We hope to start the year off right by helping partners prepare to communicate with your legislators and local decision makers. OregonASK will be hosting a Summer Learning Survey Release on January 21st that will share the information we gathered last summer, and provide partners an opportunity to consider their own method for sharing this data as part of our story. And find a few more important dates below that you may want on your calendar.

January 12th: Equitable STEM & CTE Committee 9:30-11am RSVP HERE

January 21: Summer Learning Partners Table 11:30am RSVP HERE

January 27th: Commitment to Quality Committee 9:30-11am RSVP HERE

February 21st: 'Virtual' Day/Week at the Capitol - Sign Up Here to Connect with your Legislator

March 4th: OregonASK Partner Meeting 9-11am RSVP HERE

TBD April: Spring Symposiums

June 4th: OregonASK Partner Meeting

As informed partners, you are ambassadors of your program and part of the network of Oregon Expanded Learning Partners. When it comes to informing and advocating for expanded learning, we need ambassadors from communities around Oregon to help share your story. If you are interested in becoming an Afterschool & Summer for Kids (ASK) Ambassador, please fill out this form.

Don't Forget* It is the job of policy makers to represent you – the constituents who voted them into office. Your opinion on issues is extremely important to them. Generally speaking, whether on a school board, city council, state representative or in the US Congress, elected officials appropriate money that may be used to support afterschool and summer programs through school, city, state and federal budgets.

Register Here for $160

Inclusion Specialist Kat King will be leading this Inclusion Base Camp Cohort, providing an opportunity for expanded learning program staff to build confidence and capacity to successfully and meaningfully include children and youth with disabilities or additional needs.

This series will explore building a sense of belonging, powerful partnerships, respectful accommodations, and understanding the why of behavior. The cohort includes 2 hour weekly sessions from 10am to 12pm starting January 26th through March 2nd. Scholarships are available for licensed program staff through OCCD - find out more HERE

Designed for 6th through 10th grade students, Possible Futures helps students set the stage for career connected exploration and discovery to come, building employability skills and identifying personal strengths. OregonASK has customized two introductory series’ with 12 lessons each, focused on preparing and equipping youth with 21st century skills. Sign up now to join us for a focus on Communication & Collaboration this winter as we help create space for youth to build skills focused on effectively connecting with peers and adults.

Sign Up HERE for FREE 1 hour Training from 10-11am.

As part of a National Youth Leadership Council Service Learning grant, OregonASK will be offering our Process-based Arts in Afterschool training to support implementation of our Prysm curriculum. Programs interested in utilizing art as a tool to support service learning in your community should sign up to participate in this January 28th training. Participants will:

Sign Up HERE for FREE 2 hour Training January 28th from 12-2pm

Expanded learning educators that work with middle school-aged youth are invited to join a free training offered as part of a NASA-funded project called PLANETS (Planetary Learning that Advances the Nexus of Engineering, Technology, and Science). PLANETS is an out-of-school time program for educators and youth in grades 3–8 that provides STEM learning with an emphasis on NASA planetary science and engineering, particularly for underserved audiences using principles of diversity, equity, access, and inclusion.

PLANETS has developed a free STEM education curriculum for Out-of-School Time that is easy to use and supports access to quality STEM education resources for OST educators and youth. Individuals that register, complete the training, implement this new planets curriculum, as well as complete a short follow-up assignment will be eligible for a small stipend of $400. Only 15 spots are available so register HERE now!

Training will take place from 9am-3pm, in-person at the Airway Science for Kids building in Portland (3710 North Mississippi Ave.) Lunch will be provided.

Help amplify National Mentoring Month by utilizing some of these Digital Engagement tips and resources. You can also get connected with the National Girls Collaborative and their partnership on the AAAS If/Then Ambassador Collection to highlight amazing women in STEM.

The Mizzen By Mott app delivers inspiring and engaging activities that spark learning in young people. Supported by the Mott Foundation, Mizzen is available at no cost to afterschool professionals! You can even find OregonASK created curriculum, S.INQ Up Earth and Space for 6-8th Grade at your fingertips- Download Mizzen HERE!

If you didn't find what you were looking for here, check out our Training Calendar for upcoming opportunities or book a training for your program from our Training Request page.

With consideration to the current circumstances, this years’ wellness award committee has chosen to simplify the application. The gathering of the required information and completing the application is expected to take 1-3 hours. Application materials and resources are HERE on the ODE Wellness Awards webpage. Make sure to complete the application before January 31, 2022. Thanks to Oregon Dairy and Nutrition Council who provides the cash award and a recognition banner for each winner!

The National Summer Learning Association has released a study titled "Building Resilience in Youth Through Summer Experiences: Structured Summer Programming Promotes Social-Emotional Growth and School Preparedness." The study is designed to help practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers understand the caregiver perspective on both kinds of summer experiences, structured and unstructured, including what children do, what they learn academically, recreationally, and socio-emotionally from those activities, whether structured or unstructured.

As Oregon leaders continue to consider investments in summer for Oregon youth and families, we encourage you to share resources such as this national study to better help local decision-makers understand social-emotional growth and the value of Summer experiences. If you have further questions or concerns about current funding allocations, such as ODE's 'proposed' allocations for the $112 million of state set aside ESSER III, we urge you to reach out directly to [email protected]

AASA is partnering with the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the 50 State Afterschool Network to elevate the #PowerOfPartnerships and invest in afterschool and summer learning for recovery and acceleration and to expand students’ connections and support. Let us know how we can help connect you to resources and potential partners that will help leverage expanded learning opportunities for young people in Oregon. Visit AASA’s Power of Partnerships webpage for resources like the critical role afterschool plays for learning impact and more information.

Why Hip Hop Architecture? Watch this short video to learn more about how hip hop and architecture are connected. Register Here or find out more HERE to share with youth in your community. The Architecture Foundation of Oregon is partnering with Hop Hop Architect Michael Ford to offer this FREE Design Day on January 17th and Camp February 14-18.

Don't forget to take advantage of OregonASK's Jobs Board to help connect staff with opportunities. See the Listings page, plus more, HERE.

Find our previous Monthly Newsletters Online HERE and make sure to visit OregonASK.org for more local resources!