Community Programs to Promote Youth Development

"After-school programs, scout groups, community service activities, religious youth groups, and other community-based activities have traditionally been an important part of the lives of many adolescents. But what do such programs contribute in the formation of today’s adolescents? Do we know how to design youth programs so that they can successfully meet young people’s developmental needs and help them become healthy, happy, and productive
adults?

Community Programs to Promote Youth Development, a report of the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Community-Level Programs for Youth, explores these questions, focusing on essential elements of adolescent wellbeing and healthy development. It offers recommendations for policy, practice, and research to ensure that programs are well designed to meet young people’s developmental needs."

Summer Reading

"The long hot days of summer provide lots of time to read. It's also a time to make sure kids don't fall behind. Researchers commonly find that students score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer than they do at the beginning. The reading achievement of children from low-income families takes a particularly big hit."

See the Reading Rockets website for "information about summer reading and summer learning loss. Plus you'll discover great activities to encourage kids to learn, read, and have fun in the summer sun."

Online communities transform teacher development

"Teacher professional development is undergoing a radical change for the better, thanks to the development of new online professional 'learning communities' that give educators the chance to network and exchange ideas with their peers at their own convenience. Members of these online communities also have 'just in time' access to instructional tools such as videos, tutorials, and other advice whenever they need it."

NIOST Summer Seminar on Links to Learning

The National Institute on Out-of-School Time is holding its annual Summer Seminars in Boston this July and there are three new workshops for afterschool professionals. YouthLearn Director Tony Streit is co-facilitating, with Dishon Mills, the seminar on Links to Learning for Middle School Programs, which will be held Monday-Tuesday, July 9-10, 2007, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This training is geared towards those who serve middle school youth, though the framework for Links to Learning works for all age groups. It's designed to help educators find ways to make their afterschool program connect to the school day.

The other summer seminars include: Intensive Seminar for System Builders and Organizational Development Tools for Strategic Thinking & Planning. Follow the link to the NIOST website, which contains information on registration, pricing and other offerings. Registration closes June 29.

Grant Applications Available for Women Helping Others Foundation

"The WHO Foundation: Women Helping Others supports grassroots charities in the United States and Puerto Rico serving the overlooked needs of women and children.

Specific projects and programs addressing health, education, and social service needs are the foundation's priority. The foundation recognizes the value of new programs created to respond to changing needs and will consider funding projects of an original or pioneering nature within an existing organization.

Visit the foundation's Web site for program guidelines, application materials, and an FAQ." Deadline: September 11, 2007

Do Something Offering Weekly Grants for Young Social Entrepreneurs

"Do Something is a not-for-profit organization that works to inspire, support, and celebrate young social entrepreneurs and community activists. The organization is accepting applications for the following grant programs:

Do Something and GameStop are offering grants of $500 each to young people, age 25 and younger, in the U.S. or Canada who have a great idea for a community-action project... Do Something and Plum TV are offering grants of $500 each to social entrepreneurs, age 25 and younger, in the U.S. who have recently created a sustainable project, program, or organization."

Extended Day, Quality Afterschool Programs Learn from Each Other

"Across the nation, school district officials, education policy makers, lawmakers and community leaders are considering extending the school day as a way to bolster students’ academic performance, improve their science, math and technology learning, and better prepare them to compete in the global economy." This feature in the latest issue of Afterschool Advocate takes a look at what some communities are doing, and touches on the challenges, tensions, and opportunities depending on how the learning programs are structured. Notes Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant, "The critical question in extending the school day is how the added time will be used."

The Big Read

"The Institute of Museum and Library Services, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, have announced the third deadline for the Big Read program. The purpose of the program is to revitalize the role of literature in American popular culture. Grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 each are available to encourage local communities to inspire literary reading through the program... Approximately 120 organizations of varying sizes across the United States will be selected in this funding cycle. Funded activities should be scheduled to take place between January and June 2008." Deadline: July 31, 2007

AnimAction Gallery of Youth Media

Promoting ‘Awareness through Animation,’ this organization provides professional development and curriculum for animation projects. Their gallery of media works is a great source of youth-produced public service announcements.

Afterschool Training Toolkit for Technology

"Make the most of afterschool with fun activities that engage students and extend technology learning!" The Afterschool Training Toolkit for Technology has been published online by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL). In this resource, "you will find what the research says about promising practices that work, ways to implement them in your afterschool program, sample lessons, and illustrative videos." YouthLearn Director Tony Streit has been working with SEDL for the past three years on development of this toolkit, which includes YouthLearn links and resources.

The Effort Effect: Overcoming "Learned Helplessness"

"In Stanford Magazine, Marina Krakovsky describes psychology professor Carol Dweck’s work on achievement motivation. Originally fascinated in graduate school by the research on "learned helplessness", Dweck and others observed that people who believe intelligence is fixed do not achieve as well as those who believe intelligence is malleable. What fascinated them most was children who put forth lots of effort and didn't make negative attributions when they failed. This approach contrasts with the born-smart, performance-oriented belief system. Children in this camp, even if they're very good at things, tend to crumble when they encounter frustration and failure. They see each task as a challenge to their self-image, and each setback as a personal threat. They tend to pursue only challenges they think they can ace and avoid risks and other growth experiences. Long term, the belief that ability is fixed undermines effort and stunts achievement."

Award for schools that act as community centers

Applications for the 2007 Richard Riley Award from the Knowledge Works Foundation and the American Architectural Foundation are due July 9, 2007. Eligibility: Elementary and secondary public school officials, teachers, and students.

"This award recognizes design and educational excellence in 'schools as centers of community,' and the winning school will receive a $10,000 prize. Schools that serve as centers of community provide a rich array of social, civic, recreational, and artistic opportunities to the broader community and to students, often clustering educational and municipal buildings together. These additional services and opportunities often improve student achievement and help maximize local tax dollars."

Tools for Mentoring Adolescents

"For new approaches and insights, ideas for engaging community members, and resources for building stronger mentor-mentee relationships with teens, check out these tools from the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota and the Search Institute."