Strategies for Promoting Social-Emotional and Character Skills

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

There is a growing consensus among school day and expanded learning educators that young people need social-emotional and character skills to be successful in school, work, and life.

The 360°/365 Project and Temescal Associates are offering a number of educational and training events for expanded learning program staff:

JOIN US AT BOOST

DAY I, Workshop 1: April 19th, 2017; 10:30-12:15 - Let’s Zoom in on Trust: The Role of Trusting Relationships in Expanded Learning

DAY I, Workshop 2: April 19th, 2017; 2:45 – 4:45 - Screening of Finding the Gold Within and Discussion

Day II, Workshop 1: April 20th, 2017; 10:00 – 12:00 - Social and Emotional Learning: Feedback and Communications Insights from the Field

Day II, Workshop 2: April 20th, 2017; 1:15 – 2:30 - Transforming Schools Through Restorative Practices and Engaging Youth Voice and Leadership

Day II, Workshop 3: April 20th, 2017; 3:45 – 5:15 - Promoting Success in School, Work, and Life!

Day III, Workshop 1: April 21st, 2017; 9:15 – 11:15 - I Belong

SPEAKER’S FORUMS
These Forums offer access to national thinkers and researchers, innovative practitioners, and networking opportunities.

Dr. Dale Blyth

April 6, 2017 (Los Angeles); 9:00am-12:00pm 
Getting Intentional about Social and Emotional Learning: Promise, Progress, and Priorities with Dr. Dale Blyth

April 10, 2017 (Oakland); 9:00am-12:30pm 
Getting Intentional about Social and Emotional Learning: Promise, Progress, and Priorities with Dr. Dale Blyth

April 28th, 2017 (Fresno); 9:00am-12:00pm
Ignite Learning with a Growth Mindset! with Emily Diehl (Mindset Works). Click here to request more information.

May 3rd, 2017 (Oakland); 9:00am-12:00pm
"Growth Heartset": Establishing a Culture of Caring with Stu Semigran

REQUESTS FOR ON-SITE TRAINING

The 360°/365 Project offers a number of no-cost and low-cost professional development training for expanded learning programs. These trainings are offered by CalSAC, Temescal Associates, and ASAPconnect. You can use this link to request more information.

Advocacy in the Era of Trump, Part 2

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Throughout its history, afterschool has always had to promote its value and identity around the issues of the day. With each change in the presidential administration, there are risks and opportunities that we should be aware of, and adjust our advocacy accordingly.

President Trump communicated his ideas using very specific language during his campaign and transition. Is there anything we can learn about how best to advocate for afterschool funding? In this new era of Trump, we asked Betsy Brand, Executive Director of the American Youth Policy Forum, and Jodi Grant, Executive Director of the Afterschool Alliance, about this. Below is part 2 of their responses. See part 1 here.

Q: President Trump also talks a lot about jobs. Do you think it will be important to stress "workforce development" and "workforce skills" that are part of afterschool?

Betsy Brand, AYPF

Betsy Brand: Afterschool programs are natural venues for helping older youth develop knowledge, skills, and abilities that lead to success in the workplace, life, and community. Skills like teamwork, problem-solving, communication, and critical thinking are all highly valued by employers. Afterschool and summer school programs can help develop those skills. We should not be shy in telling that story.

Jodi Grant,
Afterschool Alliance

Jodi Grant: Absolutely. Many of the character education, social emotional learning and youth development skills that afterschool programs focus on are just as essential to workforce preparation. Making that connection for people — framing those skills and this learning as workforce development — makes a lot of sense. The same is true for all the opportunities provided to our youth to learn about, intern, apprentice in the community, and even work as part of their afterschool programs. That’s why the National Afterschool Summit, to be held at the University of Southern California on April 5th, will focus on making sure our students are ready to work. 

Photo Credit: Youth Institute, Long Beach 

Q: The "red" rural counties were strong supporters of President Trump. Do you think that promoting access to afterschool in rural areas is important, given the new political climate? 

