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President Obama's State of the Union: An Afterschool Perspective
On January 20, President Obama delivered his sixth State of the Union address to a Congress that for the first time in his presidency is controlled by Republicans in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Key highlights of the speech included tax proposals that would boost middle-class families and a new approach to immigration and a push for free education at community colleges. Several elements of the speech are of interest to friends of afterschool, including new tax incentives for child care and a focus on community colleges.
The president proposed streamlining child care tax incentives to give middle-class families with young children a tax cut of up to $3,000 per child. The president's proposal would streamline and dramatically expand child care tax benefits, potentially helping 5.1 million families cover child care costs for 6.7 million children. The proposal follows up on recent legislation and some new investments to improve child care quality, access, and affordability for working families. The current average child care tax benefit of $550 falls short of the cost of child care, including the cost of quality school-age afterschool and summer care.
Read the rest of the article HERE.
Click here for more briefs and resources from the Afterschool Alliance, and to subscribe to the Afterschool Snack.
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ESEA Act Renewal Would Eliminate 21st CLCC Funding
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)is up for reauthorization this year. The draft bill put forth by Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) last week would replace No Child Left Behind,
and it would eliminate the stand-alone, dedicated 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) funding for afterschool, before-school and summer learning programs that currently reach more than 1.6 million students through school-community partnerships. More on the draft ESEA bill and the impact on 21st CCLC can be found here. General facts and outcomes of 21st CCLC can be accessed here
21st CCLC-funded programs all over the country are offering innovative learning experiences. With this bill, 21st CLCC funding will disappear from the very communities most keenly in need of support, and those communities will feel the loss in their ability to reach young people. Because 21st CCLC is critical to supporting the success of students during the hours when school is out, the Afterschool Alliance is circulating a letter for review and signature by local, state and national organizations that support maintaining 21st CCLC within ESEA reauthorization. At a time when over half of our nation's students are low-income and we face persistent opportunity and achievement gaps, leaders across the country from Tulsa to Boston are embracing community schools as a vehicle for educational equity and comprehensive school improvement
If your organization would like to sign onto the Afterschool Alliance letter (seen here), contact Erik Peterson at epeterson@afterschoolalliance.org. If you would like more information about 21st CLCC programs in Oregon, please contact Beth Unverzagt at beth.unverzagt@oregonask.org. |
The Mythos Challenge: Forming the Youth Council
Community Partners from the Mythos Challenge Project spoke with a room of young people at the Portland Art Museum (PAM) on January 15th who are interested in participating in the challenge. More specifically, it was the first meeting for teens interested in forming the Youth Council, who will help develop the Challenge itself.
The Mythos Project is, in part, a game development challenge which will be included in the upcoming PAM exhibit Gods and Heroes: Masterpieces of the Ecole des-Beaux-Arts, Paris. It will be supported by workshops to help participants develop digital stories, apps, and analog games that may win a place in the exhibition, along with other prizes.
The January 15th meeting addressed the possible tasks the Youth Council could set out for itself in the context of the Challenge's exciting objectives. The council, which will be made up of Oregon youth, has the opportunity to judge the work generated by The Mythos Challenge for consideration to win entry into the exhibition and for prizes. They will also have the option of creating criteria for the judging, planning the exhibition itself and the gala event celebrating the opening, deciding the rules of governance of the council itself, establishing bylaws for the challenge, and seeing to any other aspect of the Challenge that they find relevant.
Phillippa Pitts, another representative community partner from PAM added, "The reason the challenge is kind of broad is because it's not fully formed yet. We are interested in creating something with youth; we want the Youth Council to help us decide what the challenge will look like. What makes a good game? What makes a good digital story? Also, what's the game play challenge going to look like next year?"
Interested youth can still enroll and join the Youth Council through February. For more information go to:http://www.gameeducationpdx.com/mythos-challenge/
Or contact Kristin Bayans, Interpretive Media Specialist, Portland Art Museum: Kristin.Bayans@pam.org
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OregonASK Quality Update: School Age Credential Cohort
In 2005, The Oregon Center for Career Development (OCCD) began working with state partners and other professionals to develop a state approved credential for folks who work with school-age children. The purpose of the School Age Credential is to recognize professional knowledge, skills, and achievements toward strengthening practice for professionals working
with school age
 children. You can read more about the School
With the support of the Office of Child Care and the Oregon Registry, OregonASK will be offering a cohort process to help a group of afterschool professionals earn the School Age Credential. Would you be interested in participating?
