Although our work varies, we all have an interest in bolstering our community.  One-way United Way of Greater Houston does this is through the release of the ALICE report.  The ALICE report provides county-by-county and community-level data including analysis of how many households are struggling and the obstacles ALICE households face on the road to financial independence.   The ALICE Report provides the data we need to better understand the daily tough choices and risks those struggling to make ends meet must take in today’s economy and unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.

Join us for the Data and Dish series where we will feature the 2018 data, explore the intersection of ALICE and community issues, including discussion of how to take the data into action to remove obstacles to financial stability, identify gaps in community resources and build data-informed solutions to help ALICE families achieve economic stability. 

All sessions held from 12:00 – 1:00 pm via Zoom video conferencing. 

RSVP for each Data and Dish session.

• Thursday, October 22, 2020 – Overview of 2018 ALICE Report
• Tuesday, November 17, 2020 – Impact of COVID-19 on ALICE
• Tuesday, December 1, 2020 – Financial Hardship and Racial Disparities among ALICE Households
• Tuesday, January 19, 2020 – Understanding the Senior Survival Budget
• Tuesday, February 2, 2021 – The Benefits of Sufficient Income
• Tuesday, March 2, 2021 – ALICE Data for Action

Please direct all questions to Jessica Davison, jdavison@unitedwayhouston.org

Tuesday, September 29, 2020 from 10:30am to 11:30am

Join your OST colleagues online to exchange information, build connections, and problem solve as we adjust to the new normal. CASE for Kids resources will be shared and small work-groups will form around your issues.

REGISTER HERE!

Nonpartisan Advocacy in Partisan Times

September 15, 2020 10:30 AM CST 

Election years provide a great opportunity for public charities to highlight issues and interact with candidates and the voting public. However, public charities cannot support or oppose candidates, and must avoid the appearance or reality of electioneering and other partisan activity, particularly in public and social media communications. This webinar will highlight some common pitfalls and provide suggestions and tips for avoiding them.

Participants will learn:

• How you can continue to advocate for your issues during election years;
• How you can educate the public through candidate forums and questionnaires;
• How you can respond to candidate statements;
• How you can conduct nonpartisan voter registration and ensure get-out-the-vote efforts are conducted legally;
• How you can safely support or oppose ballot measures without being partisan; and
• How staff and volunteers’ partisan activities in their personal time can be kept separate from their activities on behalf of the organization.

REGISTER HERE

Advocacy Rules for Foundation Grantees 

September 29, 2020 10:30 AM CST 

There are many opportunities for 501(c)(3) public charities to advocate for their missions, up to and including lobbying. Knowing how to approach foundations to obtain grants that cover advocacy work can greatly improve a nonprofit’s chances to get and keep this critical funding. This workshop will help you understand the rules that foundations operate under so you can be savvier when it comes to requesting support for advocacy.

Participants will learn:

• Why different types of foundations have to follow different rules;
• How those foundation rules affect advocacy grantmaking; and
• What activities foundations may legally fund.

REGISTER HERE

Assessing and Strengthening Your Advocacy Capacity

October 13, 2020 10:30 AM CST 

For nonprofits engaged in advocacy, having a keen understanding of organizational capacities is crucial to being able to act quickly when opportunities arise. Bolder Advocacy’s capacity assessment tools – ACT!, ACT!Quick, and PowerCheck – are designed to help groups become more effective by supporting their ability to carry out and sustain advocacy and community organizing efforts. These tools provide groups with a snapshot of their organizational assets, as well as help them prioritize areas for improvement. Results can help nonprofits and their funders understand where capacity needs to be strengthened to achieve social change goals, including through increased collaboration with partners to fill gaps in expertise. The tools can also be used again at regular intervals to track progress toward capacity-building goals over time.

Participants will learn:

• Basic principles of advocacy evaluation;
• How to measure advocacy and/or community organizing capacity using AFJ’s free online tools: ACT! or ACT!Quick for advocacy and PowerCheck for community organizing; and
• How other organizations have used these tools to maximize their impact.

REGISTER HERE

Looking for a fun and safe way for youth to learn more about their area’s biodiversity? BioBlitz is the learning experience for you! Join National Geographic staff and educators for a series of free webinars for afterschool and summer time professionals that share resources on exploring biodiversity from home and within your local communities. The webinar series is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Learn more and register at here.