Betsy Brand: Promoting access to high quality afterschool in rural communities is not a red or blue issue – it’s an issue of fairness and accessibility. The challenge is that many rural communities don’t have lots of afterschool providers like suburbs and cities, so it is hard to provide engaging, high quality afterschool programs. State afterschool, education, and youth leaders can work with rural communities to help develop their capacity to better serve youth and ensure they have opportunities for meaningful participation in the non-school hours.

Photo Credit: Brilliant Maps

Jodi Grant: Promoting access to rural areas has always been vital and, in fact, the Afterschool Alliance has issued several reports, including one just last year, America After 3PM Special Report: The Growing Importance of Afterschool in Rural Communities, highlighting the unique challenges students and parents in rural America face in their pursuit of high quality afterschool programs.  We hope that the President and Secretary DeVos will embrace afterschool as a way to enhance education in rural America.  

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URGENT UPDATE FROM THE AFTERSCHOOL ALLIANCE
"President Trump has just unveiled his budget priorities—and his plan singles out afterschool funding for elimination." To learn more, click here. 


LIAS will also be posting a blog on these developments.

Advocacy in the Era of Trump, Part 1

By Sam Piha

Sam  Piha

Throughout its history, afterschool has always had to promote its value and identity around the issues of the day. With each change in the Presidential administration, there are risks and opportunities that we should be aware of, and adjust our advocacy accordingly.

President Trump communicated his ideas using very specific language during his campaign and transition. Is there anything we can learn about how best to advocate for afterschool funding? In this new era of Trump, we asked Betsy Brand, Executive Director of the American Youth Policy Forum, and Jodi Grant, Executive Director of the Afterschool Alliance, about this. Below is part 1 of their responses. 

Q: The new President appears to have a high regard for law enforcement. Law enforcement officials were strong advocates at the federal and state level for afterschool. Do you envision that we will again engage law enforcement organizations in the effort to preserve the federal 21st CCLC funding?

Betsy Brand, AYPF

Betsy Brand: As the new Administration focuses on improving safety in our communities, it seems a natural step to talk about how afterschool programs involve youth in positive and engaging activities, in the non-school hours. Law enforcement can be an important advocate for 21st CCLC funding and effective partners that bring valuable skills and resources to the table, not just in this political climate but anytime.

Jodi Grant,
Afterschool Alliance

Jodi Grant: Law enforcement officials have been strong partners for afterschool all along because they recognize how important it is for youth to engage constructively with their peers and with adults. Across the country a lot of afterschool programs have strong relationships with law enforcement agencies, ranging from Police Athletic League programs to partnerships with local police. One great thing about bringing police officers into programs, often as volunteers, is that it fosters powerful personal relationships that can not only change lives, but change the discourse between police, youth and parents. It’s an example of community policing at its best. 

For more than a year the Afterschool Alliance’s blog has been featuring stories of afterschool programs working with local law enforcement. (The most recent story can be found here.) We value the partnerships not just because of the terrific work that police are doing with kids in afterschool programs, but because it’s so important for the public to understand the reach of afterschool programs. The messenger can be as important as the message, and law enforcement voices are going to be more essential than ever in helping us preserve federal afterschool funding.  

Photo Credit: http://www.stlasap.org/

Q: President Trump talks a lot about crime, safety, and drug abuse. Do you predict that we will need to return to a "deficit" or prevention model to capture his attention to preserve afterschool funding?

Betsy Brand: We should not return to a deficit model, but rather focus on the benefits of afterschool in terms of helping young people find engaging, satisfying, and meaningful activities in which they can participate during the non-school hours and that help them develop skills that lead to success. The deficit model language should be retired once and for all.

