We are pleased to announce the release of the spring 2026 issue of the Journal of Youth Development! This issue presents research and practice studies that advance understanding of youth development across multiple settings and populations. The articles examine topics including program evaluation, experiential and career learning, civic engagement, STEM education, youth resilience, and inclusion of marginalized youth, highlighting how structured programs, supportive relationships, and targeted interventions can improve youth outcomes and foster more inclusive opportunities for all young people.  JYD is supported by partners including the National AfterSchool Association. Check out the latest issue here!

We’re excited to spotlight the latest issue of the Journal of Youth Development (JYD), an open-source, peer-reviewed, quarterly online publication dedicated to advancing youth development practice and research. JYD serves applied researchers and evaluators, as well as practitioners who work in youth-serving organizations or the intermediaries that support them.

JYD is the official journal of two of the largest professional associations for those working with and on behalf of young people: the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals (NAE4-HYDP) and the National Afterschool Association. Together with NAE4-HYDP, we’re committed to elevating scholarship that strengthens youth development systems and supports the professionals who make quality programs possible.

What’s in the latest issue?

The newest issue of JYD highlights research and practice innovations that deepen our understanding of youth development across diverse settings, systems, and experiences. Together, these articles illuminate how intentional programs, relationships, and learning environments can strengthen youth outcomes and advance equity in the field.

How NAA supports JYD

As a proud partner, NAA helps support JYD as a trusted resource that bridges research and practice, bringing timely insights and evidence-informed strategies to the out-of-school time field. By helping amplify this scholarship, we’re working to ensure afterschool and youth development professionals have access to research that reflects real-world program needs and supports continuous improvement.

Whether you’re a reader, reviewer, or author, we invite you to consider JYD your home for finding and sharing scholarship that strengthens youth development practice.

Check out the latest issue here!

For all the latest news and updates, follow JYD on Facebook and Twitter/X @JournalYouthDev.

If summer planning isn’t on your to-do list yet, you’re not behind. You’re right on time to get ahead. While the school year is still in full swing, the strongest summer learning programs are often the ones that take shape months before the first day of programming. The decisions made now, about staffing, schedules, curriculum, and partner roles, can make the difference between a summer program that feels rushed and one that feels ready.

A new article from the Wallace Foundation offers a timely planning nudge, along with practical guidance grounded in research. Drawing from a RAND study of summer learning programs across five districts, the piece highlights eight specific practices associated with improved student test scores. One of the biggest insights: districts that commit early and begin planning in January are more likely to run smoother programs, with fewer disruptions and more consistent implementation.

A few key takeaways stand out:

Start planning early: Early planning supports timely hiring, smoother contract approvals, and curriculum readiness for teacher training. It also creates space for cross-department collaboration and meaningful partner involvement, which are critical ingredients for strong program delivery.

Structure for enough learning time: Wallace points to the importance of programs lasting at least five to six weeks, with academic instruction lasting three to four hours per day. Pairing academics with engaging enrichment helps create a well-rounded experience that keeps students motivated.

Recruit early and build attendance: Strong communication with families, early and often, matters. Students need consistent participation to experience academic benefits, so clear messaging about expectations and supports can make a real difference.

Hire and support strong staff: Experienced teachers with relevant content knowledge and grade-level experience are associated with better math and reading outcomes. High-quality training and ongoing support help ensure everyone is prepared for success.

Summer learning doesn’t start in June. It starts with the decisions made now. Whether you’re launching a new program or sharpening an existing one, this quick read is a timely planning boost.

Read the full Wallace article and access their suite of summer programming resources.

Summer learning may only last a few weeks, but the planning that makes it meaningful begins months in advance. A new report from The Wallace Foundation spotlights how three school districts — Newark, NJ, Rochester, MN, and Seattle, WA — strengthened their summer programs by weaving preparation into their year-round work.

From superintendents setting bold visions, to teams building programs that reflect student and family input, to leaders aligning summer instruction with the school-year curriculum, these districts show what’s possible when planning is collaborative, intentional, and rooted in evidence. Their efforts not only expand opportunities for students to learn and thrive in the summer months, but also support broader year-round district goals such as academic growth, equity, and staff development.

The report is the third and final “summer snapshot” from the District Summer Learning Network, a Wallace-funded initiative that brings together more than 100 districts and six states to share strategies for designing and sustaining high-quality summer learning.

By taking a closer look at the experiences of Newark, Rochester, and Seattle, this resource offers valuable insights for any district leader, program partner, or educator seeking to make the most of the summer season.

Read the full report here.

Discover Literacy is a no-cost initiative designed to help OST educators close the literacy gap—without needing a teaching background.