September 1, 2020 10:30 AM — Register here!

501(c)(3)s play an important role in educating the public about policy issues and actions taken by elected officials. Elected officials vote on bills, make public statements and executive decisions, and set the course for public policy on a wide range of issues. These actions may be consistent with or conflict with a nonprofit’s mission. After this workshop you will have a clear understanding of how to maximize your advocacy, the kinds of advocacy activities 501(c)(3)s can engage in, and when a communication is considered lobbying.

Participants will learn:
– How federal tax law and Texas law permit lobbying for charities and how lobbying is defined;
– One easy step most charities can take to maximize the amount they’re allowed to spend on lobbying;
– Yearly lobbying limits for charities;
– Tips for taking advantage of the narrow definitions of lobbying – which will help charities make the most of their lobbying limit; and
– The application of these rules to ballot measure activities.

This year, we have seen the impact COVID-19 has had on afterschool and summer learning programs, and the young people and families who rely on them. In these ever-evolving circumstances, it is important for funders, policy makers, education leaders, and the overall public to understand the current situation, as well as the projections and concerns for the future.

To help make that possible, this is the second in a series of surveys the Afterschool Alliance is conducting to monitor the situation and help provide solutions. For this wave of the survey, the Afterschool Alliance is partnering with the National Summer Learning Association to learn more about how the pandemic has or has not affected your summer programming. The survey should take approximately 10 minutes of your time and your responses will be anonymous. Thank you for sharing information about your program! Please complete this survey.

Nonprofits play a vital role in our state’s economic landscape. In partnership with United Ways of Texas and OneStar Foundation, the United Way Nonprofit Connection is hosting the Built for Texas Convening on Tuesday, August 25. The goal is to introduce leaders from nonprofit, public, and private sectors with data from the newly released report entitled BUILT FOR TEXAS: THE IMPACT AND OPPORTUNITY OF OUR NONPROFIT SECTOR.

With the 2021 legislative session looming, this is the ideal time to promote the overall impact of our sector, engage in nonprofit advocacy (speaking and standing for our missions), and determine how we can best use our collective voices for the good of our communities. Plan now to join your peers and colleagues for this important conversation. You will also receive your copy of the BUILT FOR TEXAS report, a powerful tool for reinforcing the value of your work.

Click here to register

The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging society on every front – social, political, and economic. Disadvantaged youth populations face significant challenges as their already precarious access to resources and supports dwindles and/or vanishes.

This information hub organizes COVID-19 relevant resources by youth population & supports for parents:

• Week 1: Justice-Involved Youth
• Week 2: English Language Learners (ELL)
• Week 3: Youth in Foster Care (updated 8/13/2020)
• Week 4: Rural Populations
• Week 5: First-Generation College Students
• Week 6: Youth with (Dis)abilities
• Week 7: Resources for Parents
• Week 8: Youth Experiencing Homelessness
• Week 9: Social Emotional Learning (SEL) (updated 8/12/2020)
• Week 10: Resources related to Reopening of Schools

We recognize that many young people fall into multiple categories.

NOTE: New resources are added to this information hub on a continuing basis. To view new additions, click on headers with dates designating updated sections, and new resources will be at the top of each bulleted list.

Additionally, check out AYPF’s work on COVID-19:

READYNEWS: News & resources from the Forum and the field about collaborative work to get young people ready by 21.

In this Issue: 
OST Program Quality
Data
Science of Learning and Development
Program Reopening

Disruption Creates Opportunity: We Must Do Better Together
Blog by Karen Pittman and the Readiness Projects Partners

Every aspect of community life has been disrupted, from the economy to the family. Disruptions on multiple fronts have wreaked havoc with young people’s rhythms, relationships, and responsibilities. Coordinated responses are desperately needed, especially among the people, places, and spaces where young people spend their time.

Our teams have reviewed dozens of district re-opening plans and expert guidance and we see two important themes:

• An acknowledgment that experiences and relationships drive learning. This is a basic takeaway of the science of learning and development. When learning is all or partially happening virtually, relationships are different and need to be augmented for children and youth to succeed and thrive. There’s a fundamental equity issue here: with school buildings closed, youth in low-income communities are even more disconnected from the supports and services they need. This calls for more adults from families, afterschool programs, and community partners to connect, support, and advocate for youth.
• An expressed desire from schools and districts (and sometimes funding requirements) to “partner with families and community.” We all know, however, that eloquent language is often followed up with limited execution, sometimes for valid reasons. The missed opportunities for school/community partnership were masked when school was in full swing eight hours a day, five days a week, ten months a year. Now partnership is an imperative. Community partners have assets – buildings, staff, experience, connections – that are making a difference and can be put to better use.

