In This Week's ACROSS Your Desk:

• Remember to Submit Your Quarterly GSQ Invoices
• OSTB 6: Equity and Inclusion Training: January 4th
• Guided Resource Walkthrough for SEL Guides for OST: January 9th
• How to Earn a Granite Step for Quality (GSQ) in OST: January 11th
• Program Improvement Training (SACERS-U): January 16th
• OST Directors Circle: January 18th
• OSTB 1: Child/Youth Growth and Development: January 18th
• Using the SACERS-U for CQI: January 24th
• SEL CORNER: How Kids Can Be Generous Without Money
• NHCIS Updates
• How to Register for an ACROSS NH Training in NHCIS

A Reminder to Submit Your Quarterly Invoices

Where can I find the Quarterly Quality Invoice to submit to the BCDHSC?

Go to https://www.nh-connections.org/providers/quality-care-matters/.

Where can I email my completed invoice?

Mail your completed invoice to NHGSQ@dhhs.nh.gov.

For more details, refer to page 3 here

or visit https://www.nh-connections.org/providers/quality-care-matters/.

OSTB 6: Equity and Inclusion

Thursday, January 4th

6:30-8:30pm on Zoom

ACROSS NH is proud to provide free virtual and interactive Out of School Time Basics trainings on the National Afterschool Association (NAA) Ten Core Knowledge, Skills & Competencies. These trainings are free thanks to our funding from the NH DHHS and Bureau of Child Development and Head Start Collaboration. Click here for the 2023-2024 flyer of ACROSS NH OSTB trainings.

Equity and Inclusion: OST professionals have regular opportunities to facilitate or hinder (in)equity. Practitioners uphold this responsibility through continued personal learning and understanding, disrupting biases and discrimination to the greatest extent possible, and developing programs, policies, and systems that are culturally responsive, inclusive, and supportive of those historically excluded.

A Guided Resource Walkthrough:

A Guide to Social and Emotional Learning for the Afterschool Professional & A Suspension and Expulsion Prevention Policy Guide for NH Afterschool Programs

Tuesday, January 9th

6:30-8:00pm on Zoom

ACROSS NH provides a guided walk through of these two guides for OST. This training presents an opportunity to explore these 2 guides. We will delve into the foundational knowledge and learning competencies of SEL, with an emphasis on the prevention of suspension and expulsion in out of school time (OST). This training is for directors, site directors, and staff that work with school age children in OST programs. You are required to have a copy of “A Guide to SEL for the Afterschool Professional,” and “A Suspension and Expulsion Prevention Policy Guide for NH Afterschool Programs” at the time of the training. (Click on the titles or the images below to download.) Register in NHCIS.

How to Earn a GSQ Step in OST

Thursday, January 11th

12:00-1:00pm on Zoom

This training is for out of school time (OST) programs, and early childhood programs with an OST component that are planning to apply for a Granite Step for Quality (GSQ). We will review the details of the GSQ OST Rubrics. We will cover the pre-requisites needed, and the the staff requirements & the learning environment requirements needed for applying for a step. Participants will also acquire resources from ACROSS NH to support their work including a self-paced checklist.

This training is provided by Cathy Hazelton, M.Ed.; NH ASMP WT, PC, IM, NH ADS 3 & LE 3 and SACERS-U Anchor. ACROSS NH can provide a copy of the SACERS-U tool to your program by request once you have completed the training. Please email your request to chazelton@acrossnh.org.

Introduction and Overview of ERS and SACERS-U

Tuesday, January 16th

12:00-1:30pm on Zoom

The Environment Rating Scales (ERS) are observational tools that assess process quality of child care programs. This virtual training provides an introduction and overview of the ERS and the School Age Care Environment Rating Scale-Updated (SACERS-U) tool. We will examine the benefits of using the tool for children and for programs. Participants will practice how to use the SACERS-U tool in an out-of-school time (OST) program. This training is intended for programs with school age children in OST. This training fulfills the required Granite Steps for Quality (GSQ) ERS Training for the SACERS Learning Environment Standard Rubric.

This training is provided by Cathy Hazelton, M.Ed.; NH ASMP WT, PC, IM, NH ADS 3 & LE 3 and SACERS-U Anchor. ACROSS NH can provide a copy of the SACERS-U tool to your program by request once you have completed the training. Please email your request to chazelton@acrossnh.org.

Directors Circle: January

Thursday, January 18th

10:30-11:30am on Zoom

As leaders in OST programs know, it is the skills and talents of the adults in a program that will determine whether we achieve or fall short of our desired outcomes. Well-regulated, self-aware, engaged, well-supported, mentored, and coached adults in youth serving spaces tend to respond best to the needs of children and youth, communicate effectively with one another, and engage in the self-reflective practices that allow them to consistently bring their best efforts to the program.

