Teaching ethics is an often-debated topic. How can one present something that is based on values and beliefs? What should ethics conversations be included in staff meetings when we have so many important things to cover? Can ethics even be taught or are they something that is already learned?
In Out-of-School Time, planning for staff development is an important part of the back-to-school season. Staff development is one aspect of job quality that prepares OST professionals to deliver the high-quality programs that ultimately lead to positive youth outcomes. As the professional association for the field, NAA’s mission is to create a strong and valued profession.
Summer is coming to a close and afterschool program planning is well underway. Over the years NAA has created resources to support OST professionals in building high-quality, engaging programs for youth and communities.
As the professional membership association for people who work with and on behalf of youth during Out-of-School Time (OST), the National AfterSchool Association is concerned about ensuring the number of skilled professionals necessary to provide the quality OST programs that kids and families desperately need.
Social wellness is all about nurturing yourself and your relationships with those around you. It is about creating a healthy lifestyle for yourself, your loved ones, your colleagues, and your communities. Improving social wellness can be as simple as making time to connect with family, friends, co-workers, and others in your life or being active within your community or where you work. Social wellness is directly linked to job quality and overall health.
The NAA Code of Ethics for OST Professionals was first published in 2009 then reviewed with an equity lens and revised in 2022. The purpose is to raise awareness of OST professional personal commitments to ethical conduct as we carry out our responsibilities.
One of the key ways we can sustain and bring even more attention and support to summer learning programs and the incredible professionals working in them is to collectively celebrate National Summer Learning Week, July 11-15 across the country.
July is National Parks & Recreation Month and our friends at National Recreation and Parks Association have created some resources to help you celebrate. This year we are rising up for all the professionals who help build strong and resilient communities, many of those professionals work with youth in out-of-school time. So this month we celebrate you!
In case you missed it, industry experts from BellXcel recently hosted a webinar that revealed strategies to best showcase the impact of your program.
Over the next five years, National Afterschool Association (NAA) will partner with Education Development Centers to improve the health and well-being of youth and staff in OST programs, focusing on populations most impacted by health disparities. These include Black and Hispanic children and youth, individuals with physical and health disabilities, and youth experiencing health disparities due to sexual and gender identity.
National AfterSchool Association • 2961A Hunter Mill Road, #626 • Oakton, VA 22124 • info@naaweb.org