Read more.

OST Program Quality:
Supporting Quality Learning Experiences in Virtual OST
Free Webinar
Thursday, August 13
1:00-2:00 PM EDT

Join a discussion about program quality in virtual summer and afterschool programs with three leading national organizations in the quality improvement, coaching, and measurement space. Questions include:

• How does quality differ in-person and online using established dimensions?
• Do all dimensions matter equally; are new ones needed?
• How should we account for stress in both students and staff?
• Can the frameworks support planning virtual environments? If so, how?

Take advantage of the collective knowledge of three organizations that are leading efforts to support high quality virtual youth programs through continuous improvement approaches.

Panelists include:

• Gil Noam, director of The PEAR Institute
• Georgia Hall, director of the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST)
• Kim Robinson, managing director of the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality and executive vice president of the Forum for Youth Investment

Register now

Data:
2020 KIDS COUNT Data Book Now Available

The 31st edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT® Data Book describes how children across the United States were faring before the coronavirus pandemic began.

This year’s publication continues to deliver the Foundation’s annual state rankings and the latest available data on child well-being based on the latest available data for 16 key indicators. It also identifies multi-year trends – comparing statistics from 2010 to 2018 – the latest year of data available. As always, policymakers, researchers, and advocates can continue using this information to help shape their work and build a stronger future for children, families, and communities.

Data over a recent period of eight or so years reveal encouraging trends in child well-being nationally, with improvements documented in 11 out of the 16 indicators. In 2018, more parents were economically secure and lived without a high housing cost burden. In addition, more teens graduated from high school and delayed childbearing and children’s health insurance coverage continued to be something to celebrate.

Explore the data book.

Science of Learning and Development:
Karen Pittman Explores the Science of Learning and Development in the COVID-19 Era

With so much uncertainty and so little time to reflect, young people across the country- and the adults who care for them- are asking: how can I make meaning of the COVID crisis? To help answer this question, the Science of Learning & Development Alliance has interviewed education leaders to learn how this science can be used to navigate this pandemic and its implications for young people, their communities, and the systems that surround them. 

The Forum’s president and CEO Karen Pittman was recently highlighted in a discussion on how to equip young people with the right set of skills to succeed.

An excerpt:
Q: What’s one piece of concrete advice drawing from the science of learning and development that you would elevate for every educator or other adult supporting young people?
Karen: My advice is to start with relationships, and understand that developmental relationships are more than just caring. It starts with caring, but it really moves through to make sure that young people are cared for and feel that they have a connection. It moves into making sure that young people have a sense of agency, that we’re sharing power with them, that we are really helping them think about how to be challenged and how to grow. But we still have to have the learning component. We still have to have the content. And if you are an adult who is not an official teacher, there is still content that can be delivered. It is important to support them.

Read the interview.
Visit the Making Meaning series page.

Program Reopening:
Afterschool Alliance Releases Guidance for Reopening Programs

As communities and states begin to emerge from lockdowns, afterschool and summer learning programs are developing plans to welcome youth back through their doors. There are significant considerations programs need to undertake in order to successfully and safely reopen. To help afterschool and summer learning programs through this process, the Afterschool Alliance has curated a number of resources, guides, and examples to help develop a plan to safely care for children and youth.

Explore these resources.

A key tool for reopening programs is A School Year Like No Other Demands a New Learning Day: A Blueprint for How Afterschool Programs & Community Partners Can Help. The Forum recently signed on to a statement of support for this blueprint.

If you are providing in-person or virtual programming (on-demand activities or scheduled programming) please add them to the Out 2 Learn website by visiting our List Your Program page. Resources included on the Out 2 Learn website are also used to provide referrals to individuals who call 2-1-1 Texas/ United Way HELPLINE. Let’s leverage the power of 2-1-1 to get the word out to support our community. If you have questions about how to list your program, please contact Krystal Perez or Tiffany Echevarria. See program postings here!

