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The FY20 Request for Applications for Iowa 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants has been released by the Iowa Department of Education. Applications for funding are due December 13, 2019. To review application materials and to apply, please visit the Iowa Department of Education website.
The Iowa Department of Education, supported by the Iowa Afterschool Alliance, provides technical assistance throughout the application timeline. The following TA events are open to the public:
- Monday, September 23, 2019; 10 am: What's New in the RFA Webinar. Access via Adobe Connect at the time of the webinar using this link: https://meet689428149.adobeconnect.com/ia21cclcwebinars/.
- Wednesday, September 25, 2019; 10 am: Local Evaluator Training. Applicable for existing grantees and applicants. Access via Adobe Connect at the time of the webinar using this link: https://meet689428149.adobeconnect.com/ia21cclcwebinars/.
- Thursday, September 26, 2019; 8:30 am: Eastern Iowa Application Technical Assistance Meeting at Best Western Plus Dubuque Hotel, 3100 Dodge St., Dubuque, IA 52003.
- Wednesday, October 16, 2019; 10 am: Central Iowa Application TA Meeting at Adel Public Library, 303 S 10th St, Adel, IA 50003.
- Wednesday, October 23, 2019; 10 am: Western Iowa Application TA Meeting at Iowa Western Community College Room 137, 705 Walnut St, Atlantic, IA 50022.
Recommendations for funding are made to the Iowa Department of Education through a peer review process. The Iowa Afterschool Alliance is seeking peer reviewers from across the state to help determine which applications are funded. Peer reviewers are provided a stipend and compensated for travel to the Des Moines area. Key dates reviewers must be available are:
- Thursday, December 5, 2019; 10:30 am to 12:30 pm: Peer Reviewer Training (online)
- December 18, 2019 - January 17, 2020: Applications are reviewed and scored
- Wednesday, January 22, 2020; 10:00 am to 3:00 pm: Peer Review Conference in the Des Moines area
If you are interested in being a peer reviewer, please contact Britney Samuelson at
[email protected].
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"Coaches Corner" is a new feature of the Advisor that shares resources developed or identified by the Central Iowa Out-of-School Time Enrichment Coaches. For more information on this initiative, please visit the OST Initiative website at www.ciostinitiative.org.
This month our OST Enrichment Coaches held a quarterly Central Iowa OST Network meeting. The focus was on Quality Standards for an OST program and Core Competencies for staff. These meetings are held on a quarterly basis focusing on various topics related to building and sustaining high quality programs in the OST environment. If you are interested in more information regarding these meetings, please contact Michelle Rich at [email protected].
Quality Standards
The Iowa Afterschool Alliance (IAA) has developed a Quality Standards Self-Assessment tool
for out-of-school time programs. There are five key quality standards with multiple indicators of quality within each. Take some time to read through each category and review how your program is faring for each quality standard. Celebrate your successes and begin planning your next steps in the areas of improvement.
Core Competencies
The National Afterschool Association (NAA) has identified
10 Core Knowledge and Competencies for Afterschool and Youth Development Professionals
. Don't be afraid to post this document where your staff might see it on a daily basis. Consider highlighting one core competency each month as a way to keep this information fresh.
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News on Social and Emotional Learning
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Teaching social-emotional skills in class sounds great, and the idea has a broad and growing following in K-12 schools. In practice, however, executing evidence-based strategies to teach skills like empathy and self-control to students can be challenging for schools, and prohibitively so.
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Comprehensive SEL curricula on the market today can be expensive, putting them out of reach for lower-income school districts. They are complex and can be difficult to graft onto existing curricula and school day routines. And they may not be culturally relevant to all students. Enter kernels: a cost-effective method to teach social-emotional skills in flexible, bite-sized lessons being pioneered and piloted by the Ecological Approaches to Social Emotional Learning-or EASEL-laboratory at Harvard University.
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October 24 is Lights On! Afterschool
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 Launched in October 2000, Lights On Afterschool is the only nationwide event celebrating afterschool programs and their important role in the lives of children, families and communities. The effort has become a hallmark of the afterschool movement and generates media coverage across the country each year.
The Afterschool Alliance organizes Lights On Afterschool to draw attention to the many ways afterschool programs support students by offering them opportunities to learn new things-such as science, community service, robotics, Tae Kwon Do and poetry-and discover new skills. The events send a powerful message that millions more kids need quality afterschool programs.
To register your event and get resources to plan your event, visit the Afterschool Alliance's Lights On site.
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Crisis Counseling for Disaster Areas
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Project Recovery Iowa is a FEMA-funded crisis counseling grant and is serving Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, and Woodbury counties. Project Recovery Iowa goes beyond counseling and offers public education, resilience training, programing and information and referral. The provider is Heartland Family Service and they staff in all 5 counties. The Project is open to collaborating with afterschool programs to best serve the area's children.
For more information, reference these documents:
Project Recovery Iowa Business Card
Project Recovery Iowa Flyer
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Complete Your Afterschool Advocate Profile
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Iowa is making it into political news a lot lately. Iowa always factors prominently on presidential hopefuls' schedules as they reach out to voters and test their messages with Iowans.
We want to make afterschool a key message in policy discussions across the state and nationally. Working closely with the Afterschool Alliance, the Iowa Afterschool Alliance is building a corps of advocates across the state to show up at events, share news over social media and traditional media, and reach out to others with the message that Afterschool Works!
We are regularly tracking candidate events, legislative forums and coffees, and media to connect you with opportunities to share this message. Please complete your profile online so that we can better reach you with chances in your community to be an advocate for afterschool.
Please complete your profile online today!
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Save the Date for Impact 2020!