Developed by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation & Discovery Education, this program offers:

• Microlearning modules for quick staff training
• Masterclass videos showing real strategies in action
• Printable task cards for daily use

Whether you're a site coordinator, program leader, or volunteer, Discover Literacy gives you the tools and confidence to make a real impact.

• Join Our Free Webinar: Literacy in Action
• Date: Wednesday, September 17, 12pm EST
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Format: Live

In this session, you’ll learn:

• Why afterschool programs are key to literacy success
• The 5 pillars of structured literacy (with a focus on phonological awareness & phonics)
• How to use the Discover Literacy framework with free tools
• Practical strategies to engage your team and students

Bonus: All attendees get immediate access to free resources you can use right away.

Register Now: Let’s Turn Afterschool Time into Literacy Time

Together, we can build stronger readers, more confident educators, and brighter futures. Start with the tools — and the training — to make it happen.

Discover Literacy is a no-cost initiative designed to help OST educators close the literacy gap — without needing a teaching background.

Developed by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation & Discovery Education, this program offers:

• Microlearning modules for quick staff training
• Masterclass videos showing real strategies in action
• Printable task cards for daily use

Whether you're a site coordinator, program leader, or volunteer, Discover Literacy gives you the tools and confidence to make a real impact.

• Join a free webinar: Literacy in Action
• Date: Wednesday, June 25th, 1pm EST
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Format: Live
• Register now

In this session, you’ll learn:

• Why afterschool programs are key to literacy success
• The 5 pillars of structured literacy (with a focus on phonological awareness & phonics)
• How to use the Discover Literacy framework with free tools
• Practical strategies to engage your team and students

Bonus: All attendees get immediate access to free resources you can use right away.

Let’s turn afterschool time into literacy time. Together, we can build stronger readers, more confident educators, and brighter futures. Start with the tools—and the training—to make it happen.

Register Today!

Planning a strong, engaging summer program? NAA is here to help! Members now have access to our brand-new Summer Resources Bundle, a curated collection of guides to support high-quality summer learning experiences.

The bundle includes:

• Site Leader's Guide to Summer Program Planning
• The Afterschool Guide: How to Stop the Summer Slide with STEM
• The Afterschool Guide to Beating the Summer Slide

Whether you're looking to prevent summer learning loss, incorporate more STEM, or strengthen your overall program structure, these resources provide practical, research-informed strategies to support your goals.

If you're already a member, log in and download your resources today.

High-quality summer programs can do more than fill the gap between school years — they can change the trajectory of students’ academic and social-emotional success. Research from the RAND Corporation shows that well-planned, evidence-based summer learning opportunities offer measurable gains, particularly for students from low-income communities. Thanks to support from The Wallace Foundation, there’s a powerful new resource based on RAND research and recommendations to help educators design and deliver those kinds of programs.

The Summer Learning Toolkit is a free, research-backed collection of more than 50 practical tools and resources created from the experiences of five large urban school districts and their community partners. Whether you're building a program from the ground up or refining an existing one, the Toolkit offers customizable tools (like observation rubrics), real-world samples (such as staff handbooks and enrollment forms), expert tip sheets, and research-based guidance on how and why to use each resource.

The Toolkit also includes a detailed Summer Planning Calendar and Sustainability Tools, helping you move from planning to long-term impact with confidence and clarity.

Don’t start from scratch — start with what works.

Explore the Toolkit today and access the tools you need to make this summer matter.

LeapFrog strives to support children’s learning in and out of school with best-in-class products and initiatives. They understand how critical it is to design with a clear understanding the day-to-day needs of today’s children and the adults who champion and care for them.

To that end, LeapFrog recruiting Out-of-School time professionals and leaders to apply to be part of the LeapFrog Professional Network to:

• Represent the needs, interests, and trends in their unique contexts.
• Identify LeapFrog resources to help address communicated needs.
• Provide feedback on LeapFrog products and initiatives based on use cases in OST contexts.
• Offer feedback on new content ideas as we move through the product development process.

Click to learn more about the commitment and apply for the LeapFrog Professional Network!

Learn More.

Carolyn Jaynes, Senior Manager, Learning & Curriculum at LeapFrog, is a member of the National AfterSchool ASsociation’s Corporate Advisory Board. Learn more about the Corporate Advisory Board on our website..

A recent report, Well-being and Well-becoming Through the Arts: A Picture of Mattering for Youth of Color, sheds light on the transformative role of arts programs tailored for youth of color. Supported by the Wallace Foundation and conducted over 18 months, the study examined 35 youth arts organizations across eight American cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, and Oakland.

The study focuses on culture-centered, community-based youth arts (CCYA) programs, which integrate high-quality arts education with community-focused youth development and culturally sustaining practices. Such programs aim to provide participants with a sense of belonging, affirm their identities, and develop their skills through artistic expression.

