Professional Development

As employees and human beings, staff members want to feel valuable and valued.

As employees and human beings, staff members want to feel valuable and valued.

Experts agree that a key ingredient in getting young people really engaged in afterschool or out-of-school time programs is giving youth opportunities to develop as leaders. Service is another key ingredient that's intimately linked to leadership—like two sides of a coin, the coin of self-efficacy.

Part of my job at NAA is to communicate the importance of quality.

Still not comfortable with the reality of millennials in the workplace? You may get your mind blown by the Generation Z cohort—your next class of interns. According to Forbes, Generation Z made up 25 percent of the U.S. population in 2015, making them a larger cohort than baby boomers or millennials.

In many learning communities, one of the biggest challenges facing the afterschool profession is the process of aligning programs with the regular school day. Conceptualization of an aligned learning day involves sharing a mission, vision, turf, resources, and core beliefs about where children and youth can learn.

In the 1950s, acclaimed journalist Edward R. Murrow hosted a radio show titled This I Believe.

Be one of the few, the proud, the playful! 

Join the Play Ambassadors program help spread the word about the value of play.

The National AfterSchool Association and The Genius of Play, an initiative to raise awareness about the benefits of play, are excited to announce this special opportunity for our Executive Members.

Youth development professionals can tell when youth are engaged in a meaningful and challenging activity.

Effective problem solving requires viewing situations from several angles.