The Power of Work and Afterschool (Part 2)

Source: A World Fit for Kids

By Sam Piha

In his book, The Means to Grow Up: Reinventing Apprenticeship as a Developmental Support in Adolescence, author Robert Halpern describes the developmental tasks of older youth. Halpern’s descriptions of these tasks include:

• Asserting control over their lives and the forces that affect them and their communities, 
• Beginning to think about the adult world, how it works, make sense of it, and discern their role 
• Ability to carry out more complex tasks: to plan, apportion time, sustain attention and effort, gather and organize information, and monitor one’s work.
• Forging a sense of identity and voice as someone who has power, can positively impact others, and can demonstrate real accomplishment and achievement that has meaning. 

We believe that afterschool programs can play an essential role in workforce development and providing opportunities for older youth to work. We think that youth employment can help address the developmental tasks of older youth as described above. To learn more about this we interview Bill Fennessy, who is an expert on workforce development in afterschool, educational researcher, Regie Stites and Normandie Nigh, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of A World Fit For Kids!.

Q: Do you think young people's engagement in work provides special benefits? 

Bill Fennessy

A: There is no question that young people’s engagement in work provides benefits, and that engagement could be pivotal to their success in life. Most of our students will need a to know how to get job after high school to support themselves or contribute financially to the household. They will also need a job to financially be positioned to be able to attend college and other post-secondary educational opportunities.

Engagement in work is especially important for our students of color. Gallup results show that 65% of students of color will follow the educational and career advice from someone in the workplace, over the advice from their parents, teachers, and counselors combined.

Normandie Nigh

A: (Normandie Nigh) Absolutely! When young people join the workforce they benefit in so many ways, including earning a pay check and experiencing the pride that comes with having a job and learning a variety of skills such as writing a resume, interviewing, expectations, responsibility, punctuality and workplace professionalism. For many of our students they’re also grateful to be able to contribute to their families or save towards their education. At A World Fit For Kids! we believe that it is also important to assist students in learning financial management, time management, safety protocols & procedures, and laws pertaining to teen employment.

Q: How did you discover the power of work for older youth? 

A: (Bill Fennessy) The discovery started with the belief that our programs must be student-driven both in content and delivery, and with we adults serving as facilitators. From there I took the opportunity to require the student leadership to participate in employment skills and position specific trainings to be able to attain those leadership positions. The level of student interest, despite the required training, was incredibly high. So, students that wanted these opportunities, also learned how to get a job.

I also strongly believe that students should be encouraged and supported in looking at what career or careers they are interested in. With that information, students, parents, and counselors can make decisions on the student’s education based, both secondary and post-secondary, on the relevancy to that career. The value of workforce opportunities such as Work Exploration, Work Experience, Internships, Apprenticeships, and Employment is immeasurably positive and will support life changing success.

A: (Normandie Nigh) When I starting working with inner-city teens in Los Angeles in 1994 I saw first hand the power of providing training, requiring community service and then allowing students to apply and get a job in our afterschool programs where they coached and mentored elementary kids. It truly changed both lives in the process!

Q: Do you think that the out-of-school setting is a good place to prepare youth for success in work and career?

Regie Stites

A: (Regie Stites) The simple answer is yes, the out-of-school setting is essential for preparing youth for work and career success. This is so because out-of-school programs can play a key role in supporting the types of integrated learning activities that connect school learning to real-world applications of knowledge and skills. For many young people, especially young people from low-income neighborhoods, one of the most important keys to educational engagement, persistence, and success is relevance. 

Simple common sense (and research) supports the notion that young people who can clearly see the relevance of what they are learning to their own lives and futures are more likely to persist and be successful in education and, as a result, are more likely to be ready for career success. The best methods for connecting school learning to real-world applications of knowledge and skills are well known. These methods include project-based learning, experiential learning, service learning, and a range of work-based learning activities. Some of these integrated learning activities, such as project-based learning and some forms of work-based learning may not require an out-of-school setting, but they are stronger when they do.

