Afterschool and Summer Programs Support Thriving Communities | |
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Proclamation of Lights On Afterschool 2023
Oregon's Governor Kotek shared this years Lights On Afterschool proclamation, elevating the importance of keeping the Lights and Minds On for thousands of Oregon youth in afterschool!
Lights On Afterschool is a national effort to keep Afterschool programs' lights on by sharing stories of the positive impact of your program for youth, families or your community.
2023 Lights On Proclamation and recent Governor Kotek quote “I firmly believe that summer learning is a critical piece of getting young people back on-track.” Now is a key time to elevate voices together.
If you have just a few minutes this month, it's never too late to call your legislator to invite them to your program. Help Oregon's leaders understand the key role you play in supporting thriving youth and thriving communities!
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Supporting Youth throughout the Year throughout Oregon | |
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Summer 2023 Update
Help us understand the In both 2021 and 2022, the Oregon Legislature allocated one-time funding to support summer learning opportunities for Oregon’s children and youth. These programs gave youth access to enrichment activities and new experiences, helped them build skills in career development and social emotional learning, reduced food insecurity, and supported academic learning. Grant funds also made summer programs more accessible to families by removing barriers like transportation, cost, and language. Despite broad support, the legislature did not allocate any funding to support community-based summer learning programs in 2023.
Consequences from this lack of funding rippled through Oregon’s CBOs, youth, and families. OregonASK collected survey responses this fall from over 150 programs showing broad impact across the state. See the summary HERE on how those primarily serving priority populations saw impact to youth, their program, and the communities they serve.
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Supporting Youth Professionals across the state | |
Assertiveness, Youth Voice, And Agency In Afterschool starting January 17th!
Join us for an enriching three-part training series tailored to empower educators and afterschool program leaders. Discover the essential skills and knowledge needed to nurture assertiveness, youth voice, and agency in our youth. Created and facilitated by leading mental health and education experts at Partnerships in Education and Resilience (PEAR) and incubated at Harvard and McLean Hospital, this workshop series was created in direct response to the pressing needs of educators and youth.
Register HERE or read more about all 3 sessions.
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Music Math with Afterschool Math+ FREE Webinar Series | |
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Register HERE to attend one or more of the following live online workshops and learn how to use free AfterSchoolMath+ activities in your program, and earn Oregon Registry credit for your participation! Thanks to STEM Next for making this opportunity FREE for ALL!
All sessions will be from 10-11:15am PDT Register HERE
November 14th: Discovering Music Fractions
Identify and represent parts of fractions using music and explore combinations and permutations, or ways of creating variety while still using the same elements. (LEC , Set 2)
December 12th: Orchestration
Use fractions to create musical compositions, then perform the compositions using found instruments (pans, boxes, pencils, whistles). Create new combinations and permutations for the music fractions.(LEC , Set 2)
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Asynchronous Training on OregonASK Online - Build Skills at Your Own Pace!
Check out all the trainings available at only $30 each. All asynchronous trainings are self-paced and will award 2 hours of Oregon Registry aligned credit for the person who signed up.
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Excited to have Oregon Afterschool Fall Conference back in person this Saturday, November 4th! | |
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With over 160 registered to join us, we are certainly looking forward to a dynamic line up of presenters and time to connect with peers from around the state. This year we are trying out a series of program spotlight sessions highlighting different components of programs, from supporting staff to engaging community, and incorporating youth as staff/leaders.
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Next Generation Leaders in Afterschool | |
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NAA's Next Generation of Afterschool Leaders identifies young leaders and recognizes and cultivates the talent of afterschool champions who have the potential to influence the field of afterschool for years to come. Join NAA in recognizing extraordinary individuals, age 30 or under―firm believers in the power of afterschool―who are vested in things like advocacy, professional development, creative program design, the power of youth voice, data and evaluation, and social justice. Find out more or submit nominees HERE
Oregon is proud to have had some amazing leaders recognized over the last decade from Woodburn After School Club, Portland Tennis & Education, Champions, Eugene Family YMCA, and even OregonASK. We hope you can take the time to highlight young leaders from around Oregon and reach out if you have questions.
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Expanding Afterschool & Summer Experiences Update | |
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The Expanding Afterschool & Summer Experiences (EASE) Collaborative will be convening quarterly to provide an opportunity for partners to stay engaged in statewide work and help inform strategic action items for work groups to take on. The EASE Collaborative is working to ensure equitable and sustainable expanded learning access and opportunities for Oregon youth.