This session will provide tools, activities, and strategies for program leaders to utilize and adapt to meet their needs. From creating and implementing the right interview questions that help gauge the strengths and needs of prospective new hires, to staff development activities that can be used with program staff of all abilities, this session is designed to get folks talking to one another, reflecting, and implementing strategies in their programs.

Register for this session in the NH Connections Information System (NHCIS). You will receive 1 hour of PD in your NHCIS training transcript. Join us!

Monthly virtual Directors Circles are the opportunity for out of school time (OST) directors to share successes, challenges, network with like-minded colleagues in the field, ask questions, to build knowledge in a specific topic, or just come to listen. 

OSTB 1: Child and Youth Growth and Development

Thursday, January 18th

6:30-8:30pm on Zoom

ACROSS NH is proud to provide free virtual and interactive Out of School Time Basics trainings on the National Afterschool Association (NAA) Ten Core Knowledge, Skills & Competencies. These trainings are provided at no cost to you thanks to funding from the NH DHHS and Bureau of Child Development and Head Start Collaboration. Click here for the 2023-2024 flyer of ACROSS NH OSTB trainings.

In this virtual interactive workshop, we will explore and discuss the typical benchmarks for child and youth growth and development. What happens when you have multiple children in your program of varying development needs? In this workshop we will learn strategies for meeting the needs of all children and youth in a mixed-age group.

Using the SACERS-U for Continuous Quality Improvement

Wednesday, January 24th

6:30-8:00pm on Zoom

Pre-Requisite: Participants need to have completed the "Intro and Overview of ERS and SACERS-U Training."

This training is for out of school time (OST) programs looking to improve program quality. We will review basic information on the School Age Care Environment Rating Scale (SACERS-U) and process quality. Bring your SACERS-U questions! We will examine assessment and planning tools to create a plan for Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) to use for program development.

December: Generosity

How Kids Can Be Generous Without Money

Dear SEL in OST Community,

Cultivating a spirit of generosity doesn't have to cost a thing. We don't need to be well off to express acts of generosity and reap the benefits of practicing generosity. According to researchers Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson as quoted by Robyn Silverman in the U.S. News article, "6 Ways Kids Can Be Generous That Don't Involve Money," the benefits for children who practice generosity include the tendency to lead happier, healthier, and more purposeful lives. To read more click here!

6 Ways Kids Can Be Generous That Don't Involve Money:

• Give Time - "Children can use their time to help others in small ways, like taking out the neighbor's trash, or spending time with a younger child reading a book."
• Give of Talents - What can kids do? Bake, play a musical instrument, play with younger children, or even fix something that broke for someone else?
• Share Treasures - "Can an old backpack be given to a friend in need? Kids can help inventory extra household items such as clothes to determine what they could give away." 
• Team Up - "Encourage children to enlist help from others (kids and adults) to bake for a family in need, or accomplish another task, like cleaning up trash in the park, or visiting with people who may need some companionship, such as the elderly in a nursing home. 
• Come Together - "Simply 'get proximate' with those in need. Spend time with those in need." 
• Give Thanks - "There is no way to be too generous with our gratitude and teach our children to do the same." 

Warmly, 

Abigail J. Blodgett, B.S.; NH ASMP

ACROSS NH Social Emotional Learning Coordinator 

ablodgett@acrossnh.org

There are Updates Happening in NHCIS

We are planning to make NHCIS even better by adding features including Provider Enrollment, Credentialling, GSQ, and Training.

The Bureau of Child Development and Head Start Collaboration (BCDHSC) has been making updates and improvements to the New Hampshire Connections Information System (NHCIS). The latest changes were made on December 4th, focusing on providing more details about the Background Record Check (BRC) process. The NHCIS User Guide has been updated to show these changes. You can find the guide on the DHHS website, NH-Connections website, and the ACROSS NH website. If you have questions about how to use NHCIS, check the guide, and you'll see the "Last Updated" date on the first page.

Sometimes, when new developments are released, there may be unexpected problems. If something does not function properly, please tell us by submitting a Help Desk Ticket. Please remember, the "help" functions in NHCIS are for technical problems. If you have other questions, contact BCDHSC, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Aware, or ACROSS NH.

How to Register for an ACROSS NH Training in NHCIS

Log into NHCIS. Go to your "training tile" and click on "take a training." Scroll down and click on "Month" view. Advance to the date of the training that you want to register for and click on the "training title." If you are having trouble registering in NHCIS, please email Cathy Hazelton at chazelton@acrossnh.org.

For more information about NHCIS,

go to https://www.nh-connections.org/providers/nh-professional-registry/.