A: (Bill Fennessy) Absolutely! The Expanded Learning setting (afterschool) is where young people can feel comfortable to learn and practice the skills they want to experience, in this case “Employability Skills Workshops”. Work is something many of them are curious about or are already very interested in, so it is a very relevant activity for them. For those high school students that will serve at the elementary school Expanded Learning programs, the relationships they have with their own Expanded Learning program staff gives them the great opportunity to watch someone they trust model what would be expected when they work with elementary students. They also are implicitly introduced to the thought of an actual Expanded Learning job after high school, and they will likely need a job if they plan to attend college.

MORE ABOUT…

Regie Stites, Ph.D., is an author, social science researcher, and family historian. He served for twenty years at SRI International as a senior researcher and program manager. He conducted research on policies and practices designed to improve educational quality and outcomes for all students, but particularly for linguistic and racial minority students and for students living in poverty. 

Bill Fennessy currently serves with the California AfterSchool Network (CAN) as a Program Specialist on Equity, Quality and Workforce Development. In 2004 at Blair IB School in Pasadena, CA, Bill launched California’s first ASSETs pilot programs. Bill is recognized as a pioneer, innovator, exemplary practitioner, and thought leader in High School Expanded Learning nationwide. During the pandemic, Bill served as the Director of High School Programs for “A World Fit for Kids!”. 

Normandie Nigh is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of A World Fit For Kids! (WFIT), a leading youth development organization that has been providing healthy behaviors and self-empowerment programs and training for inner-city youth and their families since 1994. She is an active advocate on behalf of healthy kids, families and communities and is an authority in the program development and training. She currently serves on many distinctive boards and steering committees that influence public policy in regards to physical education, physical activity, nutrition education, workforce development and additional aspects of developing the emotional, mental and physical well-being of kids.

Below are two briefing papers and three webinar recordings you should check out on the topic of youth workforce development in afterschool. 

• Engaging Youth as Workers in Afterschool Programs
• Engaging Youth as Workers Within High School Afterschool Programs

• Employing Youth and Workforce Development in Afterschool
• Preparing Youth in Afterschool for the Workforce and Building Your Own Youth Worker Pipeline
• Engaging Youth as Workers in Afterschool

[New Briefing Paper]

Restorative Justice Practices in Afterschool Programs

Restorative justice is a values-based practice. It creates a safe environment and builds trusting relationships, which are critical features of quality afterschool programs. These are the foundation on which afterschool programs can integrate restorative justice practices.

​

This paper is designed to raise understanding and awareness of restorative justice practices and identify ways afterschool leaders can integrate them. We recommend that program leaders share this paper with organizational leaders and program staff and consider the best ways to respond to personal harm and conflicts among youth participants.

To view and download this paper, click here.

The LIAS Learning Principles: Then and Now

By Sam Piha

We launched the Learning in Afterschool & Summer (LIAS) project over ten years ago. The LIAS project was designed to unify the field of afterschool and focus the movement on quality through promoting young people’s learning. The LIAS project promotes five core, evergreen learning principles that should guide the design and implementation of quality afterschool programs. These learning principles are strongly supported by recent research on brain development, education, youth development, and the growing science of learning. The LIAS Learning Principles had a foundational influence on the development of the California Quality Standards for Expanded Learning Programs.

We believe these Learning Principles are still very relevant. Because of the recent turnover of afterschool staff, exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, the LIAS Learning Principles should be foundational to orientation and training of new staff. The Learning Principles are also very relevant to STEM and other trends in afterschool programming. Below we have interviewed several afterschool and educational leaders regarding the relevancy of the LIAS Learning Principles.  

“On June 16, 2010, 20 adult and youth leaders gathered in Oakland to discuss and determine what five principles would be a guide to our community educators as they designed their programs to provide rich learning opportunities. The five principles would communicate to school-day educators how expanded learning was intentionally designed with learning principles that are widely recognized by all educators. At that time, California’s State afterschool funding was $550 million serving about 50 percent of the State’s Local Educational Agencies (LEAs). Now, the State funding is over $4.5 billion, and almost 100 percent of LEAs receive funding.” – Michael Funk, Director of Expanded Learning, California Department of Education

  June 16, 2010, meeting with afterschool leaders to formulate the LIAS Learning Principles. 

