Weak financial management stops too many afterschool and youth-serving nonprofits from winning grants, planning realistically, and doing all they can to fulfill their missions. Organizations with strong financial management are better able to fulfill their missions as well as plan and deliver high-quality services.
The Northeast Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks would like to invite you to attend a free webinar in partnership with Fiscal Management Associates (FMA), a leading financial management consultant for nonprofits, and The Wallace Foundation. This webinar is designed to help you learn how to build your organization's fiscal strength and that of your provider network through a new, free suite of online resources at StrongNonprofits.org.
You will hear from the creators of the website how to tailor it to your needs, and you'll also get advice from a leading expanded learning non-profit organization.
Presenters:
Adam Greenman, Executive Director, Rhode Island Afterschool Plus Alliance
Parents are the natural advocates for their children, but they are also one of a school’s most prized resources and can be an afterschool program’s strongest supporters.
According to Parents for Public Schools, a national organization working to elevate the role of parents in public schools from passive consumers to active participants, “parent advocates raise school standards, solve problems and advocate for their community." Principals and teachers have long known they can accomplish more of their goals faster when parents become their advocates.
Parents advocating for improved conditions and better accountability for their children’s schools are also the best equipped and most engaged supporters for quality afterschool programs. In October 2012, the Afterschool Alliance researched parent engagement in afterschool programsand found that “engaged parents bolster participation of youth in programs, support the quality of afterschool programs, and are a constructive influence on parent involvement at home and at school.” Parents are assisting as volunteers, voicing their concerns and developing a culture of support for the community. Perhaps most importantly, though, parents are mobilizing as advocates, and their mobilization is effectively sustaining or increasing the financial support for both schools and afterschool programs.
When funding is on the line—for schools and afterschool programs alike—parents are often the most effective advocates—especially when they’re organized and prepared to mobilize ahead of time.
"When it comes time to mobilize, any Title I principal would already have a cohort of parents willing to go to the mat to advocate," said Rolonda Smith, executive director of Parents for Public Schools of Greater Cincinnati, in a recent interview with Education Daily. "Why not work every day toward that so when times come around and you need that support or backing, all you have to do is press one button, and it will ring 400 phones?"
With a general understanding of where and how to channel their efforts, parents can make the difference and potentially save their child’s afterschool programs from devastating cuts or closure.
How can parents help advocate for your afterschool program? It’s important to let parents of afterschool participants know that they don’t need to invest a lot of time or energy in order to be a strong voice for afterschool. Here are some ideas to get parents started advocating right away for afterschool programs in your community:
Circulate a petition– Have fellow parents, friends, neighbors and other community members sign a petition showing their support for afterschool programs.
Host a parents night at your afterschool program – Work with the leaders of your afterschool program to host a parents night, so that parents and other community members can observe the program in action. A Lights On Afterschoolevent is a great way to start.
Organize a letter writing campaign– Encourage parents, neighbors and program volunteers to write letters in supportof afterschool to local elected officials, such as the mayor and the city council.
Write a letter to the editor of your local paper or a guest post on a neighborhood blog– Tie the benefits ofafterschool programs to other local issues that people are talking about: bullying, crime rates, healthy food andphysical activity, test scores, etc.
Last week the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the Department of Health and Human Services proposed to amend the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) regulations. According to ACF, this proposed rule would strengthen health and safety requirements for child care providers, reflect current state and local practices to improve the quality of child care, infuse new accountability for federal tax dollars, and leverage the latest knowledge and research in the field of early care and education to better serve low-income children and families.
The proposed rule would only apply directly to child care providers who accept CCDF funds. More than 500,000 providers serve about 1.6 million low-income children through CCDF, including about 650,000 school-age children in afterschool and before-school settings. Many more children would benefit, however, because the providers also serve non-CCDF children. Under the proposed rule, states would require that all CCDF-funded child care providers:
Receive health and safety trainings in specific areas
Comply with applicable state and local fire, health and building codes
The rule would also require states to share information with parents about provider health, safety and licensing information through user-friendly websites. While some states already post health and safety reports online, the new rule would bring all states up to this standard. The proposed rule establishes new minimum standards but also recognizes the need for innovation and flexibility and allows states and communities to tailor their specific approaches to best meet the needs of the children and families they serve. The flexibility should benefit school-age care providers by allowing professional development opportunities tailored to staff serving children ages 6 to 13. The rule would not change or impede a state’s ability to license child care providers as they see fit.
