The Y4Y Insider - June 2021
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You did it! You made it through the toughest academic year of modern times. But what would a phenomenal performance be without a proper bow and a summer encore? First and foremost, you’re going to Celebrate! Y4Y considers celebrating the nth or utmost strategy for success in any endeavor. While you’re taking that bow, show off your teen program to keep the students you have and recruit new ones. For your final curtain call, some solid reflection and continuous improvement can be your summer encore.
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The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) is pleased to announce that registration for the Nita M. Lowey 21 st Century Community Learning Centers (21 st CCLC) Grant Program 2021 Summer Symposium is now open! This three-day event provides State education agencies (SEAs) and their grantees with plenary sessions and workshops with successful strategies in implementing and managing all components of the program. It also offers an opportunity for the Department to provide important updates regarding the 21 st CCLC program. The Symposium’s sessions are a combination of large-group presentations with nationally recognized speakers Nettrice Gaskins, Shane Safir, Karen Mapp and Geoffrey Canada, and smaller interactive workshops where attendees have the chance to work closely with education experts. This year’s Symposium will be held virtually on July 20-22, 2021.
You can go to https://cvent.me/ZbK8mO to register for the Symposium. Feel free to forward this link to your colleagues.
We look forward to seeing you at the 2021 Summer Symposium!
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Webinars
Tuesday, June 22, and Thursday, June 24, 1-3 p.m. ET
Volunteers needed! Volunteers can strengthen 21st CCLC programming by expanding your offerings, increasing adult-to-student ratios, increasing student access to experts and more. In this two-part series, join the Department's You for Youth (Y4Y) Technical Assistance Team to learn how to engage, train, manage and retain fantastic volunteers in every type of geographic location. Throughout the series, you’ll hear from experts and program leaders on strategies for maximizing the power of volunteers.
Do you have questions about Y4Y webinar registration, sign-in, participation or certificates? Send your queries to this email address for the quickest response: Y4YWebinars@seiservices.com.
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Gathering STEAM
Powering Your STEM/STEAM Initiatives
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Webinars for STEM Educators
NASA and Texas State University have teamed up to offer a series of webinars for STEM Educators. Check out topics like “NASA STEM: Storybooks and Space Place Fun,” (June 17). Be sure to bookmark the partnership webinar page and explore upcoming events.
Stepping Outside
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Archived Webinars
Please note: A certificate of attendance is available only to those who participate in the live events. Certificates will not be issued to those who view the recordings.
Identify your partnership needs and get tips for every step of establishing and maintaining valued new relationships.
Explore some essential goals of the ARP ESSER III fund and how your 21st CCLC can approach your district and state to broaden and deepen your role in recovery efforts.
Discover many of the hundreds of free federal resources available to your program through agencies such as the National Endowment for the Arts, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
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Tech Tip
Don’t let your efforts go unrecognized! Have you started a Y4Y course that you just couldn’t find the time to complete? If you signed in when you started, your progress has been saved. Come on back, complete your course, and take a certificate and a bow.
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State Coordinators Corner
How will you advise grantees on leveraging new federal funding from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER III)? Y4Y offers ideas on how 21st CCLC programs can enhance their offerings, based on the May webinar, which you can recommend that grantees catch in the Y4Y archives.
Because of how the ESSER III is structured, 21st CCLC programs in your state are more likely to be receiving funding from their local education agency (LEA) than from you. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t a valuable resource to them in navigating new territory.
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Does your office host a dedicated webpage for grantees to share ideas and resources around ESSER? Some grantees may hesitate to approach SEAs with questions, not wanting to impose on busy administrators. Hosting a webpage demonstrates your commitment to peer collaboration. It’s also a way to monitor the kinds of questions that are arising and set the record straight if misinformation is being shared.
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Share a few key practices to help ensure that 21st CCLC programs — especially community-based sites — receive what their students deserve. Aligning needs with schools, districts and families at the outset will open more direct ESSER III funding streams. A seat at the table as priorities are established will further cement funding opportunities. Have a shared definition and understanding of “learning loss” and other central ESSER III language with all stakeholders.
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Offer sound advice around braiding and blending funds, such as technology tools and systems well suited to keeping funding streams well delineated, strong staff training on restrictions of different funding streams and staff-driven designation of time worked.
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Educate programs on sustainability. Extra funding in the present can too easily be “grown into.” During this period of enhanced infrastructure, challenge grantees to explore private funding partnerships and future grants to keep programs thriving beyond ESSER timelines.
In the webinar, guest subject matter expert Kristin Allen, Government Relations Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, shared a list of questions she advises all 21st CCLC sites pose to their LEAs. Encouraging school districts to provide this information proactively might help 21st CCLC programs in your state hit the ground running on behalf of students in their communities.
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Voices From the Field
What 21st CCLCs Can Learn From Forest Schools
If you, like the Y4Y team, caught the Hickory Hill Nature School (HHNS) featured on a national morning show this spring, you might have been bitten by the nature school bug. The school’s founder, executive director and lead teacher, Stacey Gummey, was kind enough to grant us an interview and offer her thoughts on how time outdoors can offer 21st CCLC students time away from screens — and a magical perspective on inquiry-based learning. Read more here, or listen to the podcast.
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Ms. Gummey is a certified Forest Kindergarten Teacher and a trained Pennsylvania Master Naturalist. Her training and experience reflect extensive expertise in both early childhood development/education and natural studies.
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While the country turns 245 this month, July 8 marks the anniversary of the first time the Declaration of Independence was read publicly — by Colonel John Nixon — to a crowd in Philadelphia. Students can discuss whether the audience knew the historical significance of what they were witnessing, and what present-day events might compare.
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July 14 is Caldecott Day, commemorating the first Caldecott Medal for children’s picture books, made in 1938. Choose a few favorite Caldecott winners for your month’s read-alouds!
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July 15 is World Youth Skills Day. In a broader conversation around skill-building and its relationship to achieving goals, have students think of a skill they’d like to work on or master through the summer. It could be anything from juggling to typing to writing code.
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As a profession of passion, Y4Y knows that 21st CCLC staff draw and give inspiration through quotes or anecdotes like the one below. Please reach out and share your inspiring stories of how 21st CCLC programs are changing the lives of your students. Tell us your first name and state for inclusion in future issues of The Y4Y Insider.
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“I have enjoyed being educated throughout the pandemic with other learners and have gathered more information that can be used for the benefit of our parents and students. I was so excited when I became a part of the Y4Y group. You all allow us to work while being able to engage in these trainings to share with our families and team.” — EBF, Y4Y webinar participant
Y4Y is glad to support the important work you do, EBF!
We want to hear from you, too!
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Bring families along when you take the stage for your final bow as the 2020-21 school year ends, and check out the webinar series: Family Engagement with Y4Y.
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Disclaimer: This newsletter may contain links to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for the user’s convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of this outside information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to particular items is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, donation solicitations or products or services offered, on these outside sites, nor any organizations sponsoring the sites, whether financially or by website hosting.
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