The study identifies the key characteristics of effective CCYA programs:

• Nurturing Artistic Skill: Offering environments where youth can enhance their artistic abilities.
• Cultivating Creative Restoration: Providing spaces that promote healing and personal growth through creativity.
• Establishing Artful Sanctuaries: Creating safe havens that foster self-expression and exploration.
• Fostering Generative Connections: Encouraging meaningful relationships among participants, mentors, and the broader community.
• Highlighting Meaningful Pathways: Guiding youth toward future opportunities in the arts and beyond.
• Promoting Cultural Visibility: Ensuring that diverse cultural narratives are represented and celebrated.
• Emphasizing Equity Intentionality: Addressing systemic inequities to create inclusive and accessible programs.

By embodying these characteristics, CCYA programs not only support the current well-being of youth but also pave the way for their future success. Participants, their families, and teaching artists have reported that these programs play a pivotal role in fostering both immediate well-being and long-term development.

In an environment where funding and support for traditional school-based arts education is diminishing, especially in under-resourced communities, CCYA programs fill a crucial gap. They offer culturally relevant and community-rooted arts experiences that empower youth, affirm their identities, and equip them with valuable skills.

For a comprehensive understanding of the study and its findings, check out the full report. It provides deeper insights into how arts programs can serve as catalysts for positive youth development, particularly for communities of color.

Young people are more likely to reach their education, career, and life goals when they are surrounded by a web of supportive relationships that provide access to opportunities and resources. This web of support is called social capital, and it is a critical element in young people’s positive development. Search Institute defines social capital as the resources that arise from a web of developmental relationships, which youth can access and use to pursue their goals.

Previous research on social capital shows that young people with higher levels of social capital tend to report greater progress toward education and career goals, more of a commitment to paying it forward to others, and a greater sense of collective efficacy to change education and employment systems to be more equitable.

Mentors and Social Capital
Mentors may be well-positioned to support youth social capital. Mentors can be important connections for young people as they learn about themselves and the world around them. The Positioning Mentors as Social Capital Builders report examines the role of adult mentors in supporting young people’s social capital development. The project is ongoing, and findings from the first phase of the project provide a snapshot of the experiences of young people and mentors in three Big Brothers Big Sisters agency partner sites.

Strong Developmental Mentoring Relationships
One way mentors can support young people’s social capital is by forming developmental relationships. To build these strong relationships, mentors can engage in actions and practices that align with five critical elements. These are the five elements that make up Search Institute’s Developmental Relationships Framework:

• Express care (show young people they matter).
• Challenge growth (challenge young people to be their best).
• Provide support (help young people accomplish goals and tasks).
• Share power (listen to young people and take them seriously).
• Expand possibilities (connect young people with new experiences and opportunities).

When we asked young people in the Positioning Mentors as Social Capital Builders project about their experiences with mentors, a high percentage of them (77%–86%) reported that they often or almost always experienced the five elements of a developmental relationship with their mentor.

High-quality relationships with caring adult mentors are an important strand in the web of developmental relationships that help young people learn who they are and pursue their academic, career, and life goals.

Mentors are positioned to support young people’s social capital development by nurturing their confidence, providing opportunities for them to practice relational skills, investing in relationships with people already in their web of support (e.g., family members), and helping to facilitate new connections and opportunities as they pursue their life goals. 

Search Institute’s Youth Opportunity Toolkit is a free tool designed to help organizations learn more about the transformative role of developmental relationships in the lives of young people, and gain insight into the benefits of social capital. Explore the toolkit here.

OST programs are critical environments for supporting young people’s healthy growth and development. One opportunity organizations have is to promote social capital, the resources and supports that help young people define and pursue their life goals. Whether you are working toward youth academic and education success, career and workforce readiness, social-emotional learning, or youth voice and agency, social capital can be integrated into the fabric of your organization.

Rooted in a web of supportive relationships, social capital becomes critically important in middle school and through high school and young adulthood, as they prepare to work towards their postsecondary goals.

Search Institute’s Social Capital Framework is based on research-backed principles that have been shown to support young people’s social capital development. Applying this framework can help organizations learn ways to strengthen social capital and maximize the opportunity to become a social capital promoting organization.

What Is Social Capital?
Search Institute defines social capital as the resources that arise from a web of relationships, which young people can access and mobilize as they pursue their life goals.

More simply, it’s the web of support that young people have in their lives— the relationships, connections, opportunities, and resources that can help young people as they work toward their education, career, or life goals.

Becoming a Social Capital Promoting Organization
Search Institute’s decades of research and practice have taught us that developmental relationships are key for young people’s positive development. Social capital is a way of focusing on not just the one-to-one relationships with individuals, but the web of relationships that surround young people.