At the end of this blog, we review the 5 LIAS Learning Principles. You can learn more about the LIAS Learning Principles by viewing this video. You can also view past LIAS Blogs on this topic here.

“I think that the Learning Principles in the Learning in Afterschool and Summer Project really get at the core of learning for students starting in early childhood going through the university.” – Dr. Deborah Vandell, former Dean of the School of Education, UC Irvine, and leading afterschool researcher

Michael Funk, Director of Expanded Learning, California Department of Education

Q: These principles were developed before the California Expanded Learning Standards. How did they influence the California Standards?

A: In 2014, the California Department of Education worked with the California Afterschool Network and a statewide workgroup of diverse stakeholders to create California’s Quality Standards for Expanded Learning. As the work commenced, I directed this workgroup to use the LIAS Principals and the Youth Development Framework as the foundation for the new Quality Standards.

Q: Why do you believe these learning principles are important?

A: The LIAS principles must be elevated to guide our community and school-day educators as they develop any high-quality Expanded Learning Opportunities Program. When I came to the California Department of Education nearly 12 years ago, hardly anyone understood what a high-quality afterschool program looked like. Furthermore, for summer programs, people only pictured traditional summer school. I set up meetings with other Division Directors, and I presented the LIAS postcard as the vehicle to explain what makes an expanded learning program high-quality. As they reviewed the card, within the first minute I heard, “This is what high-quality teaching looks like during the school day!” The LIAS principles were developed to provide youth workers (community educators) a succinct approach to communicate that afterschool and summer programs were places of learning.

The LIAS principles are more relevant now than ever. With the massive expansion of Expanded Learning in California, there are hundreds of school districts and charter schools that still believe Expanded Learning is “after-care.” The LIAS principles, combined with the quality standards, are necessary to help leaders understand how every student and family should have access to and in fact deserve high-quality Expanded Learning opportunities. 

Dr. Carol Tang, Executive Director at the Children’s Creativity Museum in San Francisco and Former Director of the Coalition for Science After School

Q: Can you briefly speak to the value of the LIAS Learning Principles to the Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) movement?

A: By coupling STEM with LIAS principles, we elevate the discussion about science in afterschool--rather than debate which topics to cover, we can instead focus on the characteristics evident in high quality science programming. If youth workers embrace LIAS, they will understand the fundamental elements which will make STEM successful in their programs. In this way, we not only increase the quality of afterschool science, but we can also foster an environment where science activities are sustainable in the long-term.

Q: Can you speak a bit more about the need you have experienced for training on Learning Principles to guide the development of quality STEM activities? 

A: There is a misconception that STEM is about imparting a set of facts or concepts. Thus, training staff on effective learning principles in general is a way to guide the selection, development, and implementation of high-quality STEM activities. If youth workers can recognize the factors which promote active engagement and learning, then they can select science activities which engage youth and foster scientific skills--such as asking good questions, sharing ideas and testing hypotheses.

“LIAS principles outline the program characteristics most likely to foster scientific inquiry and sense-making in youth and help them recognize the relevance of science and technology to their future. LIAS principles help clarify what high-quality science in out-of-school settings should look like and makes STEM accessible to youth development and afterschool staff. What I like best about LIAS is that it allows OST professionals to view STEM as a way to achieve their youth outcomes using existing best practices in youth development--science afterschool is seen as part of good youth development, rather than an added burden on afterschool program staff.” - Dr. Carol Tang, former Director of Coalition for Science After School

Bill Fennessy, Program Specialist for Workforce Initiatives, Equity and Quality at the California Afterschool Network (CAN) 

Q: Can you speak to the value of the LIAS Learning Principles for afterschool programs?

