The Y4Y Insider - November 2020
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The new Y4Y course on supporting English learners will take you on a tour of the Y4Y Language and Culture Festival. You’ll learn about designing activities that increase proficiency across the four modalities of language (listening, speaking, reading and writing), get practical tips on creating a safe learning space that celebrates and embraces all the cultures represented in your 21st CCLC program, and learn how to engage with students and families in authentic ways to make them feel valued and empowered as participants, resources and partners. Your program is a great place to accelerate English learners’ language, literacy and content knowledge. You can provide rich experiences that support their success during the school day.
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The year 2020 will go down in history as one that gave new meaning to the word “togetherness.” But while families have enjoyed more togetherness than ever, you may have been struggling to imitate the rich togetherness you experienced with your students before school closures. Are your students together in language? Y4Y is excited to debut its new course to help 21st CCLC programs ensure they’re doing their best to support English learners. You’re surely together online. What does a partially or fully virtual 21st CCLC program look like and what can we learn from this new format? A new study indicates teens may be faring better than expected through the pandemic. Let’s keep that vibe going together in positivity. Like the “Jolabokaflod” in Iceland mentioned in Creative Program Ideas, how can you and your students be together in literacy?
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Are you a college and career readiness guru? A virtual program veteran? Y4Y wants to hear from you!
Y4Y is updating our course on college and career readiness, and we’re excited to hear about 21st CCLC programs with special focus, whether it’s introducing students to college, work, trades or the military. Who are your partners? How did you develop your program? What were your greatest challenges and the words of wisdom you’ve gained along the way?
Y4Y will also be developing more virtual series on virtual programming (the irony is not lost on us!). Here’s your chance to share your best practices, however hard-learned and hard-earned with your peers.
Email Y4Y with some of the details and we’ll be in touch to hear all about it.
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Let Us Serve You Better!
We hope you’ll consider taking three minutes out of your day to complete this Y4Y Insider feedback form. You might be thinking, “you can’t make me” and you’d be right! But this is your chance to shape future issues and get more of what you’re looking for.
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Upcoming Webinars
Important information about certificates for all webinars:
- You will receive a certificate of participation for each event in the series that you attend.
- Certificates will be sent via email within one week after the individual webinar.
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To ensure you receive a certificate you need to connect to each event using the link that you will receive in your confirmation email.
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If you are registering for an organization, please note this: If everyone who attends wants to be eligible for a certificate of participation, each person must register separately and use their personal link to access the event.
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.
Telling Your Data Story
Nov. 17-18, daily 1-3 p.m. ET
Real meaning exists behind every data point, and when those points are connected, they form a program's story. Join the U.S. Department of Education's Y4Y Technical Assistance team as we show how your out-of-school time program can connect the dots and translate data into a powerful narrative. In this 2-part series, we'll cover planning your program year with the end result in mind, interpreting data to make decisions, and crafting a story about your data. That story will help you recruit partners, identify program champions, and market your program to the community.
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NASA Presents In-Flight Education: What would your students ask an astronaut?
- Here’s a chance to join a live, 20-minute question-and-answer session between students and astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
- Available to K-12, higher ed, and informal education organizations in the U.S.
- NASA is accepting proposals for downlinks occurring during Expedition 65 (April to October 2021).
- Proposals are due Dec. 1, 2020.
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NASA STEM Stars
This webchat series gives students ages 13+ the opportunity to connect with subject matter experts at NASA. Each chat introduces a STEM career, addresses a STEM topic and highlights a NASA mission. The broadcast also highlights a STEM activity that students can do at home. After the interview, students can ask the NASA experts questions and share their completed activities on social media using #NextGenSTEM. Visit the Y4Y NASA page to learn more about upcoming events and archived webchats.
Please note: This is a resource to 21st CCLC programs and not a Y4Y professional development opportunity. Certificates are not available for these events.
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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.
Part 1 featured the basics of virtual programming, and now it’s time to turn it up a notch! The Y4Y team is ready to share more tools, tips and resources to help you become a virtual programming pro. Explore examples of activities that have been successful in other programs, network and brainstorm with peers, and get all your virtual programming questions answered. We’ll even delve into the new world of virtual family engagement. Leave feeling prepared, confident and excited about your virtual programming plan!
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Tech Tip
Making the most of Y4Y’s “My Notebook”
Do you ever wish you had jotted down some notes while you were taking a Y4Y course? Well, the “My Notebook” feature helps you keep track of your thoughts! To use My Notebook, you must be logged into your Y4Y account for access. When you start any course, you’ll see “My Notebook” on the right side of your screen under “COURSE OUTLINE.” Simply select the “My Notebook” dropdown to open a small text area and start typing! It’s very important that you select “Save Notes” when you finish – the notes do not save automatically. Here’s another tip: each course has its own My Notebook, so you can select “View my notes from other topics” if you’d like to go back and review! Happy note-taking!