A social capital promoting organization is an organization or program that is committed and intentional about infusing meaningful relationships that provide resources and opportunities throughout the entire organization and beyond in an effort to support young people’s social capital development.

How is your organization supporting social capital today? Are there areas of opportunity to explore? Search Institute’s Youth Opportunity Toolkit is a free tool designed to help organizations gain insight into the benefits of social capital while introducing the key components to support leaders and practitioners in getting started on a pathway to becoming a social capital promoting organization. Explore the toolkit here.

How do afterschool and summer programs best recruit, train, and retain OST staff delivering STEM activities? Help the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) find out! NIOST needs to hear from as many Program Directors around the country as possible. We know the results of the survey will positively impact and enhance OST STEM. Take the survey here.

Last month, the American Institutes for research, with support from The Wallace Foundation, released the first report from their six-year Texas Summer Learning Study. In collaboration with the state education agency and partners, the study takes a close look at how Texas is drawing from research about summer learning to support strong programming in the state.

CLICK TO READ THE REPORT.

The first report shows how the Texas Education Agency used a competitive grant program to help districts design and run their summer offerings according to evidence-backed principles. Key takeaways from this portion of the study include:

• The work in Texas suggests that state policies can drive strong summer programming, especially when those policies are bolstered by funding, planning tools, and technical assistance.
• The state’s planning program is flexible, allowing districts to make decisions based on their readiness and community needs.
• Districts perceive individualized technical assistance to be a key to designing and running effective summer programs.
• Drawing on existing research, AIR identified ten principles for summer programs with an academic goal, including operating programs for elementary-age youth for at least 25 days and providing a mix of academics and enrichment activities.

Have you checked out our latest issue of AfterSchool Today magazine yet? This issue dives into deeply personal experiences, workplace accommodations, and best practices for supporting and celebrating neurodiversity in our workforce and in the young people we serve.

Meeta Sharma-Holt’s article, “Adjusting Environments for Neurodiverse Young People” opens this issue, as she explores her time with a neurodivergent young person in her program, her experience with her own children, and what she has learned about how to create environments that are more inclusive of all young people.

CLICK TO READ.

In the coming weeks, NAA will release our latest resource, the Out-of-School Time Guide to Inclusive Environments for Young People. Written and produced in partnership with Sharma-Holt, the guide will serve as a foundation for ensuring equity in how OST services are provided to neurodivergent children (i.e., children with ADD, dyslexia, and other learning differences.) It does not replace dialogue or more research but is a starting point to get us thinking and acting. We can’t wait to share this critical resource with you!

Summer is officially here, and for many students, it's an opportunity to catch up on academics in a stigma-free environment through enriching summer programs. Unlike traditional summer school, today's summer programs often offer credit recovery, high-impact tutoring, project-based learning, and summer bridge initiatives that help students address unfinished learning caused by the pandemic.

In the wake of COVID-19, the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds provided a much-needed financial boost for educational initiatives, including summer programs. Nearly $125 billion was allocated in 2021 to help school districts navigate the pandemic's educational challenges and address learning loss. However, these funds are dwindling, creating a need for sustainable strategies to continue supporting students.

Commissioned by the Wallace Foundation, research by EdTrust highlights three key strategies that are proven to boost student learning and set children on the right path of meeting high academic standards:

• Targeted tutoring
• Expanded learning time
• Teachers building strong relationships with their students

By using these strategies over the course of the pandemic, teachers have effectively been able to equitably address unfinished learning. And by focusing on individualized learning plans, using high-quality curricula, and dedicating resources to lower student-to-teacher ratios, school leaders have been able to cultivate supportive and engaging learning environments to foster academic growth.

Additional research conducted by the RAND Corporation and commissioned by the Wallace Foundation reveals that 81% of school districts offered summer programs in 2023, including all urban districts serving predominantly students of color. Key strategies that proved effective included targeted tutoring, expanded learning time, and strong teacher-student relationships. Evidence-based approaches integrating academics with enrichment activities significantly boosted attendance and engagement.

The study also highlighted areas for improvement, such as extending summer programs beyond four weeks and starting planning earlier in the academic year to enhance communication, staffing, and overall program quality.

Summer programs represent a promising solution for addressing unfinished learning and fostering academic growth in a supportive and engaging environment — and OST leaders and advocates must continue to recognize the value of investing in summer programming as a way to strengthen year-round learning.

Out-of-school time (OST) learning providers are continuously grappling with the challenge of meeting the needs of our audience in a world where change is constant. How do we prepare learners to recognize the role they play in shaping change? Recent advances in science and technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), have reiterated the need for learners to understand that these advances can benefit and harm society and to question and interrogate how and why. As OST learning providers, where do we begin in working toward helping learners build this understanding?

