Afterschool Change Maker: An Interview with Terry Peterson

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Terry Peterson, Board Chair of the Afterschool Alliance, has been a leader in the afterschool movement for many years. We conducted a video interview with Terry after the 2016 elections. Below we have provided an edited version of this video interview. 

We also selected some responses from the longer video interview, which you can read below. 

Q: Can you offer any positive advice with the election of President Trump?

A: Obviously, everybody's tuned into the Presidential results from the 2016 election, and they're very important, but we need to keep in mind that much of the programming, and even funding for afterschool comes locally, from municipalities, school districts, United Way's, and other local foundations. 

In some states such as California, New York, Illinois, Connecticut, Tennessee and others, public funding comes from the city, state, and federal levels. What I would recommend to people is that they work at all those levels to expand the number of programs locally. 

Q: What have we heard from President Trump that may predict future opportunities for afterschool?

A: I would consider the following:
• Tax credits: His daughter, actually put forth in the election, a proposal to increase the tax credits in refundable tax credits for families who pay for childcare, which would be a whole new interesting way to support families. They would have to put some out-of-pocket expenses in, but they might get part of it back. Many parents pay 4,000 - 5,000 dollars a year, per child, for afterschool and summer programming. If they could perhaps get some of that back, as a tax deduction, or if they're a low income family, we'd get a tax rebate, that might really help us expand the field. It's a very different way than direct funding, but we need to look at that.

• Infrastructure: President Trump has proposed a big infrastructure building program. I don't know what it's going to include, but he has mentioned schools. 

What about if schools that are being remodeled, they create an afterschool community learning wing, with the latest technology for kids and families? That might be a possibility. It is a very different approach, but we need to reiterate, we need to keep working at the local level with local foundations, city, state, and federal levels, maybe in some new ways and see if we can continue to move this field forward.

Q: What are recent developments in the afterschool field that you think are important?

A: We now have what you might call an afterschool infrastructure or platform, but not everywhere. We still have a lot of places where we don't have any programs – places where we might need them the most. 

In many places in the country, we have quality afterschool programs that allow us to use afterschool partnerships and programming to get into new areas where young people need support.  A couple of areas of recent developments that I think are particularly exciting:

• College and Career Readiness – There is a growing concern that middle and high school students don't have a real clear path to graduate from high school. "How do I go to college? How do I get a job? What kind of workforce skills could I get, or do I need?" We could start working on those workforce skills and college and career readiness in afterschool programs by partnering with businesses and community colleges. 

• STEM and STEAM - There's real interest right now in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. When you throw arts in there, it's STEM + the arts, it's STEAM. There is a lot of interest in how you could use afterschool and summer programs to interest students in STEM or STEAM.

Some really good examples around the country have been able to take students that said, "Ooh, science, math, I can't do that". They go through the summer program, afterschool program, build robots, use dance and drama to learn technology or science, or learn coding and come out saying, "I think I can do that". 

Photo Credit: http://www.farbrook.org/

One of the award-winning summer learning programs named by the National Summer Learning Association, was a STEAM Summer Learning Program that I'm very familiar with. They have a five-week program where they teach STEM only through the arts - through dance, drama, visual arts, and music. It's an all day program and attendance is about 90 percent. You walk in there and they're engaged fully. I think we need to find ways to bust out from just sort of our typical way of delivering programs.

Photo Credit: The Star Online

• Entrepreneurial education - A lot of young people say, "I don't want to work for a company. I want to start my own business". You can run entrepreneurial learning, community service, and afterschool and summer programs that really help young people engage in their community, and in their growth in some new ways.

• Credits for participation – Older youth can earn credits in afterschool and summer programs. For children who are struggling in school, if they fail a subject or two, they never get to interesting advanced content. They bubble along at the bottom of the courses, so they never see the power of taking more advanced courses. They can't get to the design course in arts or career and technical fields. 

A few places are now experimenting with offering credits in afterschool and summer programs. In addition to the credits offered during the school day, they can be involved in another program afterschool, weekends and summer, and earn another credit or two. 

Think about that. For five years, you can earn almost a semester worth of credit. For some kids, those credits are powerful door openers to get into community college or a four-year college. That's another area we need to explore, and there's starting to be interest in.