The proposed rule includes a background on CCDF that emphasizes the value of quality school-age before-school and afterschool programs:
Because of the strong relationship between early experience and later success, investments in improving the quality of early childhood and before-and after-school programs can pay large dividends. Nurturing and responsive relationships with parents and caregivers, and engaging learning environments in early care and education settings can provide young children with the capacity for tremendous growth. Children attending high-quality school-age programs are more likely to succeed in school and have stronger social and inter-personal skills. In short, high-quality early education is a linchpin to creating an educational system that is internationally competitive and vital to the country's workforce development, economic security and global competitiveness.
Furthermore the role of collaboration with state afterschool networks and state afterschool associations are called out in Section 98.14 of the proposed rule:
We propose to add agencies responsible for administering statewide afterschool networks or other coordinating entities for out-of-school time care (if applicable) at new paragraph (H). Approximately, 39 states have established statewide afterschool networks. (National Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks,www.statewideafterschoolnetworks.net) These networks bring together different stakeholders to consider ways to improve the quality, quantity, and sustainability of school-age programs in their State. The CCDF program provides assistance to children up to age 13, therefore we believe it is critical that child care administrators partner with statewide afterschool networks or other entities, such as State associations of school-age programs, in order to better understand and respond to the unique issues related to improving access to and the quality of before-and-after school programs.
ACF has made it clear that these proposed regulations to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) do not replace a reauthorization of the program by Congress. CCDBG was last reauthorized in 1996, and Congress continues to work on CCDBG reauthorization. The regulation is currently open for comment, with a closing date of Aug. 5, 2013. The complete proposed rule can be accessed online. The Afterschool Alliance is developing comments to the proposed rule and will post those here in the coming weeks.
With the sequester now in effect, 3,400 AmeriCorps positions are expected to be cut. A recent story in the Baltimore Sun illustrates the concern that many afterschool providers have about the implications these cuts might have for their programs. At the Mother Seton Academy, a school for low-income children in Baltimore, AmeriCorps members serve in a number of vital roles, including helping out the afterschool program. As the school faces budget constraints and teachers are overworked, AmeriCorps members expand the capacity for schools and nonprofits to serve.
During a time of budget cuts, AmeriCorps members make all the difference in overcrowded classrooms, afterschool programs that keep kids safe or in tutoring programs that lower dropout rates. A recent blog post on Service Nation argues that the small living stipend offered to AmeriCorps members costs the country far less than the price of a teenager who drops out of school. With the wide range of services that AmeriCorps members offer, cuts to the program will undoubtedly have a large impact.
AmeriCorps currently engages more than 75,000 men and women at more than 15,000 locations including nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community- and faith-based groups across the country. During their year of service, AmeriCorps members help communities with a wide range of issues including disaster services, economic opportunity, education and healthy futures.
AmeriCorps members have had a longstanding impact on afterschool programs, and have served in a number of capacities. Across the country, members are tutoring and mentoring students in afterschool programs, recruiting and managing volunteers, and working on other capacity building efforts. The Afterschool Alliance AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) project has 13 members in 12 states working on program sustainability and expanding access to afterschool meals.
One example of an afterschool program that relies heavily on national service members is Higher Achievement. Higher Achievement is a rigorous afterschool and summer academic program that operates in D.C., Baltimore, Richmond and Pittsburgh. Here in D.C. there are 13 dedicated AmeriCorps members who work directly with over 500 middle-school scholars and build the capacity of the organization. They are a critical piece to the organization, as many national service members are in afterschool programs across the country.
This week is National Volunteer Week, a special time to recognize the extraordinary contributions of volunteers across the country.
Afterschool professionals understand the importance of volunteers. These dedicated individuals are key to ensuring all children have access to high quality afterschool programs. Volunteers fulfill a number of different roles, from serving as tutors and mentors to educating students on specific subjects. They also fundraise for these programs and can manage certain aspects of program operations Without volunteers, many afterschool programs would not be able to serve the 8.4 million students they reach.
Community volunteers are not the only people afterschool programs rely upon. Volunteers from the major national service programs, including AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps VISTA, also play important roles in many afterschool programs. During their year-long service commitments, AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps VISTA members manage volunteers, fundraise, promote program sustainability and work directly with enrolled students. These volunteers are critical to the day-to-day operations of many afterschool programs.