Jodi Grant: Afterschool programs are effective and popular because they keep kids safe, help working parents and inspire students to learn. While today, a lot of policymakers think about afterschool in terms of the third prong of that message, it was actually the first two prongs that generated the political will to create a federal funding stream for afterschool. Students spend 80 percent of their waking hours outside school and they are always learning – every minute. So the question is: What will we teach them? They can learn skills at an afterschool program that will help them succeed in school, at work and in life or, if we leave them unsupervised, they can engage in activities that are inappropriate, dangerous or even illegal, and learn a very different set of lessons. As the President focuses on crime, drug abuse and other ills in our society, it is important for us to highlight the impact that afterschool has in teaching the right lessons and in preventing inappropriate behavior in our students.  

From a communications standpoint, if highlighting negative consequences can help us build support to provide resources to the 11.3 million children who go home alone each day and are unsupervised when they get there, then it is worth making that argument. 

Once we have our students in a safe place, we can do so much more to inspire them to get out of their comfort zones and achieve dreams that might not have been possible before. 

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URGENT UPDATE FROM THE AFTERSCHOOL ALLIANCE
"President Trump has just unveiled his budget priorities—and his plan singles out afterschool funding for elimination." To learn more, click here. 

LIAS will also be posting a blog on these developments.

Global Competency, Part 2: Resources for Expanded Learning Programs

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

If young people are going to be prepared for work and citizenship in our global community, it is important that they develop global competency. 

Below is part 2 of our interview with Heather Loewecke, Senior Program Manager of Afterschool and Youth Leadership Initiatives at Asia Society. It is important to note that the effort to promote global competency is not a "pile on" to the California Quality Standards for Expanded Learning Programs. Instead, global learning and global competency are intertwined with the existing standards for quality programs.

In Heather's response to our question about resources, she listed a great list with links. We urge any program leader who wants to explore global competency further, to check out these resources. To view her PowerPoint presentation that she offered at our recent How Kids Learn VI conference in Los Angeles, click here. 

Q: What would be examples of how an afterschool program might

Heather Loewecke

promote global competence? 
A: Here are several ways programs can start integrating global content into programs:

Create a Culturally Sensitive Environment
Staff and youth can work together to create a set of group guidelines that outline expected behaviors. Include strategies for asking respectful questions about people, cultures, or ideas that are unfamiliar. Introduce youth to new countries and cultures, including those of students in your program and of people in the community at large. Present balanced viewpoints during learning activities and remind participants that everyone’s ideas are valid. If possible, include decorations and snacks from different cultures around the world and set up space to promote collaboration.

Make Community Connections
Take stock of existing partners and stakeholders or conduct a community assessment to identify additional potential assets and partners in the community. Invite partners to events and festivals or to be guest speakers in the program to share their global connections and resources. Take youth on field trips to museums, nearby neighborhoods, and local businesses to enhance and deepen learning. Coordinate with local schools or nonprofit organizations to set up service learning efforts that promote youth’s civic participation to address local issues while increasing their leadership skills. Develop partnerships with programs in other cities or countries to provide participants with virtual exchange opportunities with peers. 

Photo Credit: Asia Society

Integrate Global Learning into Existing Activities
Go beyond flags, food, and festivals. It’s not necessary to overhaul all activities or create new programming to get started doing global learning in afterschool, but it is important to provide sustained and regular global learning activities in order to develop youth's global competencies. Start by focusing on one programming component or learning unit:

• Is there an example or a piece of content in an activity that could be replaced with one from another country or culture?
• Could an activity be augmented through the addition of a globally oriented extension project or field trip?
• Or, perhaps an activity could be transformed by aligning an existing goal or outcome with one of the global competencies listed above.

For example, read folktales and poems from other countries during literacy time. Or, include games from other cultures in your health and fitness component. During cooking club, teach students to prepare healthy foods from other cultures.