A: The LIAS principles speak directly to the components required to create a quality instructional delivery framework. When implemented, programs can truly engage the youth of today. While many successful afterschool and summer programs already embody and demonstrate the LIAS principles, these principles now being clearly identified, defined, and articulated, will provide for an understandable and intentional approach to attain successful quality programming across the field. In addition, the LIAS principles provide a common language for the field of afterschool that has been up until now, missing and desperately needed.   

I have personally seen the LIAS principles easily taught to line staff, which might not have been intuitive to them previously. I have witnessed the empowering affect it has had on them, resulting in improved program quality. The LIAS principles have also given them the ability to understand for themselves, and communicate with others, their vital role and the value of afterschool and summer programming.  

LIAS Learning Principles 

1. Effective Learning is Active: Learning and memory recall of new knowledge is strengthened through different exposures – seeing, hearing, touching, and doing. Afterschool learning should be the result of activities that involve young people in “doing” – activities that allow them to be physically active, stimulate their innate curiosity, and that are hands-on and project-based. 

2. Effective Learning is Collaborative: Knowledge should be socially centered, as collaborative learning provides the best means to explore new information. Afterschool programs are well positioned to build skills that allow young people to learn as a team. 

3. Effective Learning is Meaningful: Young people are intrinsically motivated when they find their learning meaningful. This means having ownership over the learning topic and the means to assess their own progress. Motivation is increased when the learning is relevant to their own interests, experiences, and the real world in which they live. 

4. Effective Learning Supports Mastery: Young people tell us they are most engaged when they are given opportunities to learn new skills. If young people are to learn the importance and joy of mastery, they need the opportunity to learn and practice a full sequence of skills that will allow them to become “really good at something.” 

5. Effective Learning Expands Horizons: Young people benefit by learning opportunities that take them beyond their current experience and expand their horizons. Learning about new things and new places promotes a greater sense of potential of what they can achieve and brings a sense of excitement and discovery to the learning environment.

Promoting Workforce Skills and Growing Your Own Staff

By Sam Piha

We know that when asked, older youth say they are most interested in acquiring the skills needed to get a job. As youth program leaders, it is our job to help prepare young people for success in adulthood, which includes creating opportunities to explore careers and gather work-based skills, and we are well positioned to help older youth to acquire these skills. 

We also know that afterschool programs are experiencing a worker shortage, and one way to address this is “Growing Your Own” by creating a pipeline for young people to move into youth work. 

To explore these issues we hosted a webinar on June 30, 2022 entitled Preparing Youth in Afterschool for the Workforce and Building Your Own Youth Worker Pipeline. This webinar was hosted by Bill Fennessy (California Afterschool Network) and several youth work professionals who have developed these kinds of programs.

We highly recommend you view the recording of this webinar and review the very informational Powerpoint that accompanied the presentation. To access, click on the images below.

Webinar Recording

Powerpoint Presentation

Additional Resources:
Engaging Youth as Workers Within High School Afterschool Programs: A Briefing Paper
This paper (50 pages) offers experiences that build workforce and career skills, create leadership roles and opportunities for service. These experiences also create career pathways to professions such as teaching and social work, and ensures the program is more relevant to other youth. The purpose of this paper is to inform and encourage expanded learning programs to engage youth as workers in these programs.

Engaging Youth as Workers in Afterschool Programs 
The purpose of this paper (12 pages) is to clarify guidelines regarding the employment of youth and to share strategies that are currently being used by After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens (ASSETs) programs to engage high school age youth through work within their afterschool programs.

[New Guide Available] Afterschool Professional Development: A Home-Grown "Hybrid" Model

Program leaders are now thinking about using a “hybrid” model for professional development - a mixture of recorded/online training offerings and written briefing papers that can be shared with local staff, followed by on-site discussions facilitated by in-person leaders. This hybrid model can be tailored to the needs of the local program, to be more relevant, intimate, inexpensive, and COVID safe.

In this guide we identify “Basics” professional development resources with links for free, easy access (recorded videos, briefing papers, blogs, etc.). These were developed by Temescal Associates and The How Kids Learn Foundation (HKLF). Also included are worksheets, discussion guides and other resources to support programs in leading their own professional development and reflection activities.