The New York Hall of Science (NYSCI), a science museum in Queens, New York City, has been tackling these challenges by providing learners with exploratory avenues to develop STEM mindsets and practices while investigating emerging science topics. One example of how we do this is through digital tools like the Pack, an open-world game where players utilize their character, the Avatar, to traverse a fictional barren land in search of creatures with functions such as dig, move, bump, and repeat that can be combined into algorithms to help them solve problems and restore balance to the world of Algos.

Open-world games like the Pack provide diverse entry points for learners with differing skill levels and interests in emerging science topics like AI and machine learning to practice computational thinking skills which are the critical thinking processes involved in formulating a problem and expressing its solution in a way that a computer—human or machine—can effectively carry out (Wing, 2005; 2012). Learners are invited to develop these skills in the context of engaging problems they can define their own divergent solutions to. The flexible environment of the game enables learners to practice skills like defining problems and breaking them into smaller parts, developing sequences or algorithms to perform tasks, and finding patterns with simpler problems and applying that knowledge to more complex ones.

As part of a United States Department of Education Education Innovation and Research award, NYSCI and project partners Participate and American Institutes for Research spent the past five years working with museum visitors, students, and teachers across New York City to study how best to implement the Pack across formal and informal settings and enhance the game. As a result of this work, NYSCI developed a host of useful resources including:

• Activity Guide that helps educators support student learning and discourse
• Educator Orientation Module to help educators get started with creatively implementing the Pack
• Game Guide for players to learn all about the world of Algos and its whimsical creatures

With AI dominating conversations in science and technology spaces, it is imperative to find ways for our audiences to critically shift their relationships with computers and develop agency in training machines by telling them what to do. Games like the Pack, which slow down the computing process by having learners create the algorithms for solving novel problems they encounter in the space, essentially training the computer, make the invisible part of the coding process visible.

The Pack and associated resources are freely available at: https://nysci.org/the-pack

Contributed by Laycca Umer, Manager of Research, Exhibits, and Programs at the New York Hall of Science.

Last fall, the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) held a convening on the persistent issues facing girls and women in STEM — with the goal of an action plan that would improve the representation and experiences of women and girls in STEM.

The convening identified several major themes: the importance of centering girls’ voices and valuing girls’ unique experiences, learning from existing efforts rather than reinventing the wheel, connecting diverse sectors through collaboration, shifting the dialogue about STEM to focus on inspiring curiosity in STEM and changing the messaging about math, and acknowledging the important role corporations play in community engagement.

Five major recommendations resulted from these these conversations and aim to make real change in the field for girls and women:

1. Create a program to acknowledge corporations who support girls and women in STEM.
2. Build capacity of corporations to collaborate with and support K-12 STEM education efforts.
3. Develop a new model for illustrating the complex influences on girls and women in STEM.
4. Develop and disseminate a comprehensive report on the state of girls and young women in STEM.
5. Create an online clearinghouse focused on gender equity and STEM initiatives and resources.

For more information on the goals and progress of each initiative and to read the annual State of Girls in STEM Report, click here.

In December, NAA released the revised Core Knowledge, Skills, and Competencies (CKSC) Self-Assessment Tool. A companion piece to the recently revised CKSCs, this latest version includes a series of workbooks, one for each CKSC content area. The workbooks encourage OST professionals to build their professional skills and competencies through reflection on practice, creating professional development plans, and embarking on a continuous professional development cycle.

The Self-Assessment Tools empower OST managers and employees to assess their knowledge and skills based on the competencies outlined in the NAA Core Knowledge, Skills, and Competencies for OST Professionals. The Self-Assessment Tools are organized by content areas and allow OST professionals to reflect on practice, create professional development plans, and build skills and competencies.

On Tuesday, Dec. 12, NAA hosted the webinar “Utilizing NAA’s Core Knowledge, Skills, and Competencies (CKSCs) and Self-Assessment Tool,” co-presented with Jen Curry of Change Impact. The webinar introduced the workbooks and encouraged practical application of the CKSCs and self-assessments in work ranging from program development to hiring practices and everything in between. To view the webinar recording please click here.

We encourage all OST professionals to use this workbook to assess areas of strength and opportunity and determine professional development plans. The Assess, Reflect, Plan & Grow process helps determine what professional development supports continued growth as a youth development professional. Work through one Content Area (e.g., Child/Youth Growth and Development) at a time or focus on just a few specific Content Areas or competency statements.

Download the full self-assessment or individual content areas here.

