Providers 

The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) was founded 27 years ago to improve the lives and outcomes of traditionally underserved youth. AYPF founder, Sam Halperin, wrote in the seminal report, The Forgotten Half: Pathways to Success for America’s Youth and Young Families, that underserved youth face multiple obstacles that hinder their life prospects. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the harsh reality that not enough has changed to effectively address their needs, that are exacerbated by the crisis.  

AYPF applauds efforts to collect and catalog resources for parents and practitioners scrambling to rise to the challenges of the pandemic. Education leaders are providing meals and educational resources for parents attempting to create a home-based learning environment for their children. Health care leaders are offering support to help children and youth manage their stress. And efforts are underway in multiple sectors to ensure that families can provide safe and secure housing for children and youth.  

AYPF offers additional tools and resources designed for traditionally underserved youth, who are struggling to meet current needs while managing the emerging needs during the pandemic. Please add to the list and email additional resources to ensure this list, to the extent possible, is helpful and relevant.  

During this time of social distancing, you can continue to advance your skills with various styles of professional development. There are options such as taking a course through Cypherworx (free through HCDE’s CASE for Kids), viewing webinars from NAA, Afterschool Alliance, CASEL and Share My Lesson or just watching OST and SEL best practice videos and reflecting on ways to improve your interactions with youth. Many of these organizations are offering access to their materials free to ensure that OST professionals continue to learn and grow professionally during social distancing. Please consider joining one of the membership organizations in the future to express your appreciation.

Cypherworx is an online professional development platform where you can access a variety of courses, 24/7.  CASE for Kids offers you the opportunity to access this resource for free!  All courses have been approved for clock hours by the Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System.  Take a 36-hour school age certificate series, access early childhood courses, and explore workshops on non-profit operations or health and safety matters.   Enroll here and get learning!  Contact Kathy Evans at [email protected] with questions.

Webinars on demand or scheduled:
CASE for Kids offers a webinar series to offer different teaching strategies to implement in afterschool and summer programs. Webinar topics include literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional learning (SEL) integration. Each webinar is 15-25 minutes in length and can be viewed at any time. Our presenter is Dr. Cedric B. Stewart is an educational practitioner and consultant. He has over 22 years of experience working in public urban education settings. He specializes in behavioral interventions and special educational instructional methodologies designed to impact students ‘ academic and behavioral progress. Topics range from behavior management and SEL concepts o reading and numeracy strategies in OST. These webinars help to meet the training requirement for Select Service providers. Click here to access the list of available webinars on page 14 of the 2020 Spring Training calendar.

Afterschool Alliance offers a searchable database of webinars. Topics range from summer learning to youth voice, bullying, programming ideas and resources for OST field leaders. Access their webinars, to enhance your work in the field.

CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning) has launched CASEL Cares, an initiative that connects SEL community with experts to discuss how SEL can be helpful in the current situation and in the future. Topics are developing and a recorded version of “Strategies for being your Best SELf” is available. Click here to access recorded webinars and see schedule for live webinars in April.

NAA (National Afterschool Association) understands that it is essential that OST leaders understand and develop their own social and emotional competencies. This webinar series offers tips on developing SEL curriculum and guides leaders on how to assess their own EQ.

Sandford Harmony offers webinars focused on relevant topics in education. These engaging webinars help inform educators about social emotional learning and provide practical SEL strategies that can be used in schools and organizations across the world. Click here for recorded webinars and to see upcoming scheduled webinars in April.

Share My Lesson is pleased to offer educators free access to the 42 webinars that were just presented at their virtual conference. Explore topics such as trauma informed practices, STEM, equity in education and SEL. Register here to access these informative webinars focused on relevant topics in PK-12 education.

Videos to watch and reflect:

Nation at Hope shares videos that they produced in collaboration with Edutopia to show how schools and classrooms across the country are supporting their students’ social, emotional, and academic growth. Watch these videos to explore what we know from research about how learning happens and how that knowledge can be translated into practices and strategies for students at all ages and stages.