Fundraising is changing rapidly. If you are relying on outdated approaches to securing funds for your organization, your success will be limited. Plan now to join us for these timely webinars designed to equip you with the information you need to improve your fundraising game in these uncertain times.

SESSION I: ARE YOU READY TO WRITE A GRANT?
Wednesday, August 12, 2020 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

There are many important elements of grantwriting that should be in place before you take pen to paper or turn on your computer. This session will help you set the stage for a successful grantwriting process. You will learn how to:

• Evaluate your readiness
• Assess your capacity
• Draft your case for support
• Identify funding sources
• Establish basic relationships with potential funders
• Prepare your proposal outline
• Review your plan of action

Click here to register for Session I: Are You Ready To Write a Grant?

SESSION II: GRANTWRITING BASICS
Wednesday, August 19, 2020 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Once you have done your grantwriting homework, you will be well prepared to write a strong proposal. This session will provide a detailed analysis of the parts of your grant proposal along, with some tips and tricks used by seasoned grant writers to improve the likelihood of funding. You will learn:

• Role of philanthropy in grant funding
• Importance of a grantwriting system
• Detailed elements of a sound proposal
• Components of a realistic budget
• Role of evaluation
• Tips and tricks
• Next steps

Click here to register for Session II: Grantwriting Basics

RSVP for Out 2 Learn Quarterly: Tuesday, August 18, 2020 9:00 – 11:00 am

We will have presentations from out-of-school time Providers offering academic support for the start of the school year. Wesley Community Center and the YMCA will share their approach to this new support model.

We will also launch the Fall 2020 Quality Cycle, release Barrier Buster RFP and more!

Please RSVP for Quarterly. You will receive call information after you register.

Please visit Harris County Public Health for COVID-19 information and fact sheets. Documents and flyers for public health include:

• Fact Sheet (PDF)
• Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)
• Viruses Don’t Discriminate and Neither Should We (PDF)
• How Long Does COVID-19 Last On Surfaces?
• Business Guidance for Mitigating the Spread
• Reduce the Spread – How Face Masks Work
• NOTICE: FDA Recalls Hand Sanitizers
• How to Wear a Face Mask Properly
• Social Distancing Measures
• Testing for COVID-19

Resources are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.

Autumn 2020 won’t look like any year on record, but that won’t stop us from shining a spotlight on afterschool. The 21st annual Lights On Afterschool is kicking off on October 22, 2020!

We’ll be changing things up this year by hosting a full week of virtual, in-person, and hybrid events and activities to help afterschool programs, and the children and families they serve, celebrate. From posters and giveaways to seven days of themes and lots of exciting partnerships — we’re going to make some digital space to share activities, bring in old and new OST friends, and offer strategies to have an incredible celebration of America’s afterschool programs and everything they do for our kids.

Will you join us for a Lights On Afterschool like none other?

I want to participate!

If you have any questions, please email us at loa@afterschoolalliance.org.

READYNEWS: News & resources from the Forum and the field about collaborative work to get young people ready by 21.

In this Issue:

• Social and Emotional Learning
• Graduation
• Youth Voice
• School Reopening

Thriving, Robust Equity, and Transformative Learning & Development

The potential for thriving is universal, but so too is the existence of adversity. Young people can overcome adversities, but the ease of doing so is not equally shared. Opportunity structures – in schools, communities, and society – make it easier for some youth to avoid or buffer the impacts of adversity than others.

A new paper from the Readiness Projects partners, Thriving, Robust Equity, and Transformative Learning & Development, speaks to the needs of all youth, as every youth can benefit from robust approaches to thriving, equity, and learning. The cumulative impacts of inequity and trauma, however, propel the authors to call out the need to improve opportunity structures to address and eliminate the disadvantages created by current systems and practices. The report also calls out the need to eliminate the root causes of structural inequality in opportunities for youth to thrive across all domains. Throughout the paper, the authors:

• Introduce a formula and a rationale for addressing thriving, equity, and learning and development together that helps us better focus on actionable social factors.
• Summarize prevailing definitions of thriving, equity, and learning and development (and related terms).
• Take a deeper dive into the dimensions that contribute to individual and collective thriving.
• Offer powerful and aligned conceptualizations of thriving, equity, and learning and development.
• Describe the opportunities and conditions required to ensure that efforts to create “equitable educational outcomes” or “equitable learning and development opportunities” are as powerful and inclusive as possible.