Design Thematic and Project-Based Learning Units
Once staff are comfortable infusing global content into existing activities, they can go deeper by using globally significant topics when planning new activities. Topics such as water access, human rights, health care, and education are relevant both globally and locally and increase youth’s academic knowledge and social-emotional skills such as empathy and compassion. Teaching about these issues across program areas helps young people to become informed, global citizens through integrated and interdisciplinary study.

Develop these topics further into project-based learning units that begin with an essential question or problem that interests participants and guides them through research toward an action project.

Photo Credit: Asia Society

Q: Does Asia Society have any resources on global learning for the expanded learning community?
A: Yes! Here are a few resources to support the suggestions noted above:

• Global leadership performance outcomes and rubrics benchmarked at grades 3, 5, 8, 10, and 12. Use these when planning learning units and giving feedback to youth on their projects.
• Global learning “quick sheets”: One‐page examples of developmentally appropriate unit plan outlines in typical afterschool content areas. Each activity in the unit builds upon the last, connects across the four domains of global competence, and leads to sample program outcomes. We developed these with the support of the Statewide Afterschool Networks, and we are creating more. 
• “Global Learning in Afterschool Self‐Assessment Tool”: Programs can use this tool to reflect upon their practice and guide the development of quality improvement measures. It can be used in conjunction with other quality improvement processes and self‐assessment tools.
• Expanding Horizons: Building Global Literacy in Afterschool Programs: This guidebook lists strategies and resources for the afterschool field on how to integrate international knowledge, skills, and experiences into its program activities.

Take a look at our global learning blog on national newspaper Education Week, follow us on Twitter, and join in to our weekly Twitter chat (#globaledchat) Thursdays at 8pm ET / 5pm PT for more ideas from practitioners and education leaders. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at HLoewecke@asiasociety.org.

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Heather began her career as an English teacher at a high school in New York City where she implemented interdisciplinary curricula utilizing a workshop format for developing students’ literacy skills. Then she managed capacity building projects and coached educators in various topics such as conflict resolution, lesson planning, social-emotional learning, behavior management, among others. Heather was a member of the Children’s Studies faculty at Brooklyn College and taught an undergraduate course called Perspectives on Childhood. She joined Asia Society in 2012. 

Our Favorite LIAS Blogs of 2016

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

To date, we have attracted 224,723 views of our blog posts. In 2016, we published 35 blog posts. Below is a summary of our favorite posts.  

What Is the Connection Between Social and Emotional Learning and Employability? 
(January 19, 2016) 
Recently, the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) developed an employability skills framework and created a website to assist educators and youth workers with tools to promote these skills in their settings. Read more.

Mindfulness in Afterschool (February 22, 2016)
There is a growing trend in research and practice that shows that mindfulness is a very useful tool in school-based settings but few have translated this into afterschool programs. Temescal Associates has developed a 16-week mindfulness curriculum for afterschool workers and a two-day training – one day for the use of mindfulness techniques for the self-care of adult staff, and one day for staff who will lead young people in mindfulness activities. Read more.

Understanding Gender Identity: An Interview with a Child Development Specialist, Part 1 (March 18, 2016)
There is a growing awareness in our society that gender is more than the sex that is assigned at birth. Gender identity is no longer an esoteric concept for child development experts. The importance of understanding gender identity is increasingly important for educators and leaders of youth programs. Read more.

Preparing Youth for Work and Career Success (June 27, 2016)
I first met Bill Fennessy when he innovated a new high school afterschool program in Pasadena, CA. Bill was part of the first run of ASSETs programs - before people knew what high school afterschool was. He subsequently joined THINK Together as their Director of Community Engagement. Read more.

Why "All Lives Matter" is Controversial (July 27, 2016)
We have all heard people respond to the phrase Black Lives Matter, with the phrase All Lives Matter. This has led to controversy, but many people do not understand why. Read more.


The Year of Living Dangerously (November 17, 2016)
The last year has been one of incredible violence and hate speech. Much of this has been graphically reported in the media and has greatly effected young people. There have been a series of mass killings in Charlotte, Orlando, San Bernardino, Paris and elsewhere. There have been a number of shootings by the police of unarmed civilians captured on video. Read more.