To download and read the full guide, click here.

Preparing Youth for the Workforce in Afterschool and Building Your Own Youth Worker Pipeline (Part 2)

Source: USC

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

We know that when asked, older youth say they are most interested in acquiring the skills needed to get a job. Also, we know that as youth program leaders, it is our job to help prepare young people for success in adulthood, which includes creating opportunities to explore careers and gather workforce skills. Afterschool, sometimes referred to as Expanded Learning (ExL), is well positioned to help older youth to acquire these skills. 

Bill Fennessy is a Program Specialist for Workforce Initiatives at the California AfterSchool Network (CAN). We recently invited Bill to lead a How Kids Learn Speaker’s Forum webinar entitled, Preparing Youth for the Workforce in Afterschool and Building Your Own Youth Worker Pipeline.  To learn more and register, click here.

In preparation of this webinar, we asked Bill a few questions on the importance of youth workforce development in afterschool programs. You can read Part 1 of the interview here and we continue with Part 2 of his responses below.

Q: Do you think that the expanded learning setting is a good place for youth workforce preparation?  
A: Absolutely! The ExL setting is where young people can feel comfortable to learn and practice the skills they want to experience, in this case “Employability Skills Workshops”.   Work is something many of them are curious about or are already very interested in, so it is a very relevant activity for them. For those high school students that will serve at the elementary school ExL programs, the relationships they have with their own ExL program staff gives them the great opportunity to watch someone they trust model what would be expected when they work with elementary students. They also are implicitly introduced to the thought of an actual ExL job after high school, and they will likely need a job if they plan to attend college.

Source: A World Fit for Kids

Q: What does youth workforce preparation have to do with the ExL worker shortage?

A: We see that we can be part of a “grow your own” workforce approach, because one of the largest pools of potential Exl Staff is the current class of high school seniors, which is a source that is replenished annually. (High school students 16 years and older might also be considered). Therefore, focusing on the implementation of strategies that will work to make HS students aware of, or have experience in this potential field of ExL employment will begin the creation of a highly desirable pipeline.  Additionally, ExL programs and participants, particularly high school students, can be partnered with to also create pathways to multiple careers in education and other human services. This because the competencies that make an ExL staff person or site coordinator successful in their position are similar to the competencies that might be needed to implement restorative practices, community schools, teaching, counseling, social work, and a whole host of other professions. Therefore, we know this workforce can be part of a variety of career paths, including and especially in the field of expanded learning itself.

I do like participating as a staff assistant in the middle school program. I just love it when you have someone that looks up to you, running to you asking what class you’re helping that day. It feels good helping others. I also enjoy this role because they’re not the only ones learning from me; engaging with them helps me learn more about other things.” - HS youth, Richmond Village Beacon Center, SF, Ca 

Q: What form does workforce preparation usually take in ExL programs for older youth?  
A: It usually first shows up as an “Employment Skills Workshops” program (see graphic below). This is typically offered to all ExL participants. Other students may be recruited for the elementary school ExL “Work Experience Program”. Students may later use the skills learned to get a job on their own, which is clearly of great benefit to them.  

Bill Fennessy is a Program Specialist for Workforce Initiatives at the California AfterSchool Network (CAN) since February 2022. After a successful professional motorcycle road-racing career, Bill began his new career in education in 1998 with the Pasadena Unified School District as a Campus Aide.   

Early in his career Bill worked at Blair IB School serving as a School Security Officer, a 3 sport Varsity Coach, Athletic Director, and later as the Site Coordinator for Blair’s 7th-9th grade ASES Program. He later developed one of California’s first ASSETs pilot programs. The success of the program was recognized early on, and it also provided the opportunities for him to become a pioneer, innovator, exemplary practitioner, and thought leader in High School Expanded Learning nationwide. Bill was then hired by Think Together in 2009, as its first Director of High School Programs. Once there, he successfully opened 14 ASSETs Programs across 4 Counties and 7 Districts, which all attained greater than 100% ADA in their first year of operation.  