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State Coordinators Corner
Your role in guiding 21st CCLC grantees in your state is multifaceted and complex, to be sure. A demonstrable emphasis on equity is a requirement of growing concern throughout the country. Your state might begin on a global level. The Local and Regional Government Alliance on Race & Equity is a great resource to promote and inform your philosophy and policies around this important topic. Check out its Resource Guide, which touts a results-based accountability (RBA) framework to ensure a “drive toward racial equity.” State education agencies, as an arm of local government, might consider adopting steps the guide sets forth to normalize, organize and operationalize efforts to bring the priority of equity forward, with tools and tips for gathering related data.
Your RFPs are an opportunity to share your state’s priorities with potential grantees from their most initial interaction with your agency. The state of Vermont, as an example, has built the priority of equity into its RFP, including its stated competitive priorities. But how does your agency continue beyond the application process to support grantees in implementing practices that promote equity in their communities? The Tennessee Department of Education produced the Tennessee Leaders for Equity Playbook, which serves as a great example of simple steps and language for shifting mindsets and addressing the mechanics to achieving greater equity in education.
The U.S. Department of Education Equity Assistance Center Network offers resources on equitable practices for online teaching and learning, recruiting teachers of color, school climate, student discipline and more. Remember to guide grantees to the Y4Y course and tools on human resources to help them recruit and retain high-quality staff who reflect the communities they serve – a key to ensuring equity is addressed. Also specific to out-of-school time, the San Francisco Afterschool For All Resource Guide offers benchmarks, considerations and goals for promoting diversity, access, equity and inclusion.
Attention state coordinators: Your recommendations, please!
On an unrelated note, please consider nominating outstanding grantees who have achieved excellence in college and career readiness to be highlighted as the Y4Y team updates this course (as mentioned at the top of this issue of The Y4Y Insider) or those thriving in a virtual environment to be featured in an upcoming webinar series addressing the many considerations of an online program. Email Y4Y today with details and we’ll be in touch!
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Voices From the Field
Y4Y recently reached out to Marcy Richards, 21st CCLC program manager for the highly diverse Anchorage School District, to share her expertise in developing partnerships that mutually benefit wide-ranging partners and her district’s at-risk students.
Y4Y: Can you share with us a little about the student population in your program, and the sites you operate?
MR: Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity to share what the Anchorage School District (ASD) 21st CCLC program is doing. We are very proud of the work we do and are passionate about changing the trajectory for our most at-risk youth in Anchorage.
ASD is the most diverse school district in the country, with over 100 languages spoken. Many of our sites have 19-22 languages spoken within them. Roughly 11% of our program population is homeless, 45% are English learners, and 28% fall under Indian Education. Our program is STEM based, and we are proud to include a 52% female student population. ASD 21st CCLCs provide afterschool programming Monday-Thursday, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., operating 101 program days per year at 11 sites for our elementary students from families with the lowest income. In those schools, the classroom teacher refers students who are struggling academically to our program. Read the continuation of our conversation with Ms. Richards here.
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Dec. 5 marks the 65th anniversary of the beginning of a year-long bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, inspired by the arrest of Rosa Parks. Workers all over the city banded together, walking great distances to and from work to make a statement for equality. What would students be willing to give up to stand up for their convictions today?
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Dec. 16 is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day. Plan a simple activity that is tasty, whimsical and gets students thinking outside the box. Some ideas might get everyone’s approval, others not so much.
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Dec. 24 is Jolabokaflod, or “Christmas Book Flood,” in Iceland. How can Americans adapt the tradition of a book exchange that sends everyone to bed early to read?
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NASA asks, What’s in your #NASAMoonkit! What you would pack in your 5" x 8" x 2" kit? What can’t you leave the planet without? Is it your camera? Your drawing pad? Or maybe your musical instrument? How would you organize everything you need for your next giant leap? When you figure it out, post a pic of your kit on social media with the hashtag #NASAMoonKit!
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Thanks for playing! Here are our winners for the 21st CCLC-inspired caption for last month’s image from the Y4Y Strategic Partnership course:
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"Delivering published books to student authors. This is going to make their day!" Simone from NY
- "Driving the distance into Yonder" Kevin from NY
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Your turn! Submit your program-inspired caption ideas for this image from the new Y4Y Supporting English Learners course. Responses will be published in next month’s issue.
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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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