The Iowa Afterschool Alliance Joins the Million Girls Moonshot |
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The Iowa Afterschool Alliance is joining the Million Girls Moonshot, a collective impact initiative designed to increase diversity and equity in STEM. Launching now, the Million Girls Moonshot will help close the persistent gender gap in STEM fields by engaging 1 million girls across the United States in STEM pursuits through high-quality, innovative afterschool learning opportunities over the next five years. The first year Iowa grant, just awarded, is for $55,000.
The Iowa Afterschool Alliance plans to use the funds to help afterschool programs in the state provide STEM education. It will create an online repository of STEM lessons with a focus on engineering and equity, as well as provide professional development opportunities to further educate afterschool sites on how they can implement more STEM learning. Learn more about the Million Girls Moonshot here.
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Engaging Youth in STEM Programming and the Engineering Mindset |
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Join us on Wednesday, October 21st for a webinar on engaging youth in STEM programming with a focus on developing the Engineering Mindset. This webinar will be brought to you by the Active Community Learning 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, and is part of a 5 part series made possible by the Million Girls Moonshot grant. More details about this webinar series to come. |
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Million Girls Moonshot Webinar on Engineering Practice to Support Equity |
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The second in a three-part series of webinars provided by the Million Girls Moonshot will take place on Tuesday, October 13th at 2:00PM. Topics for this webinar focus on engineering practices that help develop engineering mindset. As we introduce an engineering challenges designed for use in virtual or in-person afterschool programs we highlight four core engineering practices:
· Balancing criteria and constraints
· Apply science and math, and
· Envisioning multiple solutions.
We’ll explore the practices briefly and demonstrate how they can create inclusive learning experiences. In small groups, participants will examine how the engineering activity can be implemented to support the practices. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of the specific practices, an engineering activity they can implement, and concrete ideas and resources for infusing these into engineering programming.
Register for the webinar here. The third and final installment of this series will take place on November 12th.
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Lights On Afterschool Week of Activities!
The Iowa Afterschool Alliance is excited to bring you a week's worth of virtual activities for the Lights On 2020 celebration! Our Monday webinar will focus on empowering youth voice. Tuesday, we will be featuring photos and stories you submit on our social media pages to illustrate how Iowa's afterschool programs light up their communities! On Wednesday, we will host an AM/PM series - we will offer a morning webinar discussing STEM and the engineering mindset, and in the afternoon one of our wonderful partners will host a virtual follow-along activity for you and your youth to participate in! Finally, we are hosting a legislative roundtable on Thursday, with policymakers, community partners, Iowa afterschool programs and other stakeholders to highlight how afterschool programs can be a support to their communities.
Keep an eye out for more information to come! We can't wait to celebrate with you!
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Guidance for Out-of-School Time Learning at a Distance
Guidance for Out-of-School Time Learning at a Distance (GOLD) is a set of program standards and self-assessment questions for OST program managers and staff who are responsible for delivering OST services to young people in their new individual learning environments. The standards described in the GOLD apply to a diverse range of program delivery models, including 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) and other community-based programs.
The purpose of these resources is to provide (a) a quality lens through which to evaluate promising practices for learning at a distance and (b) a self-assessment tool for getting specific about what and where supports are needed.
As an aligned knowledge support, external resources elaborating on each standard have been compiled as a Database of Online Resources. These resources provide additional information and offer insight and best practice for educators participating in the design and implementation of distance learning practices.
These resources were created by a grant through the Michigan Department of Education. To learn more, please visit their website here.
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Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
For this month's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion education please read the brief linked below from Child Trends. This brief dives deeper into how equity, diversity and inclusion can be improved in programming, and how these improvements positively impact the youth in your programs. Please check out the brief here.
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The Iowa Department of Education released the FY21 21st Century Community Learning Centers Request For Applications (RFA) in September. We will be offering virtual technical assistance sessions this fall to help with application writing. Find the RFA and application materials here.
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Back to Programming PPE Resources
The Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) team at Iowa State University has compiled a list of Iowa companies and suppliers who have the PPE resources you may need to reopen your programs. You can find more information and the list of suppliers here.
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COVID-19 Resources for the Afterschool Field
COVID-19 resources have been released by the Iowa Afterschool Alliance! Please click the button below to access the Alliance's COVID-19 Toolkit.
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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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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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