Dear friends,

For us at Foundations, there was not much downtime this summer. Our team worked tirelessly supporting quality summer programs while also helping educators prepare for the new school year!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of going to the Roosevelt Elementary School in Philadelphia with Elizabeth Cieri and Ralph Burnley to support a well-planned and well-executed professional learning experience with the staff. How do I know it was successful? Despite being stuck with us in a very hot room with no air conditioning for three hours, the staff remained engaged and excited the entire time (-- and I read their evaluations last night!). Kudos, Elizabeth and Ralph!

The beginning of the school year is always an exciting time, full of fresh starts and optimism. This year is no exception. I love the energy and enthusiasm of children, teachers, parents, leaders and community members. Our challenge is to keep the excitement growing all year so that our vision of creating a brighter future for every child – every day becomes a reality!
Hope you enjoy our updates – AND – don’t forget to join our virtual Book Club with our first meeting this Thursday, September 5 th at 8 PM ET, where author Dave Burgess, will entertain questions about his book Teach Like A Pirate .

Warmly,
UPDATE FROM THE NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
National Advisory Board member Kimo Richardson is Director of Emerging Programs at the Council on Accreditation. Let's check in with Kimo and see what he's up to!
In 2018, Kimo's role at the Council on Accreditation (COA) expanded to include oversight of COA's Public Agency Accreditation, alongside leading the accreditation of early childhood, afterschool, and youth development programs. COA's work with public agencies spans the human services, with a particular focus on the child welfare, behavioral health, and aging services sectors.

Throughout 2019, Kimo has been overseeing the rollout of updated programming standards for afterschool and youth development programs that provide best practices for academic enrichment and skill development, arts education, health and wellness, mentoring, college and career readiness, and homework help and tutoring. Additionally, Kimo has been collaborating with internal and external experts in the rollout of revised standards and additional accreditation process options that reflect the varied needs, capacity, and structures of state, county, and local human service public agencies.

Whether through work with individual early childhood, afterschool, and youth development programs/organizations or with human service public agencies, Kimo’s work has been focused on supporting organizations in achieving positive outcomes for vulnerable children and families. For the remainder of 2019, Kimo will continue to oversee the full rollout of the aforementioned initiatives through early 2020.
NEW FACES AT FOUNDATIONS
The Center for Afterschool and Expanded Learning is excited to introduce two new Education Specialists to the team! Jamal Easley and James Hasegawa will be supporting out-of-school time programs both nationally and in the Philadelphia region.
Jamal has a decade of experience working with youth in Chicago, Houston, and Philadelphia, inspiring his students to love writing, literature, and serving their communities. In particular, Jamal is experienced working with children who have experienced trauma or violence, using Social-Emotional Learning as a tool to address social justice and equity.

Jamal has an exuberant and colorful personality – and a fashion sense to match. Jamal earned his Master’s from Seton Hall University in Strategic Communications and his Bachelor’s from Southern Illinois University in Mass Communications and Media Arts with a specialty in Cinematography; in fact, Jamal won two Emmys for his work directing and editing student films. As something of a Renaissance man, Jamal is equally passionate about education, art, music, and food; he loves attending festivals of all kinds – and traveling the world to enjoy different cultures and cuisines! 
Although his primary expertise is in adult education and eLearning, James also has first-hand experience working with youth; he worked at a Las Vegas high school for seventeen years, where he taught English and social studies and also served as an academic advisor. James is passionate about education – including his own; he believes that learning is a continuous process and is constantly striving to improve himself. One of his proudest accomplishments is earning his Master’s degree in Education.

Family is a driving force in all that James does. There’s nothing James loves more than spending time with his wife Carla and their three sons Chase, Dominic, and Danilo – especially playing sports! In fact, James is a basketball and volleyball coach for his sons’ teams, where he loves interacting with the kids and helping them to succeed.
UPCOMING EVENTS
SEPTEMBER 5: Virtual Book Club

Join us on Twitter for our first Virtual Book Club with author Dave Burgess. Using the hashtag #EveryChildEveryDay, we'll talk with Dave about his book Teach Like a Pirate.
SEPTEMBER 11: Perspectives from the Field

This free webinar hosted by Shawn Petty is an educational, interactive conversation with special guest Dr. Dayna Long as they examine the role of health disparities in childhood trauma.


SEPTEMBER 30: Deadline for Early Bird Registration

Beyond School Hours 2020 is shaping up to be an exciting, action-packed event! Don't miss your chance to save big on conference registration.
SAVE THE DATE
FEBRUARY 26-29, 2020: Beyond School Hours XXIII

Beyond School Hours is returning to Orlando in 2020! Register now and take advantage of earlybird pricing -- ends September 30!
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