Before leaving Think Together, Bill also led a highly successful CBO/EXLP/CTE collaborative effort to significantly increase student internships with Santa Ana USD. Bill recently served as the Director of High School Programs for A World Fit For Kids!, based in Los Angeles, and as a Consultant for the Los Angeles and Tulare Counties Offices of Education. 

Summer Fundraiser:

The How Kids Learn Foundation is hosting a summer fundraiser to support our work in 2023. Learn more here!

Preparing Youth for the Workforce in Afterschool and Building Your Own Youth Worker Pipeline (Part 1)

Source: Alexandriava.gov

By Sam Piha

We know that when asked, older youth say they are most interested in acquiring the skills needed to get a job. Also, we know that as youth program leaders, it is our job to help prepare young people for success in adulthood, which includes creating opportunities to explore careers and gather work-based skills. Afterschool, sometimes referred to as Expanded Learning (ExL), is well positioned to help older youth to acquire these skills. 

Bill Fennessy

Bill Fennessy is a Program Specialist for Workforce Initiatives at the California AfterSchool Network (CAN). I first met Bill years ago when he innovated a new high school afterschool program in Pasadena, CA. Bill was part of the first round of ASSETs (After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens) program funding. He subsequently joined Think Together as their first Director of High School Programs and continued this role later at A World Fit for Kids. We recently invited Bill to lead a How Kids Learn Speaker’s Forum webinar entitled, Preparing Youth for the Workforce in Afterschool and Building Your Own Youth Worker Pipeline. To learn more and register, click here.

In preparation of this webinar, we asked Bill a few questions on the importance of youth workforce development in afterschool programs, and his responses are below.

Q: What do you mean by workforce preparation?   

A: Preparing older youth for the workforce is giving students both the skill building instruction, practice and experience to prepared them for the employment process, and then provide additional specific preparation previous to an actual workplace environment to provide a truly beneficial experience and real context for working. Starting to expose and prepare older youth to serve in afterschool or expanded learning (ExL) elementary programs can be a significant help to developing and finding potential quality staff, thereby creating your own ExL program staffing pipeline.

Q: What do we hear from the business community in regard to preparing youth for the workforce?

A: Businesses and corporations are looking for a diverse workforce of young employees that can assimilate into the workplace smoothly, quickly, and carry themselves in a professional manner. Being able to thrive in a team environment and/or on team projects is also a highly sought ability. They are also looking more now at what an employee can actually do, rather than what level of education they have attained. Then once employed, advancing in the workplace also has far more to do with an employee’s “people-skills” than the volume of work completed. In addition, Community Colleges are considering giving credits for employment completed in general. Resumes are very important in demonstrating what skills potential employees possess, and ExL employment provides an opportunity to acquire a vast number of skills and competencies.

Q: Why is preparing youth for work and career success important for young people from low-income neighborhoods? Is there an issue of equity that we should seek to address?  

A: Preparing young people from low-income neighborhoods is absolutely critical for their success in both education and the workforce. Results from a Gallup Poll showed that 65% of underserved and youth of color will take their educational and career advice from someone in the workplace, over their parent, teacher, or counselor combined. Thus, it is incredibly clear that preparing and placing our underserved and youth of color in the workforce is a MUST.  

Our ExL youth participants are the diversified workforce we are looking for in our ExL programs. Having students serving in elementary ExL programs, can also be a start towards an education pathway, which should then help provide the diversified Exl workforce and potentially continuing on to the diversified teaching workforce desired.  

I would tell the other afterschool programs that it is an excellent idea to bring student youth workers to their program because it is giving them a chance to succeed in life, and they won't be just in the streets doing nothing. Instead, they will be in the programs learning about new experiences and how to be better in the future.” – HS youth, Richmond Village Beacon Center, SF, Ca 

 

Q:  Is this an appropriate concept for elementary, middle and/or high school?  