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Dr. Terry K. Peterson is Board Chair of the Afterschool Alliance and Senior Fellow at the Richard Riley Institute at Furman University and College of Charleston. Former U.S. Secretary of Education Dick Riley has called Terry “the king of afterschool.” During his decades-long tenure in public service, Terry held senior state- and federal-level positions in which he developed numerous education policies and funding streams, including at the U.S. Department of Education where he helped create the 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative.

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You can read other blogs by the LIAS project by going to: 

• Expanded Learning 360°/365 Project website
• LIAS Blog

Mindfulness Trickle Up - From Afterschool to School

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

We have been promoting the use of mindfulness techniques in afterschool to address the self care of youth workers and the needs of youth participants. Mindfulness is well aligned with social emotional learning (SEL).

There is new information and growing evidence that confirms that mindfulness exercises within school and afterschool settings are excellent ways to promote the health and well-being of adult staff and increase impulse control and ability to stay focused among youth who participate in the exercises. 

Over the years, we have conducted trainings for the Riverside County Office of Education and Delano Union School District. We have posted interviews with Ken Dyar and Allison Haynes on their experience of Mindfulness in Afterschool.

Dr. Katarina Roy Schanz

We were thrilled when Dr. Katarina Roy Schanz, Student Assistance Program Coordinator at Riverside Unified School District, requested training for her in-school staff. This was a great example of "trickle up" -  from afterschool to school day.

Below Dr. Roy Schanz responded to a couple of questions for this blog post.

Q: Why are you bringing mindfulness into Riverside Unified School District?

A: The primary target group for this mindfulness training are our Student Assistance Program (SAP) Counselors and SAP Behavior Support Teams. We are hoping to add another skill set for them to use in their work with students. Additionally, adding mindfulness to their self-care practice will help the team both personally and professionally.

Photo Credit: http://www.theidproject.org/

Q: What are you hoping that you can accomplish with mindfulness training for school personnel? 

A: The research around mindfulness in schools prompted our decision to provide this training for our Student Assistance Program team. They will then take their learning to the staff and students at their respective schools. We’re hoping that by implementing a mindfulness practice, we will see decreases in anxiety and improvements in self-awareness and social-emotional skills, among other positive changes.

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Dr. Katarina Roy Schanz is the Coordinator of the Student Assistance Program with Riverside Unified School District. Dr. Roy Schanz has been an educator for 21 years. She has served as a school counselor, assistant principal, and principal. Dr. Roy Schanz holds two Master’s degrees, one in School Counseling from the University of La Verne and the other in Educational Administration from California State University, San Bernardino. Additionally, she earned her Doctorate in Organizational Leadership from the University of La Verne.
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Temescal Associates developed a 16-week curriculum for afterschool workers as well as a two-day training for school and afterschool staff. You can view the curriculum here and contact us if you wish to purchase a full color hard copy.

Ignite Learning with a Growth Mindset!

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

We know from research that fostering growth mindsets in young people can promote very positive outcomes. Last year, we sponsored a Speaker’s Forum in Oakland, CA featuring Eduardo Briceño, Co-Founder and CEO of Mindset Works. We also sponsored a Speaker’s Forum in Los Angeles with Jacquie Beaubien, Senior Program Manager at Project for Education Research that Scales (PERTS) at Stanford University. 

Much of the Growth Mindset research  comes from Dr. Carol Dweck. You can view her 10-minute TEDTalk video, which has been viewed nearly 6 million times, by clicking below. 

We recently worked with our Central Valley colleagues (Central Valley Afterschool Foundation, California Teaching Fellows Foundation, and Visalia Unified School District) to host a Speaker’s Forum entitled “Ignite Learning with a Growth Mindset!”. Below is an interview with our presenter, Emily Diehl, Director Professional Learning and Curriculum Design at Mindset Works. 

Q: Very briefly, can you describe what we mean by "growth mindset" and "fixed mindset"? 

A: Fixed mindset: the belief that abilities and intelligence are fixed and unchangeable
Growth mindset: the understanding that abilities and intelligence can be developed our whole lives

Q: Afterschool, or as it is sometimes referred, expanded learning, is still growing. Conservative estimates state that there is well over 10 million young million in these programs. Do you think that these informal settings are good ones to promote the idea of growth mindsets?

A: Any setting where students are with adults and peers who create a sense of belonging and help students build a strong sense that they can develop and grow is a great setting for promoting a growth mindset. These informal settings might be particularly helpful in that they tend to be lower stakes as far as achievement goes and so students are able to experience growth and reflect on their process to achieve that growth, without as much fear of failure.