The Importance of the Arts 
(December 8, 2016)
We know that the arts in all forms (digital arts, performing arts, fine arts, etc.) and art making is important in the healthy development of children and youth, in fact our whole society. Art making is truth telling and provides all youth, especially those without a voice, an opportunity to express themselves. Read more.

Trump, DeVos, and Afterschool: An Interview with the Afterschool Alliance

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

In a previous blog post entitled, President Trump and Afterschool, we reached out to Betsy Brand, Executive Director of the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) and Gina Warner, Executive Director of the National AfterSchool Association (NAA) to share their thoughts on the threats and opportunities in afterschool going forward. Below is an interview with Jodi Grant of the Afterschool Alliance on this same topic, including a question about the newly confirmed Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. 

Jodi Grant, Executive Director
Afterschool Alliance

Q: What can we expect from the new presidential administration around afterschool/expanded learning programs? 
A: The new administration has not made any public comments about afterschool and expanded learning. For this reason it is more important than ever that we all reach out to members of the administration to educate them about the value of learning outside the school day and remind them that students spend 80% of their waking hours outside school. New education proposals should also include support for afterschool and summer.

Q: What can we expect of the newly confirmed Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos?
A: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has shown some interest in afterschool. As a philanthropist she invested in Boys and Girls Clubs and in a research study for Campfire USA. In response to a written question from Senator Al Franken after her hearing she responded:

Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education
Photo Credit: npr.org

“After-school programs are critical to the safety and continued learning for many students.  There are many programs offered by wonderful local community groups and schools that offer valuable opportunities for learning.  As you noted, the Every Student Succeeds Act included the reauthorization of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, a program that helps to provide after-school services to many children.  If confirmed, I will implement the law as intended and funded by Congress, including the 21st Century Community Learning Centers.”



Q: In looking ahead to a new presidential administration, are there any opportunities that we should be aware of and how can the afterschool movement embrace these opportunities? 
A: During his campaign, candidate Trump embraced a tax cut for childcare. This tax cut, geared towards middle class families, can be used for afterschool programs and that is a promising sign.  In addition, President Trump has been a longtime member of the Board of the New York City Police Athletic League, which could be viewed as a sign of support for afterschool programs.

Afterschool is an education priority consistent with many of the priorities of the new Administration including support for rural America. Rural communities are unlikely to benefit from an investment in vouchers and charter schools. But they will benefit from afterschool and we have many rural communities that rely on 21st CCLC and afterschool to inspire their students and help working parents keep their jobs.  In addition, we all know that afterschool programs make our kids and all our communities safer.

Photo Credit: summermatters.net

We hope our recent report on the needs and challenges of afterschool programs in Rural America will help persuade the new administration to do more.

We also see synergy between afterschool and the incoming Administration’s emphasis on jobs, workforce development and economic growth: afterschool and summer learning programs for older youth can play a key role in providing work and life skills while also helping parents keep their jobs and their children safe.

Q: What should we be prepared to do to ensure ongoing support for afterschool/expanded learning?
A: The new Administration wants to give parents more educational options for students; and school-community partnerships, faith based providers and community based organizations that offer quality summer and afterschool programs can be part of that broad range of supports that maximize the potential of young people.

The gravest danger to afterschool in 2017 will be funding. Congress and the Trump administration are discussing drastic cuts to education spending. It will be essential to reach out to members of Congress to make sure they protect funding for afterschool and summer programs. We need to use the data and examples we have that show these programs save money by investing in our youth now. 

Our field needs to rally constituents to tell each member of Congress why programs are so important to students and families in their district. The message of crime prevention and discouraging inappropriate and unwanted behavior is also a powerful message. Most of all, don’t forget the most important messengers, the students themselves. When they speak they can energize a room with their authenticity and show rather than tell why afterschool investments are essential in every community in our country.