A: This is most appropriate for high school students, as they are old enough to get a work-permit from their school district. Employing high school youth in elementary school ExL programs does have a positive effect on those programs. Also, older youth students serving in our elementary school ExL programs do not require a Work-Permit, so the opportunity is open for ALL high school students. (We do avoid high school students working with middle school students to avoid potential over-identification issues.) 

Bill Fennessy is a Program Specialist for Workforce Initiatives at the California AfterSchool Network (CAN). Bill was part of the first round of ASSETs (After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens) programs funding. He subsequently joined Think Together as their first Director of High School Programs and continued this role later at A World Fit for Kids, before joining CAN.

Summer Fundraiser:

The How Kids Learn Foundation is hosting a summer fundraiser to support our work in 2023. Learn more here!

Practice Q&A: Distance Learning with High School Youth

By Sam Piha

Being a youth worker is a very difficult job. They face a variety of challenges and dilemmas, as they work with a diverse group of young people. We collected a number of questions from youth workers and promised to engage experts and field leaders for their answers. Below are some of the questions we received and the answers that we sought out from field leaders, content experts and innovative practitioners. If you want to submit your own question, click here.

This blog is part 1 of our Q&A series. Stay tuned as we continue to explore questions from youth workers. (Note: we know that there are many answers to any question. Below, we offer some well-thought-out answers that we received. Because schools and agencies may have specific policies, we
recommend that youth workers share their questions with their immediate supervisor.

Q: Distance learning with high school students (over 1,200) who can choose to attend or not seems overwhelming. Coming up with ways to engage students in order to take attendance will be a challenge to say the least! What do you suggest or can you offer resources that may help with this issue? - Youth Worker, Fresno County, CA

Bill Fennessy, Director of Work-
Based Learning and Community
Partnerships, Think Together

A: "The sudden change to education due to the pandemic has greatly decreased student participation and therefore increased the need for individual student supports, and is and continues to still be a huge challenge for BOTH the Instructional Day and Expanded Learning Programs.

As a real-world example, upon the initial school closures our California After School Safety & Enrichment for Teens (ASSETs) high school programs in Compton Unified School District immediately started working with all 4 respective site's administrations in a highly collaborative partnership to reengage the large numbers of "missing" students.


All 4 site's administrators were respectively in complete agreement and highly supportive of ASSETs leadership reaching out to students to create and offer a "Virtual Teen Center" which would be the first step towards reengagement. The goal was to create a safe place and environment with easy access for students to be able to participate. This would allow students to see each other and have conversations as they wish, and also allow for engagement or reengagement with ASSETs staff to continue those relationships. Once students begin attending, their expressed "wants" would then initiate the "student-driven" activities, programs, and classes that would be introduced moving forward.

Source: www.healthblog.uofmhealth.org

For these "missing" students, intentional recruitment had to be a very key strategy, as reaching out to 1,200 students/parents was a more than daunting task. So each separate site's administration determined which specific grade levels/groups/subgroups/etc would be recruited in a then determined prioritized order. This allowed ASSETs staff to break up the task into "recruitment groups" with reasonable student numbers. This also allowed ASSETs staff to map out a reasonable amount of time to complete the task.

Note: Our biggest challenge has been in attaining/securing "parent permission" for the "Virtual Programming" so that students may attend."

- Bill Fennessy, Think Together

................................
Bill Fennessy is Think Together's Director of Work-Based Learning and Community Partnerships. He supports High School ASSETs Programs in collaborating with Career Technical Education Programs at school districts and sites to better support Workforce Readiness and Work-Based Learning activities, with a special focus on internships. Bill is passionate about out-of-school time because he believes in the great potential of Older Youth, and wants to support their dreams by providing opportunities for their greater success. Bill was motivated to join the California Afterschool Network's Leadership Team because he feels this is the next significant step in his over 15 years of being able to serve the Expanded Learning Field as a thought leader, pioneer, innovator, and practitioner.

A Look Ahead to Afterschool in the Next Decade

As we head into a new decade, we thought it would be appropriate to hear from afterschool leaders regarding how they viewed the opportunities and the challenges to afterschool moving forward.

