That's a Wrap on Lights On! |
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The Iowa Afterschool Alliance would like to thank everyone who participated in our 2020 Lights on Afterschool week of activities! It was great to engage with you all from Monday to Thursday, learn new things, and set new goals for ourselves!
If you missed an event you would have liked to attend, or just want to revisit something we talked about, you can request recordings from the Supporting Youth Voice presentation, the live STEM activity and our IAA Lights On Afterschool Roundtable by filling out the form linked here.
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Engaging Youth in STEM Programming and the Engineering Mindset |
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The “Reimagine Engineering with Girls Leading the Way: Supporting STEM Experiences with Equity in Mind Through Engineering” webinar being led by the ALCP has been rescheduled for Wednesday, November 18th at 9:00AM.
This webinar will provide tips, strategies and tools to develop an engineering mindset for all learners with a focus on underrepresented and marginalized populations. This webinar will also help you unpack engineering practices, lead you through real-world problems to engage all learners and help you identify strategies to combat inequalities.
Want to learn more about this webinar? Click here.
Register to attend this webinar here.
The Active Learning Community Partnership (ALCP), which includes members of the Blank Park Zoo, the Science Center of Iowa, the Iowa Children's Museum and the Iowa Afterschool Alliance, brings you this webinar as part of a 5 part series made possible by the Million Girls Moonshot grant.
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3 Part "Technovation" Series from Million Girls Moonshot |
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Over three hour-long sessions this fall with Technovation, you’ll become an expert in leading engineering design challenges online that help students develop engineering mindsets: 1) use the engineering design process; 2) envision multiple solutions; 3) evaluate and iterate; 4) persist and learn from failure; and 5) work in teams. These three sessions are for program staff (directors, STEM specialists, and facilitators) working with kids in 4th–8th grades.
Registration Links
Session 1: Thursday October 29, 2:00-3:00 pm CST
Session 2: Thursday November 19, 2:00-3:00 pm CST
Session 3: Thursday December 10, 2:00-3:00 pm CST
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Announcing A+ Afterschool!
After spending much of October recognizing the great programs and afterschool staff and youth we have in our state, we didn’t want the celebration to end! Because of this, we have created the A+ Afterschool Award.
Each month, the IAA team will select a winner from a list nominated programs and individuals to be featured in the Afterschool Advisor, as well as on the IAA social media accounts.
Who can be nominated? Any program staff or administration, students, community champions or programs as a whole!
How do you nominate someone? It's easy - just fill out the form linked here.
Nominations will be rolling, and we will accept nominees at any time! We're excited to put more of a spotlight on those who make our afterschool communities amazing - and that's you!
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Enspire Fall Fest 2020 is a virtual professional development conference for K-12 educators with a focus on building the entrepreneurial mindset. This fall, we'll have keynote speakers, panel discussions, and workshop sessions in November and December. The next sessions will take place November 5-7 with encore presentations on November 9-10. Registration is FREE!
Below is what you can look forward to:
Thursday, Nov. 5 – Panel Discussion on the Perspectives on the Future of Work
Friday, Nov. 6 – Heather McGowan keynote on “The Future of Work” followed by an interview
Saturday, Nov. 7 – Kim Bearden keynote on “Inspire, Encourage, and Get Things Done”
These are just some of the highlights! We will also be showcasing young entrepreneurs, creativity challenges, and more! Click here to learn more, see the full schedule, and register.
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Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
October's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion spotlight falls on Oakridge Neighborhood Services. The youth of Oakridge wrote, selected a beat, choreographed the dancing, and performed their very own song to create a music video titled "Success Is My Protest" which will be featured on the upcoming Writing History Mixtape. You can hear the song and watch the video on YouTube here. Spoiler alert: it's amazing!
It is always very refreshing to see our youth come together on something to make their voices heard, and we think that the youth of Oakridge did a fantastic job. Keep up the good work!!!
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COVID Recovery Iowa Resources
COVID Recovery Iowa has a variety of resources for youth, caregivers and teachers to support at home learning and living a socially distanced life, a few of which we have highlighted below.
