Network News – December 10, 2010

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In this issue:

Campaign for Quality: Strategies to Increase Program Quality

In August 2009, the California Afterschool Network and California Department of Education released the California After School Quality Self-Assessment Tool (QSA Tool), a comprehensive self-assessment tool that out-of-school time professionals can use to start important conversations about quality.

The Campaign for Quality! Promising Practices from California’s After School Programs is a companion to the QSA Tool. This document offers research-based strategies to improve program quality connected to each section of the QSA Tool. The strategies outlined are also grounded in practice through interviews with multiple California practitioners. The Network will regularly highlight these strategies in its newsletter. This month’s strategies are for Program Environment and Safety- Physical Environment. Some of the strategies offered in the Campaign for Quality are:

  • Having Adequate Space that is clean, well maintained and safe.
  • Create Buy-In with school stakeholders by being visible during the school day and having open communication about what the after school program does.
  • Formalize agreements with teachers when using their space.
  • Make opportunities for open communication between teachers and after school program staff.
  • Be flexible and go above and beyond in maintaining school space.

Try this Tip
You can never say "thank you" enough! Have your students make thank you cards to teachers for allowing them to use their classroom. The holidays, and the end of the school year are perfect times to appreciate teachers for their support.

The California Afterschool Network
We Convene, We Inspire
Register Today!


Register to Attend the Free Rural After School Summit
The purpose of the Rural Afterschool Summit is to educate and inform participants on the rural perspective in order to garner champions for rural after school programs. Rural after school programs serve a high percentage of youth in need. The nature of rural environments present unique challenges for rural after school programs. Despite the challenges, rural programs boast tremendous success.

This free Summit will be held at the UC Davis Conference Center in Davis, CA on January 19, 2011.

Register Now! Space is limited.

Learn more about the Rural Afterschool Summit and view the Rural Report that was generated from last year’s Summit.


Attend the Southern California English Learners After School Summit
The Southern CA English Learners Afterschool Summit is brought to you by the California Afterschool Network, the Network English Learner Committee, and the Los Angeles County Office of Education After School Technical Assistance Unit. The English Learners After School Summit will bring together after school practitioners, content experts, technical assistance (TA) providers, educational leadership, and members of the legislature. The purpose of the summit is to learn about the positive impact that after school programs have on English learners, learn promising practices to effectively support English learner achievement and address the achievement gap in after school programs, and create recommendations on how after school programs can continue to deepen their impact on English learners in California.

The English Learners After School Summit (Southern CA) will be held at LACOE Education Center in Downey CA on February 15, 2011.

For more information click English Learners Afterschool Summit.


Register to Attend the Amp Up! Middle
School Conference
Join the only conference of its kind focusing specifically on middle school after-school programs! The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) Region 9 Technical Assistance Center (RTAC) and California Afterschool Network welcome you to attend the first annual Amp Up! Middle School After School Conference! Amp Up! will be held on March 8-10, 2011 at the Bahia Resort Hotel in San Diego CA.The conference will feature engaging workshops, keynote presentations, youth performances, and networking opportunities. Program staff, directors, middle school site administrators, and technical assistance providers are encouraged to attend.

View the recently posted workshop descriptions.

Register and learn more about the Amp Up! Middle School Conference


It’s not too early to start thinking about next year, save the date for Step Up 2011

Step Up

Network News


Lights On After School 2010
The 11th annual National Lights On Afterschool sponsored by the Afterschool Alliance was celebrated at after school sites and public gatherings nationwide on October 21, 2010. The California Afterschool Network held its third annual Lights On Afterschool Celebration at the California State Capitol. Governor Schwarzenegger outlined a letter to support the Lights on Afterschool celebration, outline the importance of after school programs, and thank the Afterschool Alliance for their dedication to this work Nationally.

California had the most Lights On Afterschool events registered in the country with 999 events registered through the AfterSchool Alliance.

LifeSTEPS resident youth were lit up with excitement during the Lights on After School events held at multi-family affordable housing sites throughout California. Hundreds of youth from LifeSTEPS’ properties participated in this national event created to bring public awareness to the importance after school programs have upon the daily lives of children. The after school program participants celebrated by decorating paper light bulbs while discussing the importance of after school programs and the significance of the light bulb.

