracy and equality, health, or community issues. Applicants must be no older than 19 and the project must be youth-initiated and youth-led. Learn more at WaysToHelp.org and click here for grant application information.  

 

Finance Project Resource Center 

Click here for the Finance Project's resource center on finding funding for out-of-school time programs. 

 

Child & Adult Care Food Program

The federal "Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act" program provides meals and snacks for school-age youth in afterschool programs. Find out more by visiting the Iowa Department of Education website.   

  

Iowa Grants Guide Online

The Iowa Grants Guide is a web-based directory of Iowa grant-making organizations. Program information only is provided; grant applications are not. Click here for the Iowa Grants Guide.

 

FindYouthInfo.gov Federal Funds Search Engine

Click here to search federal grant opportunities with a tool that lets you filter results by topic, such as Afterschool, Positive Youth Development, or Service Learning.  

  

Spark Grant Finder Tool

This online tool locates national and state-specific grants for physical education, afterschool, early childhood and coordinated school health programs. Search for grants here.  

Professional Development Opportunities
Ordered by Scheduled Dates
The Iowa Afterschool Alliance keeps a calendar of opportunities regularly updated on our website. Visit it at http://www.iowaafterschoolalliance.org/resources/.
     
Free Afterschool Alliance Webinars
Next upcoming: May 4 and 7, 2014
The national Afterschool Alliance offers free professional development webinars on a variety of topics. The next upcoming webinars focus on expanded learning policy and and advocating for quality afterschool programming with members of Congress. Click here to register for these webinars: 
  • Sunday, May 4, 12:00 p.m. CDT: Taking the 'Afterschool for All' Challenge: Policy Basics
  • Wednesday, May 7, 12:00 p.m. CDT: Taking the 'Afterschool for All' Challenge: District Meetings

You can also access past webinars here. Topics of archived webinars include Afterschool & the Next Generation Science Standards; Housing Authorities & Afterschool: Ideal Community Partners; Using Social Media as an Advocacy Tool; Engineering & Computing in Afterschool; and Activating Youth Advocates. 

 

Adolescent Health & Development Training
May 22, 2014; 9:30-11:30 a.m.; Des Moines The Iowa Department of Public Health is offering a free training on adolescent health and development for anyone who works with older youth. Effectively supporting young people - their health, education, future prospects - means working from a real understanding and appreciation of who young people are and what's going on in their lives as they grow and develop through their adolescent years. Understanding adolescent and young adult development is a necessary first step that drives the implementation of evidence-based health programs and policies in ways that effectively reach and engage youth. This developmental approach has been identified through research as a component of effective youth health programs. In this session, participants will participate in a developmental timeline activity that can be used to help program staff and community members better understand and apply adolescent development to their work, both professionally and personally. Whether you work on adolescent health programming, or just have a young person in your life, this training is for you! 
 

Course Objectives:

  • Engage with the development process across the lifespan, with a specific focus on adolescence and young adulthood, adolescent development and sexual health.
  • Understand the stages and tasks of adolescent development.
  • Discuss the impact of the adolescent's world on their development and the impact of their development on how they interact with their world.

Presenters: Mary Greene, Addie Rasmusson, Bureau of Family Health, Iowa Department of Public Health.

 

To register for this free training, email Marilyn Alger, [email protected].

 
Blank Park Zoo Educator Workshops 
Various dates in June-August, 2014; Mason City, Carrol
l, or Tiffin, IA
The Blank Park Zoo invites educators and out-of-school time program providers to professional development workshops this summer. Learn lessons and activities for your program that are connected to the Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards, learn research-based instructional practices, and gain knowledge and ideas that will be useful in your programs. Lessons are flexible, allowing teachers/providers to adjust for students' abilities, and relate to all age groups in several subject areas (science, literacy, mathematics, social studies, and the arts).

All workshops are two days, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. both days, with the following dates, locations, and topics:
  • June 11-12 - Swan Lake State Park, Carroll - Habitats and Adaptations
  • June 17-18 - F.W. Kent Park, Tiffin - Climate Change
  • July 8-9 - Swan Lake State Park, Carroll - Climate Change
  • July16-17 - F.W. Kent Park, Tiffin - Habitats and Adaptations
  • August 6-7 - Lime Creek Nature Center, Mason City - Conservation - People and Animals

See workshop descriptions and register here. Cost is $20 per workshop and includes breakfast and lunch each day, materials to use in your program/classroom, and a free Zoo animal program visit for your program/classroom. Teacher license renewal credit is available. With questions, contact Kathy McKee at 515-974-2557 or [email protected]


NIOST Summer Seminars
July 14-18, 2014; Brookline, MA (near Boston)

The National Institute on Out-of-School Time offers a series of professional development courses for afterschool providers. NIOST Summer Seminars provides hands-on learning opportunities for youth development professionals to enhance their summer and school year programs. You can attend one, two, or all three.  
  • APAS (A Program Assessment System): For those interested in program assessment, learn how to use the tools and receive your free copy.
  • Advanced APAS Implementation: Take your organization to the next level in this interactive seminar where you'll practice how to collect and use data to strengthen your program and promote youth outcomes.
  • Courage to Lead: A one-day leadership retreat to recharge and energize your focus and passion on your work.

Visit the Summer Seminars webpage for more information and pricing.

Save $175 with Early Bird registration before April 30th.

 
Online Courses for 21CCLC Professionals

Ongoing
Short online courses are available for 21st Century Community Learning Centers program staff through You for Youth, the U.S. Department of Education's website for 21CCLCs. Courses cover topics like Project-Based Learning, Aligning with the School Day, STEM, and Strengthening Partnerships. Each course takes less than an hour and is available 24/7.  

The Iowa Afterschool Alliance seeks to improve access to high-quality afterschool programs for all Iowa children, youth, and families through policy and partnerships, practice support and outreach and engagement.

To contact the IAA:

Michelle Rich, Iowa Network Coordinator
[email protected] 
515-237-0328
2910 Westown Parkway, Suite 302
West Des Moines, IA 50266
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