COREY NEWHOUSE, PUBLIC PROFIT
EMERGING TRENDS/ OPPORTUNITIES: There are more and more options for expanded learning programs to specialize in certain kinds of practices, whether STEM, arts, CTE, culturally sustaining practice, and so on. How they navigate among these choices is an open question for me, and possibly an opportunity for additional support and guidance.

CHALLENGES: Challenges include a strong economy that creates more competition for talent, minimum wage laws in many cities and states, plus AB 5 in California. The cost pressures on programs continue to increase, and philanthropies are lessening their support for expanded learning rather than increasing it. Also, the distinction between social and emotional learning and positive youth development practices can use more clarification, especially from a practice perspective.

JEFF DAVIS, CALIFORNIA AFTERSCHOOL NETWORK 
EMERGING TRENDS/ OPPORTUNITIES: The vision described here is THE FUTURE. In 2020 and beyond, the Expanded Learning field will leverage the Science of Learning and Development to strengthen the case and strengthen our practice that we create the conditions necessary for youth to thrive. Expanded Learning programs are also serving communities that have a lot of needs. In 2020 and beyond Expanded Learning programs will partner better with health, mental health, and social service sectors to offer relevant interventions when kids and families are in need of support beyond what we can provide in our programs.

CHALLENGES: The rates that support Expanded Learning programs are still woefully insufficient and decision-makers such as legislators are becoming fatigued with the message that Expanded Learning programs need more investment to meet baseline operational costs, let alone live up to their true potential. 2020 will be another critical year to rally our staff, families, and communities to communicate clearly and with large numbers that Expanded Learning programs are worthy of investment.

STU SEMIGRAN, EDUCARE FOUNDATION
EMERGING TRENDS/ OPPORTUNITIES: I see the emerging trends include the issues of mental health and well-being (both for our students and our staff), school safety (anti-bullying / positive school climate), equity & inclusion, and student voice.  Some of the focus areas that address these emerging issues and trends include:  SEL, Trauma-informed practices Restorative Justice, Mindfulness, and Growth Heartset.

CHALLENGES: Adequate funding and developing and retaining quality staff.



DEBORAH MORONEY, AMERICAN INSTITUTES FOR RESEARCH

EMERGING TRENDS/ OPPORTUNITIES: I see and hope for a rising priority in the shape and value of programs for older youth, and youth action and voice in society.

CHALLENGES: We need to rise to the challenge to systemically support the adults in the field with meaningful career pathways and preparation to support their critical role in youth learning and development.

BILL FENNESSY, THINK TOGETHER 
EMERGING TRENDS/ OPPORTUNITIES: The emerging trend in Expanded Learning that continues to grow, and I believe is on the verge of doing so exponentially, is "Workforce Readiness", or the "Career" part of the new "College and Career" focus.  There is now a proliferation of Industry Pathways and Academies in high schools, which to produce great outcomes really requires important foundational work at both the middle and elementary school level.  The opportunities to create, develop, and innovate effective programming models in Expanded Learning Programs to support this Workforce Readiness movement are currently boundless.  This is truly an incredible opportunity for Expanded Learning Programs to provide more than multiple modalities of learning that directly support the Instructional Day.

CHALLENGES: The biggest challenge I see facing the field is the ability to find and retain program level staff.  With the dramatic increases in minimum wage, it is almost impossible for programs to financially compete for quality program level staff.  There is work now beginning which hopes to make work experience/internships in Expanded Learning Programs as a part of a course of study for post-secondary students on a Teaching Pathway.  Teachers that have Youth Development experience have better student engagement skills that directly result in excellent classroom management.

REBECCA FABIANO, FAB YOUTH PHILLY 

I’m thinking about:

• The Census and its impact on Youth Programs/OST; also thinking about voter registration (of staff and participants/families). 
• Equity and professional development (PD)- who gets to go to conferences for example, where do we invest our PD dollars in our organizations and in the field? 
• The role of extended learning programs in addressing poverty (e.g, living wages, skills for 21st century employment, entrepreneurship).