—————
Jodi Grant, Executive Director, Afterschool Alliance
The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children and youth have access to quality, affordable afterschool programs. Jodi oversees all aspects of the Afterschool Alliance’s work, including supervising research, and creating and expanding quality afterschool programs. 

Jodi Grant at the How Kids Learn VI Conference,
San Francisco 2016

At our recent How Kids Learn VI conference in San Francisco, Jodi reviewed the important findings of the Afterschool Alliance report entitled, America After 3pm Special Report: Afterschool in Communities of Concentrated Poverty.

Youth Voice: SFUSD Students Attend the Women's March in DC

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Afterschool program leaders and youth workers do a good job of speaking on behalf of the youth they serve. However, we also think it is important to hear directly from youth. Thus, we will endeavor to dedicate a portion of this blog space to hearing directly from youth. 

High schoolers from the SFUSD participating in the Woman's March in Washington, DC

Photo Credit: Pui Ling Tam via kalw.org

Sixteen students from the San Francisco Unified School District were given the opportunity to participate in the Women’s March in Washington, DC the day after President Trump’s inauguration. 

Three students —  Briana Boteo, Marianna Baines, and Aglow Logovii — recorded some of their experiences from the March, which was aired on KALW. Below, you can listen directly to them via this 6-minute interview: 

A Growing Threat to Quality Expanded Learning Programs

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

In early January, we reached out to expanded learning leaders to ask what they viewed as challenges facing the field in 2017. We posted their responses in our blog on January 9, 2017. Many, especially those from California, responded that program quality and even the existence of programs were threatened by stagnant funding levels. 

The recent calls for increased program quality assumes that programs have resources for staff development and training. We have heard from many program leaders, and they seem to agree with Bill Fennessy from THINK Together, who said: 

“With the increases in minimum wage and the accompanying 'exempt employee' wage minimums there will clearly be only enough money to afford the required student supervision ratios. This means that Site Coordinator hours will probably have to be almost cut to just programming hours, that the next level of support for Site Coordinators and time needed for training and/or professional development will become unaffordable. 

Photo Credit: SaveAfterschool.com

The loss of these critically important supports for Expanded Learning programs and their staff will definitely have a severely negative impact on program quality and therefore effectiveness. This issue could in fact cause a collapse of Expanded Learning in California as we know it today.”

There is currently an effort by California State Senator Connie Leyva and afterschool advocates to increase the funding levels for the California ASES program. To ensure that this effort does not fail, as it did last year, we urge people to visit the Save Afterschool website to learn more about getting involved. 

Photo Credit: patch.com

I Love Afterschool - Let's Save It!

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

As we enter what will probably be a rocky 2017, it’s important that we act now to protect federal funding of our 21st CCLC programs. The Afterschool Alliance has created a brilliant strategy making Valentine’s Day cards to show your love of afterschool programs. These cards can be made by parents and youth. They can be sent to local newspapers or to state and federal legislators. 

The Afterschool Alliance has created a toolkit that makes this easy or you can bring your own creativity by making or using pre-made Valentine’s Day cards. Below are some links that explain and provide resources for this campaign: 

Photo Credit: Afterschool Alliance

Afterschool Snack Blog - Do you love afterschool? Proclaim it loudly!

We Love Afterschool! Toolkit

To find the address of your state senator, click here. 

To find the address of  your congressional representative, click here. 

Photo Credit: Afterschool Alliance

President Trump and Afterschool

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Over the last three presidential administrations, we have enjoyed federal investments in 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC). However, we know that public support and investments come with a “shelf life”. It is important that we advocate for the continued federal investment in afterschool programs. 

With the new presidential administration and congress, there are both threats and opportunities we should be aware of. Below, we reached out to Betsy Brand, Executive Director of the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) and Gina Warner, Executive Director of the National AfterSchool Association (NAA) to share their thoughts on this. In future blog posts, we will keep our readers informed including information from the Afterschool Alliance and the Partnership for Children and Youth. 