Q: As our understanding of the needs of youth and afterschool research and literature expands, there is increased pressure on afterschool programs to do more - there are a large number of frameworks and related program practices which results in growing demands on afterschool staff. Does promoting growth mindsets require a complex set of practices? 

A: No, I would not say it's complex; however, it is not easy. The changes we make to be more growth-minded can seem very simple, but what might seem simple is not because we have to re-learn our responses and assumptions. Changing those beliefs and responses takes time, reflection, self-awareness, and practice. What's more our emotions and desires can get in the way. An example of emotion getting in the way is embarrassment for making a mistake. We are less likely to risk trying new approaches if we think we will fail in front of others rather than knowing that the only way we can grow is by taking on challenges. Thus, we might know we can grow, but avoid growth opportunities because we want to avoid embarrassment.

Q: For afterschool leaders who are interested in ensuring that their programs promote growth mindsets, what do you recommend? Where should they start? 

A: There are two great places to begin which many educators have found to be a successful first step. First is to change our feedback to students from person-centered praise ("You are so talented!") to process related feedback or questions ("I noticed you didn't stop when it got tough!"). We have a great deal of resources for this on our website and Twitter. The key is to think about the messages we send when we tell people they are smart when they do things perfectly and without trying very hard. That sends a message that smart people don't try hard and don't make mistakes. The opposite is true. So switching up that message to one of taking on a challenge, even if I might fail, because I will learn a lot, is the key to cultivating growth mindsets.

A second place to begin is to talk about the brain as malleable and changeable. Talk about how our brains change with practice - whether we are practicing "good" or "bad" habits - and we can re-map our brains all the time with effective effort.  This helps place growth in a student's internal locus of control - "the things I do and have control over can make me smarter".  This creates hope. There are many resources available on our website and other places for help promoting this message.

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Emily Diehl

Emily is Director of Professional Learning and Curriculum design at Mindset Works. Mindset Works provides in-person, digital and printed growth mindset training and resources to thousands of schools. Mindset Works helps teachers and students enable a world in which people seek and are fulfilled by ongoing learning and growth. Emily has spoken at numerous schools, districts, events and conferences for educators, students and district leaders. She supports schools across the country in implementation of mindset programs and professional learning sessions. She has contributed a great deal to the Brainology programs as well as educator programs such as MindsetMarker™ and LeaderKit™. She is editor of the Mindset Works blog and online newsletter. Twitter: @emilyadiehl

21st CCLC: Now and Then

By Sam Piha

Sam piha

"President Trump has unveiled his budget priorities—and his plan singles out afterschool funding for elimination. Congress is getting ready to determine whether local afterschool and summer learning programs remain open, reduce their services or close their doors. If the 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative is eliminated, many programs will not survive. More than a million children will be affected, leaving parents without reliable afterschool choices." - Afterschool Alliance 

To advocate for continued federal support for afterschool programs, it is important that afterschool stakeholders understand two things: 1) The historical context surrounding the federal 21st CCLC initiative; and 2) How best they can educate lawmakers on the value of afterschool programs. 

Photo by Gage Skidmore

HISTORY OF FEDERAL 21ST CCLC 
The federal 21st CCLC initiative was the first federal effort dedicated to promoting afterschool programs. This initiative was launched in 1994 by President Clinton in response to a "perfect storm" - growing concerns around crime and safety involving young people; changes in the composition of families and women entering the workforce resulting in "latch key kids"; and the need for more educational support. 

Photo Credit: Temescal Associates

This initiative garnered the support of law enforcement, educators, parent groups, and more.

Photo Credit: Fight Crime - Invest in Kids

Support for afterschool was partially driven by research that showed a spike in crime during the afterschool hours.

Photo Credit: Fight Crime - Invest in Kids

The 21st CCLC initiative was described by some as the fastest growing federal initiative in history.

Photo Credit: FIght Crime - Invest in Kids

The 21st CCLC initiative enjoyed the bipartisan support of the congress and three U.S. Presidents. Now, there are calls from the Trump Administration to eliminate all 21st CCLC funding. 

To read more about the history of the 21st CCLC initiative, click here. 

SAVING THE 21ST CCLC INITIATIVE 
Below, we offer the advice of the California Afterschool Network. 