Read the report.

Social and Emotional Learning:
Reunite, Renew, and Thrive: Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Roadmap for Reopening Schools

The return to school this fall will be unlike any other. Students, families, educators, and community partners have all been impacted by a global pandemic, economic crisis, and the ongoing mobilization against systemic racism. Social and emotional learning has a powerful role to play in helping schools reopen in the fall in the face of these challenges. The Forum for Youth Investment is a proud collaborator on Reunite, Renew, and Thrive: SEL Roadmap for Reopening School

This new guidance provides school leaders with whole-school, anti-racist SEL strategies centered on relationships and built on the existing strengths of the school community to support students and adults as they return to school this fall.

Read more.

Graduation: New Toolkits from America’s Promise Alliance to Navigate Graduation Barriers

What does it take to help more young people – particularly those navigating the greatest barriers to graduation – graduate ready and well for whatever their futures hold? Communities and states in the GradNation campaign’s Acceleration Initiative help answer this question in a new case study series

The case studies highlight key themes and tangible examples from these community and statewide efforts to improve secondary school outcomes for specific groups of young people:

• Holistic Approaches to Helping Young People Succeed examines the complex barriers to success in school and life that many of today’s young people face and suggests strategies to support their holistic needs in an intentional, comprehensive way
• Building Responsive Pathways to Graduation and Beyond outlines strategies to create meaningful pathways that lead young people to viable career opportunities after they complete high school.
• Creating Effective Youth-Supporting Partnerships highlights the ways in which states and communities have leveraged strategic collaboration to align efforts to promote success for students facing the greatest obstacles to graduation

Learn more

Youth Voice: Our Thoughts, Our Words, Our Work: An Online Conversation with Young Thought Leaders and Activists in Minnesota’s Fight for Racial Equity

Every Hour Counts Online Discussion July 29, 2020 2:00-3:30 EDT

Our nation is facing two major turning points, the COVID-19 pandemic and our fight for meaningful change in racial inequities and injustice. How are youth leading during this time?

Join Youthprise, Minnesota, and Every Hour Counts for a forum on what Minnesota’s fight for racial equity looks like and how youth are leading. Youthprise’s Neese Parker, Youth Engagement Manager, and Shiranthi Goonathilaka, Board Member, will moderate a panel discussion of young activists and thought leaders making a difference in Minnesota and pushing for change in new and meaningful ways.

The conversation will focus on:

• Movement building and Black liberation organizing.
• School resource officer reform.
• Amplifying the actions being called for to end racial injustice and inequality.
• Highlighting opportunities for supporting youth leadership.
• National updates and next steps.

Register today.

Hello Nonprofit Partners, 

Please share the following Microsoft and City of Houston opportunity with your sites, student body, and other community partners.

Participants between the ages of 18 – 26 with an interest in digital technology careers can join the Virtual Symposium on Digital Technology Careers on Monday, June 22nd and Tuesday, June 23rd. Each day will be filled with workshops focused on: online learning and virtual collaboration; Post-COVID career opportunities in digital technology; emerging technologies in industry and society; and pathways to industry and higher education.

Register for future calls, here!

Houston Coalition Against Hate

Houston Coalition Against Hate (HCAH) is a network of community-based
organizations, institutions and leaders in Houston that have come together to collectively address and prevent incidents of hate, bias, discrimination and violence against Houstonians on the basis of their religion, race/ethnicity, gender, gender identity/expression, disability, age, sexual orientation, and immigration status.

The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB)

The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB), is a national and international collective of anti-racist, multicultural community organizers and educators dedicated to building an effective movement for social transformation.

Courageous Conversations

Founded by Glenn E. Singleton in 1992, Pacific Educational Group is committed to achieving racial equity in the U.S. and beyond. We engage in sustained partnerships featuring training, coaching and consulting with organizations to transform beliefs, behaviors, and results so people of all races can achieve at their highest levels and live their most empowered and powerful lives.

Multicultural Alliance

Based in Fort Worth, Texas, the Multicultural Alliance® promotes inclusive communities, working toward the elimination of bias, bigotry, and oppression and encouraging understanding and equity through shared experiences and educational programming.

Please review this excellent resource from Dallas Afterschool. This summary document provides step by step details on reopening recommendations published by the state.