If you are an afterschool program volunteer, thank you for all that you do! If you manager or work for an afterschool program, be sure to take some time this week to thank your volunteers.
This week, 20 youth finalist teams will meet at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, for the Conrad Foundation’s 2013 Innovation Summit. Teams will present their designs of a “global innovation product” developed for the Spirit of Innovation Challenge to a panel of scientists, industry leaders, entrepreneurs and government officials. Challenged to create commercially viable products to address issues of global sustainability, teams applied their STEM knowledge in innovative ways, developing products for one of four categories—Aerospace and Aviation; Cybertechnology and Security; Energy and Environment; and Health and Nutrition. These young entrepreneurs will undergo a tough evaluation on technical content and market viability from an expert panel, and the winning team in each category will receive a $10,000 grant to continue their product development.
I spoke with one of the teams, Chicks in Space, a subset of the Neighborhood After School Science Association (NASSA) from Ava, NY. MaryAnn, Lillith and Adia—ages 17, 14 and 12, respectively—are among the 5 teams competing in the Aerospace and Aviation category. Their product, the Garden of ETON (Extraterrestrial Organic Nutrition), provides a way for astronauts weary of dehydrated foods to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables. Through a series of experiments on plant growth in microgravity conditions, Chicks in Space developed a hydroponic gardening system that can be used in space! Their original submission video, below, follows the research and development process of the Garden of ETON.
Members of NASSA are enthusiasts of all things space—even the club’s name was created in homage to NASA! Last year, they were able to take a trip to the NASA Glenn Research Center. The club began five years ago when they couldn’t find afterschool programs that addressed the topics they desired or offered programming as often as they wanted. Beginning with a water purification challenge, the club then delved into activities from the Deep Earth Academy, which covers ocean drilling science and from NASA Wavelength, an exhaustive database of peer-reviewed Earth and space science resources. In 2011, the club developed a microgravity experiment for a NASA contest, which earned them the chance to have astronauts perform their winning experiment on the International Space Station (ISS)!
Chicks in Space closely follow the astronauts on the ISS. Don Pettit is the girls’ favorite astronaut to watch, whose video series “Science off the Sphere” can fill many a lunch break. Pettit served as inspiration for the Garden of ETON due to his in-flight experiments growing plants. The humorous Diary of a Space Zucchini chronicles one such microgravity experiment. The team hoped to build on the challenge of successfully growing plants without the earthly gravitational clues and to develop a sustainable fresh food source to be used on the ISS and in other microgravity environments.
Through their participation in science fairs throughout their elementary school years, along with their experiments in their afterschool club, the girls have become experts in the scientific process, demonstrating truly rigorous research and design skills. For help with some of the high-level science content needed to develop and refine the Garden of ETON, the team has Skyped with experts in the U.S. and overseas. They’ve been amazed at the willingness of scientists and other professionals to help out!
Ultimately, the Chicks in Space aim to present their findings to the International Space Station and hope that what they’ve developed can contribute to future NASA missions. The girls find space travel fascinating, believing it will be for the benefit of mankind if we can achieve it on a large scale. These entrepreneurial scientists have a bright future and the Afterschool Alliance wishes MaryAnn, Lillith and Adia the best of luck at the Spirit of Innovation Challenge!
Christina Schock, AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer, Nevada Afterschool Network
Afterschool Alliance AmeriCorps VISTAs are making a difference across our country. They’re working on projects involved with helping programs write sustainability plans and getting afterschool meals. VISTAs have been placed all across the country including Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, California, Ohio, New Mexico and many more. Along the way, while working directly with programs and networks, we have learned how to overcome many of the issues they face in today’s political and economic reality. Having worked with a gamut of different programs including rural, urban, elementary education programs, secondary education programs, resource rich programs and non-resource rich programs, we are looking to share those experiences and pass them along to programs outside of our reach.
We are introducing a new webinar series to pass along the tools, resources, experiences and lessons learned along the way. Each webinar will address an issue all programs face when looking at long term sustainability, such as grant writing, finding/retaining volunteers, building partnerships, diverse funding, marketing, core messaging, fundraising and events. Guest speakers and experts from the field will also be available to offer their advice and answer questions. Participants can register to participate in upcoming webinars or view/download past webinars for free at www.NevadaAfterschoolNetwork.org. We recommend passing along the webinars to programs that might benefit from them. This series is free thanks to the Afterschool Alliance, Nevada Afterschool Network and the many VISTAs working in the field. For more information and to register for an upcoming webinar you can visit the Nevada Afterschool Network's website.