President Trump’s proposed budget calls for the elimination of 21st Century Community Learning Center funding, saying the program lacks evidence of improving student success. It is now up to Congress to counter these drastic cuts or approve them. If approved, the budget would eliminate programs across the nation that keeps kids safe and engaged. Over a million children and families would be left with no quality afterschool and summer learning programs nationally.

Check out this blog from the Afterschool Alliance around evidence that afterschool and summer learning programs work. To see the impact these cuts could have on California programs, youth and families see the breakdown here. 

Visit the Afterschool Alliance for more information or read the statement from Jodi Grant, Executive Director of the Afterschool Alliance.  

You can make a difference by:

• Add your organization to the list of organizations supporting that 21st CCLC remain funded at current funding levels.  
• Email, and encourage (via family engagement, social media, etc.) emails to congress members and telling them to protect funding for afterschool and summer learning programs!   
• Locate your members of congress. Visit local district offices and invite your members of Congress to your site to continue to educate them about the value and impact of quality afterschool and summer learning programs.  

Looking Ahead: Perspectives from California Expanded Learning Program Leaders

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

In an earlier post entitled, Expanded Learning Leaders Look to 2017, we shared the views of national expanded learning leaders regarding the upcoming trends and challenges facing the field. We wanted to get the thoughts on expanded learning leaders in California who work closer to the ground who run or oversee youth programs. Below are some of their responses to our questions. 


EMERGING TRENDS IN EXPANDED LEARNING PROGRAMS

Frank Escobar, Program Manager
Visalia Unified School District

Frank Escobar: I do see school climate and culture elements as a continuing trend in 2017 for expanded learning opportunities (ELO’s) since it continues to be a significant initiative in districts under local control accountability plan (LCAP). This would/could include social emotional learning (SEL), positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), School Safety models/professional development (PD), etc. (Note: Frank Escobar and his colleague, Rico Peralta, created a Facebook page that provides helpful information, tools, resources and inspiration to the afterschool site lead community.)

John Fuentes: Emerging trends in expanded learning programs include safety around immigrations rights for students, families and staff; more literacy support for 9th graders; and intentionally working closely with school admin to design programs using the school performance framework (SPF) data.   

Selena Levy, Program Manager
CalSAC

Selena Levy: There are a couple of emerging trends in expanded learning programs in 2017. I think given this current political climate, programs will need to increase their support to families as well as become stronger and more vocal advocates for their programs. The students and families in expanded learning programs are under serious attack from all different angles. There is going to need to be increased support to the students as well as their families from the expanded learning programs. I think given the unknown future of funding for programs on the state and federal level makes  it even more important that programs take action. The expanded learning programs are the best ambassadors and advocates for their programs as well as for the families and students they serve. The time to speak out and take action is now.


MOST SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE FACING THE FIELD OF EXPANDED LEARNING 

Frank Escobar: Connected to the obvious budget issue is the aspect of quality staffing.  This is multi-layered in impact on quality.  Whether its budget to hire and retain quality staff or budget to “train” low-mid quality staff or budget to pay for subs with the high absenteeism rates across programs.  Some organizations are better suited to support absences and vacancies and others are left to 1-30 and 40 ratios at times because they don’t have any other options.  In many cases, Site Leads are having to directly supervise students during program just to cover for absences and vacancies which is a recipe for poor program quality and outcomes.  I am aware of districts that are managing these scenarios regularly and constantly in “survival mode” rather than “thrivival mode” which is what we are hoping for all programs. 

This is obviously a direct impact on “quality” and programs’ abilities to pursue goals and aspirations.  In many cases, sites may be fully staffed but with mid to low quality staff (little experience, no training, lack of passion for educating kids) and little to no professional development opportunity due to budget restraints.  My programs are an example of that.  I’ve had to fly positions 2 and 3 times to access a pool of 2 to 3 applicants for our positions whom have no experience, no training and are not considering education as a career but would prefer to work after school vs. fast-food.  We then have no funds to provide training and it all falls on our Site Leads to coach and support while managing the day-to-day.  It’s a daily struggle, which then wears and tears on people over time, particularly those who are not overly passionate (like myself) about this work. 

John Fuentes, Program Manager
Bay Area Community Resources

John Fuentes: The most significant challenges facing the field of expanded learning include staff retention in the Bay Area as the cost of living continues to be a challenge; funding as the demographics change here in the Bay; and more support and training/coaching for direct service providers. 