In early 2023, 10 OST professionals were selected out of hundreds of applicants to join the inaugural Achievery Learning Cohort, a project of the National AfterSchool Association and AT&T. These talented individuals were tasked with developing tools for the field of youth development and afterschool to help leverage online resources like The Achievery by AT&T. Since their first meeting at NAA23 in March, the cohort learned with and from with peers about strategies for finding, adapting, and implementing free online resources. 

On Nov. 14 and 15, 2023, cohort members will present their solutions and customized uses for The Achievery. Use the links below to register for the webinars to see what the cohort has been working on!

Tuesday, Nov. 14, 10 - 11:30 a.m. EST: Adaptations and Learning Access
Brittney Jones and Alexandra Hall will take you through:

• Strategies for integrating digital learning in SEL for middle school youth
• Leveraging sensory toolkits with young school-agers using the Achivery platform

Click here to register for Adaptations and Learning Access on Nov. 14

Tuesday, Nov. 14, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. EST: Student Voice and Families
Join Alexis Lopez and It-Xetl Salas as they highlight:

• A Virtual Activity Recommendation Engine powered by The Achievery
• Questions for staff and families to help young people reflect on their digital learning experience
  

Click here to register for Student Voice and Families on Nov. 14

Wednesday, Nov. 15, 12:30 - 2 p.m. EST: Supporting Staff

Ebony Burnett, Carrie Lienemann, Jasmine Castleberry, Lavasia Bullard, Sheila James, and Kate Aubin will cover a wide range of resources including:

• The OST Tech Ready Website
• Facilitation guide to support afterschool staff who use online curriculum during in-person programming
• A Universal Student Reflection tool to extend the learning beyond whole group engagement with digital resources
• Website Resources for Staff: a one-stop shop for lesson ideas
• SEL Activities for OST Staff, including a lesson plan template
• Playlists of Achievery content around computer science and career exploration to support individual learning

Click here to register for Supporting Staff on Nov. 15

Time will be provided for some Q & A with the cohort members, so register today and join the conversation!

2023 Cohort Members:

• Kate Aubin, Head of Youth Services at Providence Public Library
• LaVasia Bullard, Regional Program Director at Horizons Atlanta
• Ebony Burnett, Senior Association Youth Development Director at YMCA of Greensboro
• Jasmine Castleberry, Manager of Federal Programs and Compliance at Harris County Department of Education
• Alexandra Hall, Community Development Liaison at Charity Cares Inc.
• Sheila James, MGM / STEM Specialist at Ohio Afterschool Network
• Brittney Jones of The AnBryce Foundation
• Carrie Lienemann, NPPS Kids Klub Afterschool & Summer Program Director at North Platte Public Schools
• Alexis Lopez, Program Manager at Project Invent
• It-Xetl Salas, Project Director at the East Austin College Preparatory At Mlk
  

About The Achievery:

In the ever-evolving landscape of youth development, the emphasis on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) has taken center stage. SEL equips youth with a range of skills that extend beyond academics, fostering emotional intelligence, empathy, and resilience. These skills are vital for navigating the complexities of life and for achieving holistic success. In this third installment of our series, we delve into the practical aspects of creating a successful SEL-focused youth development program by harnessing the power of youth development professionals while using the Achievery digital learning platform.

The Role of Youth Development Professionals

A youth development professional's responsibility extends beyond instruction. You have the unique opportunity to create safe and inclusive environments, build meaningful relationships, design and implement programs, and provide support and guidance to the youth that come through your doors.  Whether you realize this or not, the youth are watching you. They look to you to see what is and is not acceptable. While you have an invested audience, remember to model the SEL skills you want youth to build.

Youth development professionals are living examples of SEL skills in action. By modeling empathy, self-regulation, and effective communication, you inspire young people to develop and apply these skills in their lives. In essence, youth development professionals are not just educators; you are mentors, guides, and champions of holistic development. Your role in building SEL skills in youth is instrumental in helping young people become emotionally intelligent, resilient, and socially adept, setting them on a path towards lifelong success.

Designing a Comprehensive SEL-focused Program

Incorporating SEL into your programs is not just a trend, but a fundamental step towards achieving the goal of helping youth build their SEL skills. The heart of your programs lies in its staff and curriculum. Integrating the Achievery’s activities seamlessly into your curriculum helps foster consistent skill development with youth. Youth are more likely to remain engaged when learning is interactive, relevant, and empowering, all of which the Achievery facilitates. The Achievery can serve as an invaluable partner in this journey to SEL skill development.

Incorporating a digital platform like the Achievery into your program may come with challenges, such as ensuring accessibility for all participants and addressing potential technological barriers. However, the benefits outweigh these concerns.  The inaugural Achievery Learning Cohort has been exploring potential challenges and coming up with solutions for how to best utilize the Achievery in a variety of OST contexts.