The cohort process will include meetings (in-person and via webinar), peer review and support, networking and training opportunities, and technical assistance. This opportunity is available statewide and is free! Space is limited in the cohort so please email Susan Hamann ( susan.hamann@oregonask.org) right away with your interest.
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Oregon Girls Collaborative Project Updat e
Oregon Girls Collaborative Project is excited to head out on the road as we host forums around the state to help build awareness and access to resources for girls in STEM. Our first Forum on Exemplary Practices for Engaging Girls in STEM will be in Springfield on February 23rd. You can click here to register now. Keep your eye out for the forum happening near you - March 6th in Newport, April 4th in La Grande, May 15th in Bend, and other location dates pending. Can't wait to see you at one of our forums this spring!
And a big thank you to all who submitted project proposals for our mini-grants in December, there were many great projects and innovative ideas we are excited to see come alive this year! We will be announcing grant recipients on February 18th and look forward to sharing more about these programs with you in the future.
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OregonASK Training: Behavior Management in Afterschool
Feb 7, 2015 9:00am-4:00pm
Cost: $89, includes lunch
Location: 9140 SW Pioneer Ct, Wilsonville
In this workshop, participants will learn techniques for managing behavior in the context of afterschool. The training will include transition and time filler activities, designed to reduce waiting time, keep students busy, and reduce behavior problems. More details to come soon! Participants will receive Set 2 professional development credit from the Oregon Registry.
Register HERE
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OregonASK Roadshow: OGCP Exemplary Practices Forum
Feb 23, 2015 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Cost:$10
Location: Springfield, OR
This forum in Eugene will provide: an introduction to the National Girls Collaborative Project, information about what exemplary practices can help us do, and strategies for implementing them in your program. We will present examples of quality STEM curriculum and engagement techniques (such as The SciGirls Seven and Why So Few?) that can be utilized by participants, while also providing time for networking, to ensure that participants have a chance to start building the relationships that support successful collaboration.
The event will include an overview of some exemplary practices, a short panel, and time to discuss different ideas, questions and implementation strategies with one another.
Read more and register HERE
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Attend a Training and Host Your Own Mother/Daughter TEA Event
Training hosted by Engineering Education Service Center
A Mother Daughter TEA (Technology Engineering Aptitude) event is one of the best approaches to getting middle school girls interested in engineering and technical careers. In surveys from previous events, 95% of girls said they are now interested in learning more about engineering!
On February 21, you'll have the opportunity to attend a Train-the-Trainer workshop for holding your own Mother/Daughter TEA events. This is an opportunity to become a certified TEA trainer and use TEA materials, resources and marketing connections to host an unlimited number of TEAs in your community. After the training, you'll walk into a room of 40 girls (and Moms or Dads too) with everything needed to smoothly facilitate an engaging event that will help prepare the girls for high wage opportunities in the engineering and technology industries.
Read more about the training here.
Date: February 21, 2015 Location: Springfield, OR |
NCCE Conference: Aloha Instructors!
March 18-20 in Portland
NCCE is a professional learning organization for educators and hosts the largest education conference in the Northwest. Join them for their annual conference in March for keynote speakers, workshops, and an exhibition hall!
For more information, click here
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Resources & Opportunities
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Better Together: A Resource Directory for Afterschool System Builders
The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) has created a helpful tool to support afterschool system building efforts. "Better Together: A Resource Directory for Afterschool System Builders," is a comprehensive directory that identifies over 50 organizations that offer resources and tools on afterschool system building. Staying on top of the ever-evolving list of national organizations and their work can be daunting, and this directory is a one-stop shop for information on the leading afterschool tools, information, and resources.
Download the Directory HERE |
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DHS Subsidies to Child Care Programs
DHS helps eligible low-income working families pay for child care. To do this, they work with providers and other child care partners across the state to help families find and keep good child care, improve the availability of quality child care in Oregon, and to develop resources for parents and child care providers. For more information about how your program can become a DHS listed provider, download the flyer here |
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Funding Opportunities
Supports the arts, education, the environment and health.
Due March 1, 2015
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