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Dear Afterschool Friends-
During the month of January, the Kansas Enrichment Network was involved in the Kansas Workforce Summit and hosted a Legislative Breakfast.
The 13th Annual Kansas Workforce Summit was held on January 22-23, 2014 in Topeka, KS. There were approximately 300 attendees representing 52 cities from 10 states. The presentations offered at the summit focused on three areas: economics, employment and education. Kansas Enrichment Network sponsored the education presenter, Dr. David Hansen, an Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas in the School of Education. He spoke about the tie between early childhood and adolescent brain development; how adolescence is the second critical period of development and how workforce skill development is linked to brain development.
On January, 23rd, Kansas Enrichment Network hosted a Legislative Breakfast to meet with State Legislators and share the importance of afterschool. After the breakfast, participants were joined by Dr. Dave Hansen, KU youth development researcher, and Hillary Salmons, executive director of the Providence Rhode Island After School Alliance (PASA). The event, Earning High School Credit in Innovative Ways, gave participants the opportunity to learn about a project that Rhode Island is doing for young people and how it ties in to Dr. Hansen's research on adolescent brain development. The research identifies adolescence as a critical period for brain development and implications for practice. The Rhode Island project is unique because it connects high school and afterschool professionals, and allows students to earn high school credit for their out-of-school opportunities. PASA has credentialed students through a collective impact approach with schools, afterschool providers and other youth serving organizations and a student-centered learning strategy. She explains the need to create a learning environment that better fits adolescent brain development. Youth participants at the event shared their experiences in out-of-school time and the importance of connecting the classroom to engaging and relevant programs.
In March, there will be a free professional development conference at K-State Olathe with sessions focusing on STEM, Leadership and Curriculum. Please see the conference flyer and registration in the article below.
Marcia Dvorak, Director
mjdvorak@ku.edu
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KC Metro Afterschool Educator Conference
The KC Metro Afterschool Educator Conference is designed for traditional and non-traditional urban to rural educators who work with students in pre-K to 8th grades in school, community, and faith based organizations. The conference is designed for program directors and/or leads in three track areas of STEM, Leadership, and Curriculum. The conference has been designated as a 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) statewide conference, which is only one of three held in Kansas. The KC Metro Afterschool Educator Conference committee estimates between 100-150 educators will be in attendance. The conference is free, and lunch will be provided. The registration deadline is March 2nd.
Conference Flyer
Conference Registration
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| Did you know?
During the summer months, first time use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs peaks among kids 12 to 17.
(SAMHSA, 2012)
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Kansas Out-of-School Conference
Call for Presenters
The Kansas Out-of-School Conference will be held on Tuesday October 7, 2014 at the Sedgwick County Extension Education Center. The audience for this conference is out-of-school (before, after and summer) program staff and directors from across the state of Kansas. The conference is co-sponsored by K-State Research and Extension, Kansas Enrichment Network and Kansas Department of Education, and is a 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) statewide conference. About 190 people attended last year. The conference coordinators seek to offer the widest possible variety of options so that attendees will have a lot to take back and use in their programs. We are looking for presenters and exhibitors to share hands-on curricula and programming resources in 50 minute seminars or at free-standing booths. Our hope is that staff will leave the conference with all the knowledge, skill and supporting documents they need to teach something new to their students the next day. If there is a favorite curriculum, activity, resource or technique that you have used successfully in your program, please consider sharing it with others at this year's seminars. We encourage hands-on teaching and experiential learning at the Kansas Out-of-School Conference. We will be glad to help you design a hands-on seminar if you have a great idea, but aren't quite sure how to present it to others. The deadline is April 1st.
Call for Presentations and Informational Booths
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Information
Fitness Is Fun
Expanding Minds and Opportunities: Leveraging the Power of Afterschool and Summer Learning for Student Success (Compendium)
How to use Expanding Minds and Opportunities (Compendium):
- Professional Development
- Introduction to people to cultivate as supporters of your program
- Making the case about afterschool and summer programs to policymakers
- Support for speakers at conferences
- New ideas about programs
- Data points for grant writing
- Thinking about new stakeholders
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Turning Elected Officials Into Advocates
We are all advocates for something. We advocate for ourselves when we go to a job interview. We advocate for our kids when we join the PTA. We advocate for our spouses when we marry them. We advocate for the causes and organizations that are important to us when we "like" them on Facebook and sign petitions.
Always remember this: The primary JOB of our elected officials is to advocate for the concerns of their constituents. To do their job effectively, they need YOUR help.
Look at the recent news headlines from the statehouse in Topeka: Many of the bills front and center have NOT been Medicaid, education or tax issues. Rather, most of the work done so far has been to deal with "pet issues" for specific legislators or constituencies. Early in the session, these issues get big attention, and that's right where you want YOUR issue to be.
GET IN THE GAME
Send them an email and ask for them to meet with you - during the meeting, tell them all about what will happen if afterschool programs do not get the support that they need. Make sure that these elected officials understand how afterschool programs are critical to the health, safety and future of our kids and our communities. As you well know, there are BIG implications for community safety, workforce development and our schools - but I would venture to bet that most elected officials do not truly understand the function or critical importance of these programs. Help them understand.
After you've had this meeting, follow up with them. Keep the lines of communication open by sending them regular updates about the importance of afterschool programs. Position yourself and your organization as a valuable resource for information about how afterschool programs can benefit the bottom line of your public schools and your local law enforcement. Encourage them to talk with their colleagues at the statehouse about these issues. Send them news stories, Kansas Enrichment Network updates, and other information from the programs you care about.
Seems simple, right? The trick here is to keep doing it. Start with one legislator and move on to the next one. Get colleagues to do the same.
Just think: Maybe next session instead of talking about banning no-fault divorces and whether or not health clubs should pay taxes, they can be talking about how to make our kids - the life blood of our state and our communities - healthier, safer, smarter and stronger. Now THAT would be good work.
(...and always remember - it is never too late - there is always next year!!)
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Summer Learning Day
Friday, June 20, 2014
Summer Learning Day is a national advocacy day recognized to spread awareness about the importance of summer learning for our nation's youth in helping close the achievement gap and support healthy development in communities all across the country. Summer Learning Day |
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Marcia Dvorak, Director
(785) 864-9665
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