The 3 overarching themes they are exploring are outlined below along with the questions that are guiding their solutions:

●      Supporting Staff - How can we ensure that the online resources add value to OST programs and support staff rather than hinder their efforts? What supports are there to ensure that Social Emotional Learning components are carried throughout online lesson ideas? How can we ensure that online resources are easily accessible to OST facilitators especially those who are not subject matter experts such as older youth, paraprofessionals or even families.

●      Adaptations and Learning Access - How do we create online resources that consider the needs of all students including those with disabilities or need accommodations. How do we ensure that online resources can be differentiated to meet the needs of our students at their learning level.

●      Student Voice and Families - How can we ensure that the voices of youth and families are being considered when designing or implementing online resources? How can online learning resources provide students and families with agency on what they are learning?

Save the dates of November 14 and 15, 2023 to find out the answers to these questions as the cohort members present their solutions and customized uses for the Achievery. Use the links below to register for the webinars

Nov. 14: 10-11:30 a.m. EST: Adaptations and Learning Access
Nov. 14: 1-2 p.m. EST: Student Voice and Families
Nov. 15: 12:30-2 p.m.: Supporting Staff

Paving the Path for Lifelong Success

As we conclude this series, the synergy between Social-Emotional Learning and the Achievery becomes apparent. By fostering SEL skills through the Achievery, we equip youth not only for their current challenges, but for the complexities they will encounter as they grow.

The Achievery is a useful tool that brings SEL skills to youth in refreshing ways. Aiding youth development professionals in creating a vibrant and transformative learning experience. Embrace this powerful combination to empower youth, ensuring they step confidently into a future brimming with possibilities.

In the realm of youth development, nurturing Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) skills has emerged as a cornerstone for cultivating well-rounded individuals. These skills encompass self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. As we continue our series, we delve into the transformative potential of the Achievery digital learning platform in enhancing SEL skill development. 

A Glimpse into the Achievery: Where Technology Meets SEL

The Achievery is more than just a tool; it's a catalyst for engagement and growth. This platform's activities seamlessly align with the principles of SEL, creating a holistic learning environment that nurtures both cognitive and emotional development.

Empowering Self-Awareness and Self-Management

The Achievery harnesses the power of multimedia and robust partnerships to make the process of self-discovery and emotional regulation engaging for youth. Through interactive exercises, and reflective writing prompts, participants embark on a journey of self-awareness. This process lays the foundation for effective self-management as youth learn to recognize their emotions, triggers, and develop strategies to navigate them constructively.

Fostering Social Awareness and Relationship Skills

One of the hallmarks of the Achievery is its interactive modules. The lesson plans accompanying each activity give guidance on providing spaces for practicing empathy, communication, and collaboration. Participants are immersed in scenarios that require them to navigate various social dynamics. Whether it's resolving conflicts, active listening, or working in teams, these activities mimic real-life situations and equip youth with essential social awareness and relationship-building skills.

Guiding Responsible Decision-Making through Scenario-Based Learning

Responsible decision-making is a crucial aspect of SEL that prepares youth to make thoughtful choices in both personal and academic spheres. The Achievery's strength lies in its scenario-based learning, where participants are presented with realistic dilemmas. This immersive approach challenges youth to critically analyze situations, weigh potential outcomes, and make ethical choices. By practicing decision-making in a supportive environment, participants build the confidence to handle real-life challenges more effectively.

Catering the Achievery to Your Needs

The true power of the Achievery lies within its robust partnerships with collaborators and use of multimedia to provide youth with relatable content. The Achievery provides a presorted list of SEL activities and modules or you can hone in on specific SEL skills using filters. To take full advantage of all the Achievery has to offer, using the”All Units” menu in the website’s top navigation bar is key. This allows you to narrow your activity search by grade level, title, topic, sub-topic, Common Core Standards, media type, and collaborator.

SEL is a multidisciplinary topic and can be found in activities ranging from coding to financial literacy. However, if you are looking for activities that are explicitly SEL, watch this video to learn how to set your filters. Once you have your filters set, try selecting different collaborators to see which activities you think will resonate most with youth in your program. 

Create an account to get started with a couple of SEL activities from a variety of the Achievery collaborators.

Road Trip Nation

https://www.theachievery.com/en/content/unit/find-your-interests 

·      Grades 6 - 12

https://www.theachievery.com/en/content/unit/shedding-the-noise 

·      Grades 9 -12

Weird Enough Productions
https://www.theachievery.com/en/content/unit/we-bare-bears

·      Grades 3 - 4 

https://www.theachievery.com/en/content/unit/one-piece 

·      Grades 6 - 8

Warner Bros.

https://www.theachievery.com/en/content/unit/smallfoot-unit-1

·      Grades 3 - 5 

https://www.theachievery.com/en/content/unit/tom-and-jerry-unit 

·      Grades 3 - 5 

Nurturing SEL Skills through Innovative Means

The Achievery merges technology with the principles of SEL, creating a dynamic space where youth can flourish emotionally, socially, and academically. The platform's interactive modules, and scenario-based learning serve as catalysts for nurturing self-awareness, empathy, and responsible decision-making.

