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September 2011
 

AUA Jumpstart Conference

It is time to register for the 2011 Afterschool Utah Association Jump Start Conference, Piecing It Together.  This year the conference has been expanded to two full days with over 40 fabulous presenters!  The conference will be held at the Provo Marriott Hotel & Conference Center on October 7 and 8.  For more information and to register go to the UAN homepage or Click Here.  

 

Check it out...Afterschool Utah Association is now on Facebook!

Start Planning for Lights On Afterschool

October marks the 12th annual Lights On Afterschool celebration.  Starting October 1st, a million people in more than 7,500 communities throughout the country are expected to celebrate the afterschool programs that keep kids safe, inspire them to learn and help working families.  Join the Utah Afterschool Network (UAN) and the Afterschool Utah Association (AUA) along with other youth-serving organizations in the state in calling attention to the importance of afterschool programs.  One powerful way to support Lights On Afterschool is by hosting an event in your community.  For more information on event ideas and to register your event, visit www.afterschoolalliance.org.

Introducing the Afterschool Professional Credential

As more emphasis is placed on the field to demonstrate the success of programs, it has become a necessity to provide youth workers with the means by which to build their professional standing.  To address the growing need for a repository of professional development in the afterschool field, the Afterschool Professional Credential (APC) was created with purpose of providing varied levels of training to sustain career pathways and help professionals provide a higher level of quality of service to youth participating in programs.   Download informational packets and application forms at www.ccpdi.usu.edu or call the Child Care Professional Development Institute toll free at 1-855-531-2468 for more information.

Afterschool Program Resources

 

Utah Afterschool Network's Quality Assessment and Improvement Tool is now available on UAN's website.  The Be Safe section of the tool now includes resource links for each indicator.  Please check back for updated versions of Administration, Learn New Skills, and Develop Meaningful Relationships.

Interested in the data from last year's Quality Tool survey?  Check out the 2010-2011 Quality Tool Data Report.

 

School-Age Notes provides resources for after-school professionals and out of school time programs serving school-age children. They produce a monthly newsletter featuring a calendar of activity ideas and informative articles for program directors and staff.  You can supplement the newsletter with the School-Age Note of the Day, a free service that offers helpful tips and information sent via e-mail each weekday.  To sign up for the School-Age Note of the Day go to www.schoolagenotes.com.

 

The Parents’ Guide to Student Success was created by teachers, parents, and education experts in response to the Common Core State Standards in English/Language Arts and Mathematics that have been adopted in more than 40 states.   The guides provide clear expectations for what students should be learning at each grade to be prepared for college and career. The guides also include activities parents can do at home to support children's learning and information on strengthening relationships between parents and teachers.  Links to the guides can be found on the Parent Information page of UAN's website or at www.pta.org.

 

Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) provides low cost training for child care providers to meet their licensing requirements, information on professional development programs, grants and other support services.  Don't forget to register your program in the CCR&R Regsitry to gain access to a variety of professional development opportunities and to contribute to the statewide data collection process.  To find your local CCR&R Click Here.

 

A New Day for Learning.  The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and the National AfterSchool Association (NAA) join together in support of creating a new learning day for children. Such a day would consider the needs of the whole child, encompass the times and situations in which children learn, and provide the breadth of enriching experiences that help them become engaged learners. They challenge members to think of leading a new learning day as a means to achieving innovative reform for both school and afterschool.  To read more…

 

The Utah Society for Environmental Education (USEE), a 501 c (3) nonprofit, aims to encourage environmental literacy by teaching Utahans how to think, not what to think, about the environment.  USEE serves as an information resource for environmental educators, K-12 teachers, afterschool professionals, higher education, and the community at large.  To read more... 

 

Do Not Contact.Gov is a great resource to share with your students and families.  The Utah Child Protection Registry is a free program provided by the state of Utah that helps to stop adult-oriented solicitations from being targeted at your students.  For more information        Click Here.
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Utah Afterschool Network
254 South 600 East, Suite 200
Salt Lake City, Utah 84102
Phone: (801) 359-2722
utahafterschool.org

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Welcome Back to Afterschool

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A message from the new Executive Director: Journeys in the Field

Another school year has begun, summer is drawing to a close, and afterschool programs around Utah are starting to gear up for a new year of amazing programs for youth.

I am thrilled to begin my role as the Executive Director for Utah Afterschool Network.  My background in afterschool and community based programs stems back to earlier days in the education field.  My areas of study in college were English and Education.  Originally, my aspiration was to become a high school English teacher.  After I relocated to Utah from back east, I was hired to coordinate an afterschool program in Salt Lake City.  I had no idea what to expect, and when planning began for the fall session, the program registered 120 students within the first week!

Panic began to set in; what am I to do with all of these students afterschool each day?   Our afterschool staff quickly mobilized, and by working together with the school principal and faculty, we were able to provide programming targeted around the needs and interests of the youth.  By the following spring, our afterschool program had established a community garden on campus, worked to educate local leaders on environmental issues and developed an enthusiastic stage production of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.  It was delightful to witness the number of family and community members in attendance to support their children in a dramatic arts program.  That evening, I felt that the kids in my afterschool program had changed over the course of the year.  Each of them now possessed a sense of uniqueness and belonging; each understood the value of community and each had gained the realization that their positive actions do impact the world around them in positive ways. 

Although my journey has since then taken me along varied and creative paths, I've always remained passionate about afterschool and community programs.  As I am excited to take on new responsibilities as the leader of UAN, I feel a sense of sadness, as I will no longer have the opportunity to work as closely with the many wonderful afterschool programs statewide.  However, I look forward to continuing the relationships established over the years and working together to collectively impact afterschool services for youth and families throughout Utah.  

As you begin afterschool programs this upcoming year, reflect on the following questions.   1) What are the students learning through participation in afterschool programs? And 2)  What am I learning from the students who participate in afterschool programs?   You may be surprised by the answers you come up with!

The fall 2011 UAN e-newsletter theme is the Back to Afterschool issue.  We hope that you will find the resources to be engaging and helpful as you plan for another successful year of afterschool!

Anneli M. Segura

Executive Director

The NEW UAN Website

The Utah Afterschool Network is excited to announce our newly designed website www.utahafterschool.org.  This new resource features a wide variety of information and resources for the afterschool community, program staff/directors, educators, community leaders and parents.  Our goal is to provide more comprehensive resources and current information regarding statewide and national issues around quality out-of-school time programs for youth.  We would like to highlight our website’s Upcoming Events Calendar, where you can access information regarding events and professional development opportunities statewide.   The Resource s link provides research-based information regarding the multiple benefits of afterschool and its impact on positive outcomes for youth.  We also encourage everyone to subscribe to UAN’s E-News Signup, in order to receive regular e-newsletters as well as a host of up to date resources and information about current trends in the afterschool field. Click the Share This Email button to the left to invite friends and collegues to  join our mailing list.  

Register On Our Website

The updated website offers the option to create a user name and password, which allows  users to add events to the calendar and access the Quality Assessment Tool Survey.  To resigster, click on the "Calendar" icon on the homepage.   Click the "Register" link in the left column to start the process.  You will be prompted to enter contact information and set up your username and password.  After you click "Register" at the bottom of the page, you will receive a confirmation email.  You must click on the link sent in your confirmation email in order to complete the registration process. 

 

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