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 Impact 2020 will be better than ever! Join 200 of your peers from across the state at this premier learning and networking event in Des Moines. Have a best practice to share? Please consider presenting at next year's conference.
To submit a presentation proposal, follow this link. Proposals must be submitted online. To review the questions before submitting, see this document.
For more information on Impact 2020, contact Michelle Rich at [email protected].
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Iowa STEM Scale-Ups
Through legislative appropriation, the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council is able to offer exemplary STEM programs throughout the state. The STEM Scale-Up Program has demonstrated success in increasing student interest and achievement in STEM across all demographics.
Naiku Innovative Teacher Grant
Deadline: Ongoing (approx. 10 awards per month)
Naiku's Innovative Educator Grants support K-12 classroom teachers in public or private schools seeking to facilitate differentiated and data-driven instruction within teacher teams and/or personalize learning with learner-centric assessment strategies.
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
AAUW's Community Action Grants provide funds that address issues related to the needs of women and girls or that provide information to educate and benefit the public on those issues.
AAUW encourages proposals for projects that
- Use innovative approaches to address local community needs or build links among community partners
- Build partnerships between schools and community organizations
For more information visit the AAUW website.
Sponsor: SparkFun
Award: STEM/STEAM-related prize packages, event and team sponsorships and other types of support
Number of Awards: Varies
Application Deadline: Ongoing: third Thursday of each month; awards announced on the last business day of each month
TAF Project-Based Learning Grants for Grades 6-12
Sponsor: Toshiba America Foundation
Award: Two categories: Up to $5,000 and more than $5,000
Number of Awards: Not specified
Application Deadline: Up to $5,000 awarded on a rolling basis; Feb. 1 deadline for applications for more than $5,000
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Follow IAA on Facebook for Latest Updates
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 Follow the Iowa Afterschool Alliance on Facebook at www.facebook.com/iowaafterschoolalliance for the latest updates on the Every Student Succeeds Act (formerly No Child Left Behind), PD opportunities, IAA activities, and grant opportunities. Expect an update on an issue of interest every day! You can also follow us on Twitter by following @iowaafterschool.
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Professional Development Opportunities
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Out of School Time Professional Development Center
The Out of School Time Professional Development Center provides Out of School Time training to OST professionals. The classes provide in-depth curriculum and certificates.
If you or your staff are interested in signing up for courses visit the
Out-of-School Time
website
. Check out the entire course catalog here
.
Great Content on Y4Y!
You 4 Youth is a free
online professional development site that is designed to support 21CCLC program staff, but is a valuable tool for any afterschool professional looking to build their skills! Recently, Y4Y has rolled out a whole module on literacy.
Click here to register.
Afterschool Alliance Webinars
The Afterschool Alliance offers webinars on a wide range of topics, from policy and the new Every Student Succeeds Act, to STEM and Social-Emotional Learning. Find out more on their
webinars website.
Iowa Child Care Training Registry
Find professional development for school-age programming on the State of Iowa Child Care Training Registry on topics ranging from health and safety to developmentally appropriate programming.
Find out more online
National AfterSchool Association PD Resources
NAA provides afterschool professionals with resources to stay up-to-date on the latest topics in afterschool and summer learning.
Find out more on their website
here.
Resources for STEM Programming
The Center for the Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) provides background information that is useful for the development of STEM programming. Find out more on their website.
The Afterschool Tech Toolkit aims to empower afterschool professionals and educators with strategies and training so they can provide students with access to technology outside of classroom hours. It includes training modules on getting started, training staff, accessing technology and devices, and more. Take a look at the toolkit here.
21CCLC Fall Institute
September 26, 2019; Dubuque, Iowa
Attend this day-long professional development event designed for all afterschool and summer programs. Workshop details will be shared as they become available on the Iowa 21CCLC website at https://www.iowa21cclc.com/institutes. Child care credit available.
Early Learning Fall Institute
October 4-5, 2019; Altoona, Iowa
Hosted by the Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children.
Iowa School Age Care Alliance Conference
October 5, 2019; West Des Moines, Iowa
Join ISACA for a full day of fast paced, interactive workshops with the energetic trainers from Leading to Change! Keynotes and workshops cover topics including conflict, generations in the workplace, and classroom management, to name only a few!
The Boundless Potential of Every Student
October 11, 2019; Burlington, Iowa
What if ninety seconds could change the way you see your students forever? What if a simple shift in perspective could turn your quintessential "problem" students into your most passionate learners? What if one moment is the key to unlocking an infinite realm of life-changing possibilities for each student you encounter? This event will include a keynote presentation from Donna Porter and DJ Baptiste, and afternoon workshops by Porter and Baptiste on reaching older youth and Velda McKenzie on Conscious Discipline.
For information on this opportunity, please contact Cassie Gerst with Burlington Schools.
Beyond School Hours Conference
February 26-29, 2020; Orlando, FL
The nation's premiere conference for educators and leaders serving K-12 students in school, afterschool, summertime and beyond.
National AfterSchool Association Convention
March 15-18, 2020; Washington, DC
Please join the 2,300 members of our community at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center for four days of networking, learning and inspiration: special events, workshops, daily keynotes and an interactive Learning Expo all designed to meet the needs of the developing professionals and emerging and current leaders of afterschool. Come to NAA convention and leave saying, "I've found my people!"
BOOST Conference
April 28 - May 1, 2020; Palms Springs, CA
Join the largest, most recognized and comprehensive global convening for after school, expanded learning, and out-of-school time professionals. Set in a retreat-like atmosphere, this annual, extraordinary event will rejuvenate your passion, boost your direction for quality programming and provide tools and resources that will inspire you to create change.
Impact After School Conference
April 29 - May 1, 2020; Des Moines, Iowa
Join 200 of your peers for this great learning experience! More information coming soon.
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