Smithsonian Institute, Good Thinking offers short videos that include ideas on teaching science through brain research driven instruction. Click here to watch these fun and informative videos on best practices for teaching science.

Temescal Associates is dedicated to building the capacity of leaders and organizations in education and youth development who are serious about improving the lives of young people. Click here to see the 1-hour documentary on the history of afterschool and to see video presentations from past How Kids Learn Conferences.

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, afterschool and youth programs are having to quickly adjust. This survey was developed to gather information and share the results back with providers, afterschool leaders, advocates and funders. We estimate that this survey will take about 8 minutes to complete. We greatly appreciate you taking the time to complete this survey. Please complete before April 9, 2020.

Visit the Learning in Afterschool Blog’s website.

Arjun Sethi, community activist, law professor and author of American Hate: Survivors Speak Out will be facilitating an open webinar on policing, surveillance, and its impact on communities of color. Racial profiling, predictive policing, facial recognition, NSA surveillance, and other trends and practices will be discussed and covered. The webinar is free and open to all Thursday, April 2, 3:00-4:30 pm EST. The conversation is introductory, no background knowledge required. Please find flier below and registration link here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/vpQtc-muqD8oyZO0O74hiRiKSaRrgSwhhg

Volunteer Houston invites nonprofit leaders to participate in a discussion about Virtual Volunteerism. How does it work? What tools exist? How to pivot from in-person to virtual. Open to any and all nonprofit leaders free of charge Monday, April 6th 1-2pm. Please REGISTER IN ADVANCE. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Link here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/u50kd-igqDkiS6vLCQ2I6eb2lCFCtfn8mw

Institute for Spirituality and Health (ISH) is announcing mind, body, and skills virtual groups and workshops to reduce anxiety, foster togetherness and promote self-care. To increase resilience and promote well-being during this unprecedented time please access offerings via their website.

March 27th 11:00-12:00 pm

The Alliance is bringing together education stakeholders across our network to connect with one another regarding the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. This conversation is for organizations that partner with schools to provide mental health services. Broadly, we will focus our conversation on two main areas: 

• Funding, policy, and advocacy  
• Supporting students, families, and practitioners  

This session will discuss the specific challenges and barriers that you’re facing right now so that we can crowdsource emerging solutions, and so the Alliance can lift up your voices in our advocacy efforts. Participants will be invited to share key updates, helpful resources, and stories of resilience and innovation during this time. Information

On March 31, 3-4:30 p.m. ET, join Senior Program Manager Dan Torres, Chief Science Officer Ellen Galinsky and Senior Manager, Mind in the Making, Erin Ramsey — as they present Mind in the Making and Vroom. These two programs are using the science of early brain development to help families turn everyday activities into Skill Building Opportunities and Brain Building Moments. They will also discuss how to use these resources during this public health care crisis.

For much of the past decade, Vroom and Mind in the Making have been collaborating to share the science of early brain development with families in creative ways. Today, they are leveraging their vast resources and tailoring messages and information to best support children and families during the pandemic. These science-based resources are important in the best of times and especially critical in times like today. As child care centers, schools and libraries across the country close their doors to prevent the further spreading of COVID-19, parents and caregivers are at home with their young children and hungry for knowledge and tools to help their children succeed. Register here.

We have set-up an opportunity for you and your program leadership (i.e. directors, managers, coordinators, etc.) to participate in dialogue with colleagues across the city regarding the impact and challenges of COVID-19. We are hosting a virtual Listening Session. We know there is a strong desire to connect with one and other, and we are using Listening Sessions as a tool to fulfill that need.
The call will be recorded to be reviewed later if you’re unable to join live. Please RSVP here, you will receive call information prior to the call. If possible, please join us using a device that will allow you to utilize the chat feature and share screen.

Thursday, April 2^nd
1:30-3:00 pm
Topic: Education and Out-of- School Time
Moderator: Tiffany Echevarria