Betsy Brand,
AYPF

Q: What can we expect from the new presidential administration around afterschool/expanded learning programs? 
A: I think it’s unlikely that there will be much attention focused on afterschool/expanded learning with this Administration, unless it becomes linked to an agenda on expanding child care or as a way to reduce teen delinquency. 

There is a chance that afterschool could play a role in the school choice debates by allowing parents the freedom to select programs that meet the needs of their children, but I think that’s somewhat unlikely, too. The biggest challenge for discretionary programs will be the budget and appropriations. If this Administration increases spending for infrastructure, defense, and due to health care changes, there will be very little money for domestic discretionary programs like 21st CCLC. I believe we are going to see major appropriations battles over the next few years with regard to Labor-HHS-Ed and other domestic programs.

Q: What should we be prepared to do to ensure ongoing support for afterschool/expanded learning?
A: It’s time to make sure that advocates are busy contacting their Senators and Representatives. They are the ones that will have to hold the line on cuts to 21st CCLC and other programs that support afterschool and expanded learning. The positive thing is that afterschool already deserves very wide and bi-partisan support in Congress. We need to build on that and ensure that new members and new staff continue to hear how important afterschool is from their constituents – over and over again.

Photo Credit: saveafterschool.com

Ms. Warner focused her thoughts on the possible opportunities that come with the new President. Below are her thoughts.

Gina Warner,
NAA

Q: In looking ahead to a new presidential administration, are there any opportunities that we should be aware of and how can the afterschool movement embrace these opportunities? 
A: I spent a large portion of my career working in New Orleans, Louisiana, the city that leads the nation with the largest percentage of students enrolled in public charter schools. As the leader of the city's afterschool intermediary for many years, I have a lot of experience building positive partnerships between afterschool providers and school leaders. Those experiences give me hope that afterschool can—and will—play a meaningful role in the growth of school choice.

Here are four things I know:

1. Afterschool is choice.
Inherent in many of the discussions about school choice is the belief that parents and children should have the ability to choose an educational environment that best meets their needs. Every day, 10.2 million children choose to participate in afterschool programs that enhance their academic, social, emotional and physical development. We need to embrace this message and begin to view it as central to our mission of growing afterschool investment.

2. Strong school leaders value afterschool.
High-quality afterschool programs positively impact school attendance, behavior and coursework. Strong school leaders see a high-quality afterschool program as an integral part of delivering successful outcomes for their students.

3. Strong afterschool programs drive student enrollment.
In cities like New Orleans and Washington, D.C.—where there is a competitive marketplace of educational options for families—those schools offering afterschool programs are viewed much more favorably by families and are often the schools with the longest waiting lists for admission.

4. Both in school and out of school, quality matters.
Just creating more choices is not sufficient to ensure the outcomes we want and need for all of our children. We must invest in the people that do this work, so they can continue to deliver high-quality learning and enrichment experiences for all children before, during and after the school day.

I will continue to advocate for increased investment in afterschool, because I believe in the positive benefits of strong afterschool programs for children, families and communities. Investments in school choice cannot come at the expense of investments in creating greater access to high-quality afterschool programs. I am hopeful that by working together—with a shared vision of success for all—afterschool can and will be a part of a growing school choice landscape.

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Betsy Brand has served as the Executive Director of AYPF since 2004, and she served as Co-Director of the organization since 1998. Betsy has spent her career working on education, workforce, and youth policy and specializes in comprehensive approaches to helping young people be prepared for today’s careers, lifelong learning, and civic engagement.

Gina Warner was named President and CEO of the National AfterSchool Association in June 2012. NAA - the voice of the afterschool profession – has over 20,000 members across the country and hosts the most comprehensive program of professional development opportunities for afterschool professionals anywhere in the United States.