Selena Levy: The most significant challenge facing the field right now is both funding for programs to stay open and continue to serve the young people in their programs as well as the challenge of supporting staff who work in the expanded learning programs. Staff are coming to program each day with their own pain and trauma in this political climate and need to be supported as well. Expanded learning programs need to continue to invest in their staff and help them strengthen their own competencies around social-emotional learning and character development to ensure they can continue to support the young people they serve every day.

Youth Development 2.0

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Not that many years ago, we defined young people as “problems about to happen”. These problems included juvenile delinquency, drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, gang membership, school failure, and on. Youth programs presented themselves as able to prevent these problems and program providers chased funders that were structured around these categories. Research focused on “risk factors” - family and environmental factors that could predict future youth problems. 

Then, for those of us at the ground level, we noticed two important things: 1) We found that most of the kids that had these risk factors were not showing problems; and 2) Regardless of the categorical funding focused on preventing problems, we tended to attract the same kids and successful programming was based on providing safe environments, forming positive relationships, and offering activities that were meaningful to young people. We moved away from deficits and began seeing young people as assets. Soon, the focus was positive youth development instead of prevention, thanks to the pioneering work of people like Michele Cahill, Karen Pittman, James Connell, Sylvia Yee, Carla Sanger, Sue Eldredge, and others. 

Photo Credit: CNYD Youth Development Guide

In 2001, the Community Network for Youth Development, in partnership with the California Department of Education, published the Youth Development Guide: Engaging Young People in After-School Programming. This guide offers strategies for designing youth programs around the issues of promoting a sense of safety, encouraging relationship building, fostering meaningful youth participation, providing opportunities for community involvement, and creating learning experiences that build skills. You can download it here or view it in a magazine-style format by clicking here. 

Despite the fact that this was published 15 years ago, the framework is heavily aligned to today’s California Quality Standards for Expanded Learning Programs. What was revolutionary about the youth development framework (created by James Connell and Michelle Gambone) was that it promoted shared responsibility of not just the youth worker, but the provider organization, as well as funders and policy makers.

In recent years, we have been introduced to new research and new terms - many of which are products of a positive youth development setting. They include growth mindsets, non-cognitive skills, social emotional learning, soft skills, 21st century competencies, grit, character building, pro-social behavior, and more. 

Many say that the new research and terms are an extension of positive youth development. We can call them Youth Development 2.0. 

Social Emotional Learning: How Do We Best Communicate What We Do in Expanded Learning Programs?

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

There has been a great deal of research and conversation about the importance of social and emotional learning (SEL). There have also been a number of terms and lists that are close cousins to SEL: non-cognitive skills, grit, growth mindsets, and others. How can practitioners sort all of this out and how best should we communicate with our K-12 colleagues and parents?

The Wallace Foundation recently commissioned Edge Research, Inc. to examine “the linguistic landscape of the many terms used to describe non-academic skills and finding some familiarity with ‘social and emotional learning.’” The primary goals of this research included:

• Understanding the landscape of terminology from the perspective of key stakeholders
• Understanding what motivates K-12 public school, Afterschool and Policy leaders to be interested in the topic of SEL
• Helping the field develop a common vocabulary on the topic of SEL

They conducted a review of the literature, gathered surveys, and held focus groups with K-12 educators, afterschool leaders, and parents.

Photo Credit: Edutopia.org

The key findings of this marketing research were:

1. There is no “silver bullet” term, but across the research phases, “social and emotional learning” emerges as one that is familiar and clear for Policy, K-12 and Afterschool leaders. It also tests well in parent focus groups.

2. Over the course of research, we moved away from terms that had strong, ancillary or even negative connotations (21st Century Skills, Whole Child Development, Soft Skills, Character). We also eliminated familiar terms deemed too generic for this topic (Youth Development, Success Factors).

3. In framing this issue, a concept that speaks to “Gains” for children has traction. Specifics about SEL skills (i.e. building positive relationships, navigating social environments), plus positively asserting that all children benefit, make this frame popular across stakeholder and parent audiences.

4. Other frames include language that resonates. Consider the right time to weave in themes and ideas about: all adults having a role, the learning equation, children realizing their potential, future citizens and the opportunity gap.

5. Despite agreement that SEL should be a priority, challenges exist for the future. The field identifies training and professional development as much-needed. Parents are wary of school and afterschool overstepping their bounds.

Edge researchers, Pam Loeb and Stacia Tipton, presented their study in a webinar sponsored by the Wallace Foundation. We urge field leaders in expanded learning to give it a listen by clicking here.