As youth development professionals, we have an opportunity to co-create the future by equipping youth with the skills they need to thrive. The Achievery is an ideal companion to both in-person and virtual programs. It is an example of the synergy between technology and social-emotional learning, offering a new way for youth to holistically grow their SEL skills. 

Join us for the final installment of our SEL series as we talk about SEL skill development and collaboration.

Co-hort

Noun

A group of people with a shared characteristic

Usage: The co- in cohort is not a prefix signifying a joint or auxiliary relationship; a band of people with a common interest.

Our common interest is OST and finding ways to vet the multitude of online resources available to us, if we just have the time to devote to this process. Our common theme is that we wear many hats and the need for more time in our lives becomes increasingly overwhelming, especially as the expectation for high quality OST is in high demand.

When we first began this process I was thinking with too wide of a lens and trying to create a tool that would help everyone in the OST space. I had to look closer to home, and create something that would solve issues for MY staff, and MY after school program. My immediate thought was our need for quicker access to high quality PD and programming tools for my high school and college aged staff members.

I am working with our tech department to update my website within our district’s website to include links to The Achievery, and many other online resources I have spent time vetting over the past few months. This way, staff can assess their needs by time frame, PD needs, grade level, and length of time for the lesson. This will eliminate random online searches and the use of Pinterest for lessons by being more efficient.

The feedback I have received from staff who tested The Achievery website have been positive, here is one example: ‘The Achievery website was very easy to navigate. Exploring the lesson plans and learning the activities was fun and full of information. I also liked that I could type in grade level, academic standard, media type, subject or collaborator. I had many lesson plans to choose from. The selection of content was not overwhelming to research and find. I enjoyed that a video went along with the lessons, and I could print off the lesson plan. I was able to get prepared and familiarize myself with the plans before I taught the lesson.”

Our Programming Coordinator and I will provide PD opportunities and training for our staff to utilize our new webpage resources as well as create supply request forms and feedback forms in our staff google folders.

Written by Achievery Learning Cohort member Carrie Lienemann with North Platte Public Schools.

The end of the school year has come and gone, and summer days of camp, bug spray and pool time are here. Despite the hustle and bustle of this time of year, the Achievery Cohort members pop into their fourth meeting one by one equipped with smiles and waving hands. Everyone exchanges greetings and talks of the weather - and boy, its hot out there! While programs in the Pacific Northwest carefully await the end of school for a couple more weeks, the East Coast members share details and stories about the beginnings of summer.

During this meeting, our members took the time to pitch their project ideas in small groups to garner feedback, areas for growth and resources. From websites to lesson plans to quizzes and playlists, these OST professionals are hard at work with the initial planning and designing phase of their projects. This meeting also served as a time to take up space and connect in community for all members. As folks tuned in from across the country, they all came together in the buzz of ideas and progress towards working prototypes! Members also spent time in small working groups, exploring deeper into the themes of Students & Families, Supporting Staff and Adaptations & Learning. Finally, the group explored some of the resources at the Afterschool Tech Toolkit.

Stay along for the journey, as our next monthly update will include progress updates on testing project ideas and implementing key findings from other OST professionals amongst The Achievery cohort member’s communities. You can also experience the Achievery for yourself here.

Written by Achievery Learning Cohort member Alexis Lopez with Project Invent.

Many young people consider community-based organizations, like yours, a home away from home. Whether your organization is local or within a national network, you give students a safe place to go after school, on weekends, and during summer vacations. Today, organizations are increasingly incorporating science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities into their program offerings and providing opportunities for students to grow new skills. Community-based organizations like the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, YMCA, Girl Scouts, 4-H, and local nonprofits can introduce young people to STEM ideas and engagement activities that are not always available in their homes and schools.

Through working with afterschool service providers in underserved communities to implement our PreK-12 robotics programs, FIRST® has identified some lessons learned to help any community organization open STEM pathways for all students.

Read more about these tips for bringing inclusive STEM engagement to young people in your community.

At FIRST, we are committed to bringing our team-based PreK-12 robotics programs to the students who can benefit from them the most. We’re constantly developing new strategies to create greater, more equitable access, and to help every child succeed. For more on our commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, visit firstinspires.org/diversity.

Contributed by: Vinnie Rodino, FIRST Director of School Engagement