Resources to Impact your Program

Access the brand new California High School After School Quality Self-Assessment Rubric
The California Afterschool Network was happy to release the new High School After School Quality Self-Assessment Rubric (QSAR) at the 2010 Step Up High School Summit. The QSAR was created in collaboration by the California Afterschool Network and the Los Angeles County Office of Education After School Technical Assistance Unit with generous support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The QSAR Tool is meant to support a reflective process in which program staff and stakeholders explore their own programs and work collaboratively to develop strategies to enhance policies, procedures and practices. The QSAR Tool will help program staff and stakeholders assess how their program reflects promising practices from the field, identify their strengths and challenges, and create a plan for program quality improvement. The QSAR is available for free download. Access the QSAR for free today!


Alliance for a Healthier Generation
Alliance for a Healthier Generation is offering tips and resources on how to start a school garden. To learn more, please click here.

Why School Gardens? 
School gardens are a natural way to:

  • Make the connection to farms and farmers.
  • Influence snacks provided at schools.
  • Help with student acceptance of healthier foods. (Research indicates that when children grow and prepare foods they are more likely to eat the foods.)
  • Integrate health, nutrition, science and physical education.
  • Involve families and communities in the school.


Access Educational Curriculum from NASA and Engage Youth in the Solar System With Space School Musical
The School Musical is a musical "hip-hopera" that utilizes story, music, and drama to teach scientific concepts of the solar system. The musical utilizes multiple modalities to engage youth in solar system exploration. The musical contains a hip-hop overview of the solar system, an RnB Moon Dance, and a rock and roll Asteroids presentation. Programs can utilize the songs and the music to watch videos as part of a lesson, emulate the songs and performances through karaoke or theatrical performance, and link to additional activities that can be used to teach the concepts represented in the videos. To access videos, songs, and additional hands-on educational activities designed by NASA, click here.

Trainings and Events

2011 California Service Learning Leadership Institute 

February 7-9, 2011 in San Diego, California.
This event by the Excel Youth Zone and the California Department of Education, CalServe Initiative is design to support leaders in service learning across California as they learn and share how to design, implement and sustain service learning across their schools, districts and counties.

For more information or to register, please click here.


FREE training for After School Staff on Inclusion!
The After School Inclusion Project with the California Department of Education and the Napa County Office of Education is excited to present the 2010-2011 Inclusion Webinars! These 90 min on line trainings (10:00- 11:30 a.m.) focus on Linking with School Day staff and Parents to insure that kids with special needs can be included in the After School Program. Click to learn more, and to register.

January 20, 2011 March 17, 2011
January 21, 2011 March 31, 2011
February 10, 2011 April 21, 2011

* All Webinars will be from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. on the day listed.

Funding Opportunities

California Department of Education –
Application for After School Program Funding Now Available

Application Due Date: Jan. 14, 2011

The California Department of Education (CDE) has now posted the 2010-11 request for applications (RFA) for After School programs funding. The After School Education and Safety (ASES) Universal RFA is available at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ba/as/fiscal.asp

The California Legislature has directed the CDE to create an application that "… to the extent possible, allow(s) for short and concise applicant responses." The application is, therefore, relatively short. The primary criterion for selecting the applicants to be funded is the percentage of pupils at the school site that are eligible for free or reduced price meals.

Programs funded via this application must provide an educational and literacy element in which tutoring or homework assistance is provided and an educational enrichment element that may include fine arts, career technical education, recreation, physical fitness, and prevention activities. After school program leaders must work closely with school site principals and staff to align the after school program activities with the regular school day.

Applicants who have previously applied in Round 1 and Round 2 of the ASES Universal RFA process (and were not funded) will automatically be included in Round 3 and no additional application submission is needed. Current ASES grantees who wish additional funding up to the legislative cap may also apply by indicating the number of additional students they will serve on the grant funding calculator page of the RFA.

If there are any questions, please contact the After School Programs Office by phone at 916-319-0923, or by e-mail at afterschool@cde.ca.gov, or contact Terry Shorey, Education Programs Consultant at 916-319-0227, or by e-mail at tshorey@cde.ca.gov.

Inform the Development of New ASES program Outcome Measures

Participate in the Field Test of Measures of Skill Development and Positive Behavior Change!
ASES grantees in the State of California are invited to participate in a field test of measures of skill development and positive behavior change that are being considered as alternative assessments of program effectiveness (California Education Code 8484). Programs participating in the field test can provide feedback about the measures to guide future implementation and will receive free confidential reports of their students’ overall performance on the measures. Technical assistance is available.

To learn more about the field test and sign-up, interested program and site directors should go to http://afterschooloutcomes.org or contact Pilar O’Cadiz by email at mpocadiz@uci.edu or by phone at 949-824-0347.