The next whole collaborative meeting will be on January 24th, at 1pm. You can sign up HERE if you are interested in participating or receiving more information. We will also have work groups meeting intermittently over the next few months to keep collective work moving together. We strive to make the Oregon EASE Collaborative representative of the diverse organizations and partners who have participated and those that serve Oregon’s youth and families.
If you are interested in joining one of the three ‘winter’ work groups, please reach out to bethany.thramer@oregonask.org or sophie.hilton@ode.oregon.gov to get more information and calendar invitations. We will be sharing updates from each work group at the whole group meeting in January.
The fall Funding Work Group members heard from Erik Peterson of the Afterschool Alliance about how other states have made investments in afterschool and summer, including granting funds directly to CBO’s. You can find the slides HERE. We look forward to having you join us on January 24th!
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Wasco County Extension Services provides positive challenges for rural youth
Extension Services currently operates in 33 of 36 Oregon counties and specializes in delivering STEM education necessary for addressing Oregon’s youth's most pressing issues while creating meaningful change. Lu Seapy, the STEM Program Coordinator for the OSU Extension Services Branch in Wasco County, highlights that their branch is funded by her county, thus highlighting how vital public funding is for her organization, her community, and her program’s sustainability.
Wasco County seeks to develop and educate its children by creating a safe, tolerant learning environment that exercises minds in a variety of ways. Their camp challenges include building projects, hands-on renewable energy, and robotics activities. But while skill development is paramount for youth in Wasco County, so are opportunities to build teamwork and interpersonal skills. We must help ensure Oregon’s future generations receive the knowledge and interpersonal skills to be thriving humans capable of improving their communities. Read more about Wasco County Extension HERE.
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National Opportunities Thanks to Million Girls Moonshot | |
Flight Crew Applications Open | |
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Youth ages 13 to 18 who identify as female, gender-expansive, or outside of the identity of cis-gender male, are actively engaged in an out-of-school-time STEM program and reside in the U.S. are invited to apply to become a Million Girls Moonshot Flight Crew!
The "Flight Crew" is composed of a highly visible youth ambassador from each state who can speak about the power of Out of School Time STEM learning. If selected, Flight Crew members will join Moonshot’s advocacy efforts and commitment to create equity for girls and non-binary youth in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through elevating youth voices, inspiring peers and fellow future STEM leaders. Those selected to be part of the Flight Crew will receive 8 months of communication and advocacy support, a $1000 scholarship upon completion of the program and an all-expense paid trip to the annual Million Girls Moonshot summer 2024 event in SanDiego,* and more!
The Moonshot hopes to recruit remarkable youth from OREGON, capable of speaking to:
- First-hand, impactful STEM experiences beyond the classroom (afterschool, summer, before school)
- Any work and/or desire to break down stereotypes, solve challenges in their community and spark their peers' curiosity in STEM,
- Experiences in building STEM skills by working in teams, problem solving, etc., and
- Any ability to connect their STEM experiences to everyday life.
Youth can Apply Here and Read the FAQs on this page for more details and information.
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NGCP Monthly Resourcse and Opportunities - Read more HERE
Find out more about upcoming events and opportunities to share the power of STEM, like CSEdWeek, December 4-10, 2023. Learn more
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We Need Your STEM & Entrepreneurial Learning Stories!
Do you promote STEM or Entrepreneurial skills & mindsets in your afterschool or summer programs? Things like innovation, engineering, problem-solving, collaboration, presentation, media production or design thinking? Have you done some fun STEM activities or projects this year? Have you helped students do an entrepreneurial activity like an invention or pitch event or a youth market?
If your programs have done ANY fun STEM or entrepreneurial-related activities this year, we'd love to feature your stories in our newsletter and also be able to report on your experiences in our grant reporting. Please take a minute to fill out this form with your information so that we can celebrate your successes.
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Additional Resources & Updates | |
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ERDC Updates & Outreach
If you are a program that accepts Employment Related Day Care (ERDC), please let us know by filling out this short form. Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) has shared that ERDC enrollment will be closing after November 3, 2023 for most new families and a waitlist will open. The ERDC program supports families in paying for child care. ERDC has recently changed to work better for families, providing a full year of eligibility. In the last few months, thousands of families have joined the program but capacity will soon be reached.
OregonASK is working with DELC to gather a more accurate picture of resources available for families currently using ERDC and those who will need support when new eligibility stalls. If you have questions, you can reach out to general@oregonask.org
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If you do not get regular updates from Oregon state agency partners, you might consider finding out more about several regular update opportunities from partners we work alongside:
Oregon Department of Education
Department of Early Learning & Care
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OregonASK Expanded Learning Partnership
Wilsonville, OR 97070
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Want to stay up to date on OASK events as well as general OST information?
FOLLOW US
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