Additional information from the state can be found here.

Good for Tech Fest 2020 is an upcoming conference focused on social change using technology to achieve it. Brighthive is one of the featured sponsors with a spot in the keynote and 2 sessions.  The event is free and the agenda is jam packed with relevant sessions to support our current work (e.g. CQI, data management, grant reporting, etc.) as well as forward-thinking within Second Century Vision. Session topics include:

• Designing Technology for End Users
• Getting More Out of Story and Grantee Report Data When Tracking Social Change
• Data Mindset: Building an engaged culture of learning within your organization
• Moving from Data Sharing to Data Collaboration
• Nonprofit Data Sharing: How the Chicago Benchmarking Collaborative Improves Pre-K Literacy and Math Skills for Low-Income Children

But this really only scratches the surface of the session offerings.  The agenda and speaker information can be found here. 

Here is the link to register for online access to Methods Training. About half of the sessions are available now; and free access is until the end of June.
Register here!

Register HERE to attend. Access information will be sent the morning before the call. This COVID-19 briefing for nonprofits will provide a medical update, guidelines on opening safely, and ideas on how to engage volunteers. You will also have an opportunity to ask questions.

The Greater Houston Partnership, Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston and Volunteer Houston invite you to a COVID-19 briefing tailored to nonprofit professionals. 

Thursday, May 21, 2020 @ 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
RSVP HERE

 We will discuss:

• Fighting COVID-19 | Where we stand, the stats and what the next few months will look like
• Opening Up | Steps nonprofits can take to reopen
• Re-engaging Volunteers | Special considerations in COVID-19 times

Featuring:

• Dr. Marc Boom, CEO, Houston Methodist
• Martin B. Cominsky, President & CEO, Interfaith Ministries
• Rev. Greg Han, Director, Interfaith Relations and Education, Interfaith Ministries
• Bob Harvey, President & CEO, Greater Houston Partnership
• Dr. James T. McDeavitt, Sr. Vice President and Dean of Clinical Affairs, Baylor College of Medicine
• Brooke Parkinson, CNP, Director of Volunteer Houston

Since 2015, Out 2 Learn has partnered with the David P. Weikart Center to provide training, technical assistance, and coaching to implement a continuous quality improvement cycle in out of school time sites. Each year the Weikart Center has collected survey feedback from participating sites to understand the experience and impact of past year’s efforts and to inform decision-making for the next year.

In response to the current pandemic and necessary programming adjustments, the Weikart Center will be hosting multiple one-hour online focus groups on May 7th at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm to learn more about program quality efforts during the 2019-2020 program year, current challenges and opportunities, and suggested priorities for the upcoming 2020-2021 program year.

To participate and share your feedback, please register by Monday, May 4th 2020.

OST Providers and Friends,

We miss seeing you IRL, but we have two virtual opportunities to engage with you coming up in May. Please RSVP here.

• Out-of-School Time – Planning for Summer: Tuesday, May 5^th from 10:30 – 11:30 am
  • Join us for a dialogue around summer. This will include breakout session so we can “share the air.” We are asking for Providers to be ready to share their plans for summer (recruitment, capacity, virtual and in-person programming, needs, etc.). We know things are changing daily but we want to provide space for colleagues to hear from each other about emerging plans. HISD will have a presence on this call and will share their initial insights as well.
• Out 2 Learn Quarterly Meeting: Tuesday, May 19^th from 9:00 – 11:00 am
  • We will hear from content experts to add tools to our toolbox when working with youth (mental health resources, keeping quality at the forefront and mindfulness). We will also reserve time to talk again about summer plans in small groups. We will have a little something for everyone: listening, talking and take-aways.

Please RSVP here. Double check your e-mail address for accuracy before submitting.

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 kevans@hcde-texas.org 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.

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

Register here

The Council for a Strong America – Police Training Institute (PTI), is working with the Houston Police Department and area community groups & young people in Houston to help “bridge the gap” between youth, community members and law enforcement. PTI is excited to be partnering with Teen and Police Services (TAPS) and Houston Health Foundation – Youth Violence Prevention Coalition in hosting this Community Town Hall. One of the goals of the town hall is to provide a safe environment to openly communicate with all people on current issues and how to make the community a better place. Information from this Town Hall meeting will be used to assist the PTI team in preparing program materials for area police officers and youth community members.
More details about event.