On March 14, Hawaii’s Lieutenant Governor Shan Tsutsui announced a plan to develop a new statewide initiative to enhance the learning experience of intermediate and middle school students during the afterschool hours. According to the lieutenant governor’s office, the Hawaii Intermediate/Middle School Challenge will provide a comprehensive social and educational foundation that will enrich the lives of intermediate/middle school students throughout Hawaii through a broad base of programs and activities, outside of regular instructional hours. The program seeks to include academic enrichment, arts and culture, and sports and will be designed to help prepare students for high school, college, the workforce and their communities.
The new initiative addresses the need to keep young people safe and engaged during the hours immediately following school. Afterschool programs are shown to increase or improve school attendance, behavior and coursework—all key indicators in whether a middle school student will graduate. Furthermore, studies show that crimes committed by or against juveniles occur with greater frequency on schools days and roughly between the hours of 3 and 7 p.m.
The Hawaii Intermediate/Middle School Challenge was inspired by After-School All-Stars Hawaii, a comprehensive, high quality afterschool program for middle school students that provides free, engaging afterschool programming that helps young people succeed in school and in life. The program serves middle school youth ages 12-15 during the afterschool hours of 3 to 6 p.m. at eight middle schools on Oahu. Students from After-School All-Stars joined the lieutenant governor for the announcement.
According to the lieutenant governor’s office, effective and positive afterschool programs provide not only an educational benefit to students but also a social value to the overall community by reducing juvenile crime. Hawaii has long focused on providing afterschool programs to elementary and high school students, however successful programs for intermediate/middle school students are sporadic and decentralized. Last October the Department of Education introduced the Intermediate Athletics Pilot program, to be piloted in the Zones of School Innovation (ZSI) in the Nanakuli-Waianae complex and the Kau-Keaau-Pahoa complex on Hawaii Island. The new Hawaii Intermediate/Middle School Challenge initiative adds a comprehensive program for intermediate/middle schools with the support and guidance to implement effective and positive afterschool programs statewide. The announcement pointed to strong school-community partnerships as an important part of the initiative going forward.
The Hawaii Intermediate/Middle School Challenge will start immediately after the school day ends and is intended to be a comprehensive and structured statewide program to fill the gap of youth activities available to students between the 6th and 8th grades. Programs offered will be from three general categories—academic enrichment, arts and culture, and sports. Currently the majority of existing intermediate/middle school programs is supported by unpredictable federal funding; a more reliable source of funding would provide greater stability for the programs, as well as greater participation. Accordingly, using a community based approach the program will seek to utilize available federal and state funds while also partnering with schools, parents and the private sector to provide funding and resources to facilitate the program’s success. The partnership with these stakeholders will ensure that the afterschool programs will be well established in their respective communities and will likely be financially sustainable for the long-term.
Program goals include:
Continuing the Department of Education’s vision of utilizing a school-community network approach to engage community-wide support and responsibility for intermediate/middle school students’ education, health and well-being.
Providing students at all intermediate/middle schools within the state the opportunity to participate in before- or afterschool programs that will enrich and encourage student growth in academics, personal responsibility and maturity, creativity, and the development of social skills.
Reducing the number of student dropouts by providing a seamless transition of afterschool programs that promote student participation in school-related functions from elementary through high school.
Providing health, fitness, educational and social enrichment opportunities to intermediate/middle school students.
This week, 20 youth finalist teams will meet at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, for the Conrad Foundation’s 2013 Innovation Summit. Teams will present their designs of a “global innovation product” developed for the Spirit of Innovation Challenge to a panel of scientists, industry leaders, entrepreneurs and government officials. Challenged to create commercially viable products to address issues of global sustainability, teams applied their STEM knowledge in innovative ways, developing products for one of four categories—Aerospace and Aviation; Cybertechnology and Security; Energy and Environment; and Health and Nutrition. These young entrepreneurs will undergo a tough evaluation on technical content and market viability from an expert panel, and the winning team in each category will receive a $10,000 grant to continue their product development.
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