Children’s Zoom Program - develop the communication skills to talk about the pandemic– story, coloring activity book, and virtual game of Pictionary. Email: mandy.gesme@pathwaysb.org
For more information on the resources available through COVID Recovery Iowa, please contact Mandy Gesme at mandy.gesme@pathwaysb.org
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COVID-19 Activity Guide from the Alaska Afterschool Network
The Alaska Afterschool Network has created a COVID-19 Activity Guide that consists of 40 challenges and activities. Organized by four different age groups (5-9) (10-12) (13-15) (16-18), these activities are adaptable for in-person, hybrid or virtual learning and programming. The activities and resources in the Learning About COVID-19 Activity Guides were intentionally designed to support youth-serving programs in engaging students in learning about the science of COVID-19 and developing greater social awareness and empathy.
Check out the COVID-19 Activity Guide here!
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Hunter's Fund
Hunter’s Fund invests in young people (16-25) who have a project, idea, or passion that needs funding. Preference is given to applications in the areas of music, performing arts, computer science and entrepreneurship. Grant awards can range from $500 to $5,000. All grantees are partnered with an appropriate mentor to encourage their progress and growth as they move towards their goals. Applications are reviewed and accepted twice a year with application deadlines of June 15 and November 15. Click here to learn more.
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Victor C. Clark Youth Incentive Program
At the request of the family of the late Victor C. Clark, W4KFC, the ARRL Foundation established the Victor C. Clark Youth Incentive Program, with the objective of providing support for the development of Amateur Radio among high-school age (or younger) youth.
Groups that qualify for mini-grants will include, but not be limited to, high school radio clubs, youth groups, and general-interest radio clubs that sponsor subgroups of young people or otherwise make a special effort to get them involved in club activities. Minigrants, not to exceed $1000 per grant, will be made for such projects as securing equipment for antennas for club stations, purchasing training materials, supporting local service projects that bring favorable public exposure, and similar activities. Preference will be given to projects for which matching funds are raised locally.
Applications are accepted year round. Please click here to learn more.
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YSA Afterschool Grants
With generous support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, YSA will award Afterschool Grants of up to $500 each to support youth-led service or service-learning in afterschool programs. Grants are offered on a competitive application basis and open to any afterschool program in the United States that meets the following requirements:
- Engage at least 50 youth as volunteers in virtual, hybrid, and/or safe in-person service or service-learning projects between December 2020 – May 2021;
- Put students' health and safety first by following COVID-related guidelines of federal, state, and local governments;
- Submit an online impact report by June 30, 2021;
- Engage a large percentage of youth from underserved communities; and
- Focus on engaging middle and high-school aged youth.
Activities can take place any time between mid-December and the end of the 2020-2021 school year. We will provide additional planning resources to grantees for MLK Day of Service (January 18, 2021) and/or Global Youth Service Day (April 23-25, 2021); participation in both of these days is optional.
Apply here by December 4, 2020.
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Professional Development Opportunities |
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Out of School Time Professional Development Center
The Out of School Time Professional Development Center provides Out of School Time training to OST professionals. The classes provide in-depth curriculum and certificates. If you or your staff are interested in signing up for courses visit the Out-of-School Time website. Check out the entire course catalog here.
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Great Content on Y4Y!
You 4 Youth is a free online professional development site that is designed to support 21CCLC program staff, but is a valuable tool for any afterschool professional looking to build their skills! Recently, Y4Y has rolled out a whole module on literacy. Click here to register.
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Afterschool Alliance Webinars
The Afterschool Alliance offers webinars on a wide range of topics, from policy and the new Every Student Succeeds Act, to STEM and Social-Emotional Learning. Find out more on their webinars website.
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Iowa Child Care Training Registry
Find professional development for school-age programming on the State of Iowa Child Care Training Registry on topics ranging from health and safety to developmentally appropriate programming. Find out more online.
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National AfterSchool Association PD Resources
NAA provides afterschool professionals with resources to stay up-to-date on the latest topics in afterschool and summer learning.
Find out more on their website here.
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Resources for STEM Programming
The Center for the Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) provides background information that is useful for the development of STEM programming. Find out more on their website.
The Afterschool Tech Toolkit aims to empower afterschool professionals and educators with strategies and training so they can provide students with access to technology outside of classroom hours. It includes training modules on getting started, training staff, accessing technology and devices, and more. Take a look at the toolkit here.
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BOOST Conference & Online Professional Development
April 27 - April 30, 2021; Palms Springs, CA
Join the largest, most recognized and comprehensive global convening for after school, expanded learning, and out-of-school time professionals. Set in a retreat-like atmosphere, this annual, extraordinary event will rejuvenate your passion, boost your direction for quality programming and provide tools and resources that will inspire you to create change.
BOOST also provides free online professional development. Click here to check it out.
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