AfterWords
Welcome to AfterWords, the newsletter of the
National Center for Quality Afterschool. The Center was formerly named The National Partnership
for Quality Afterschool Learning, having been created in 2003 to identify afterschool programs
that showed a positive effect on student achievement and provide technical assistance
to 21st Century Community Learning Centers.
The National Partnership's newsletter, AfterWords, was published from 2007-2009 and shared what the National Partnership has learned about high-quality afterschool programs through our research. We used this publication as a forum for the discussion of the issues afterschool professionals face and the successes they experience.
Awards
In June, 2008, AfterWords won the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP).
Archive
2009
Standards-Based Afterschool Activities
(December 2009) PDF
- Recommended Resources: Afterschool Lesson Plan Database
- Topic of Interest: Planning Lessons
- Poll: Does your afterschool program align activities with state standards?
Student Behavior and Discipline
(November 2009) PDF
- Recommended Resources: A Resource Guide for Planning and Operating Afterschool Programs (3rd Edition)
- Topic of Interest: Prevent Bullying During Afterschool
- Training Tip: Know Your Students
- Poll: What kind of discipline policy does your afterschool program have?
Afterschool Tutoring
(October 2009) PDF
- Recommended Resources: Afterschool Training Toolkit Print Materials
- Stories from the Field: Tutoring With Technology, Beyond Video Games
- Training Tip: Get It in Writing
- Poll: What type of tutoring does your afterschool program offer?
Involving Families and Communities in the Arts
(September 2009) PDF
- Recommended Resources: Art Lesson Plans: Afterschool Lesson Plan Database
- Stories from the Field: Hser Ner Moo Community and Welcome Center (South Salt Lake City, Utah)
- Training Tip: Community Involvement by Giving Back
- Poll: Has your afterschool program tried any of these family involvement activities?
Why Leadership Matters
(August 2009) PDF
- Recommended Resources: Assessment Tools in Informal Science
- Stories from the Field: Learning Point Associates (Naperville, Illinois)
- Training Tip: Sharing Leadership
- Poll: What are some of the ways that your afterschool program helps staff develop leadership skills
Discover Math in Everyday Activities
(July 2009) PDF
- Recommended Resources: Math Lesson Plans, The Afterschool Lesson Plan Database
- Stories from the Field: Lehigh Carbon Community College SHINE After-School Program (Northeast Pennsylvania)
- Training Tip: Communicating About Math
- Poll: How does your expanded learning program approach math enrichment?
More Than Homework: Building Study Skills
(June 2009) PDF
- Recommended Resources: Virtual Academy for Afterschool
- Stories from the Field: ECHO Charter School 21st Century Program (Echo, Minnesota)
- Training Tip: Give Them a Break
- Poll: What do you think is best way to ensure that students get the most of homework time in an expanded learning program?
Integrating Science Across the Curriculum
(Special May 2009 Issue) PDF
- Recommended Resources:
The Consumer's Guide To Afterschool
Science Resources - Stories from the Field: Delaware City Schools Schultz SACC, School Age Child Care (Delaware, Ohio)
- Training Tip: Safety First
- Poll: What content areas does your expanded learning program combine with science enrichment?
Making Service Learning a Part of Extended Learning
(Special April 2009 Issue) PDF
- Recommended Resources: Virtual Academy for Afterschool
- Stories from the Field: Jennings All Stars (St. Louis, Missouri)
- Training Tip: Getting Families Involved
Extended Learning and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(Special March 2009 Issue) PDF
- Recommended Services and Resources: Virtual Academy for Afterschool and On-Site Professional Development
- Guidelines to spend ARRA funds
- List of links to stay updated
Online Professional Development for Out-of-School Programs
(February 2009) PDF
- Recommended Resource: Virtual Academy for Afterschool
- Stories from the Field: Kenosha Unified School District No. 1 (Kenosha, Wisconsin)
- Poll: What is the biggest obstacle to providing professional development in your afterschool program?
Rural Afterschool Programs: Challenges and Solutions
(January 2009) PDF
- Recommended Resource: Virtual Academy for Afterschool
- Stories from the Field: Wheatland School District Afterschool Programs
(Yuba County, California) - Training Tip: Take Advantage of Technology
- Poll: What do you think President Obama’s policy toward afterschool programs should be?
2008
What Does Your High School Afterschool Program Look Like?
(December 2008) PDF
- Recommended Resource: Using the Afterschool Training Toolkit for Professional Development
- Stories from the Field: Harlowton Advantage Program for Youth (Harlowton, Montana)
- Training Tip: The “Three Rs” for High School
- Poll: What do think keeps high school students involved in afterschool?
Exploring the Art of Storytelling
(November 2008) PDF
- Recommended Resource: Using the Afterschool Training Toolkit for Professional Development
- Stories from the Field: Voices Breaking Boundaries' Spoken Word Club (Houston, Texas)
- Training Tip: SEDL Virtual Academy for Afterschool
- Poll: What types of fun writing activities do students do at your afterschool program?
SEDL Ships Free Resources to 21st CCLCs
(October 2008) PDF
- Recommended Resource: Using the Afterschool Training Toolkit for Professional Development
- Stories from the Field: Lights On in Lander (Lander, Wyoming)
- Training Tip: Once Isn't Enough
- Poll: Who provides professional development to your afterschool staff?
Talking About Homework
(September 2008) PDF
- Afterschool News: Talking about Homework
- Recommended Resource: Afterschool Curriculum Choice
- Stories from the Field: Bedford County 21st Century Community Learning Center Consortium (Bedford County, PA)
- Teaching Tip: Let Students Take the Lead
- Poll: How do you keep students engaged in their homework?
Learning by Asking: Investigating Science Through Inquiry
(August 2008) PDF
- Afterschool News: Learning by Asking, Investigating Science Through Inquiry
- Recommended Resource: The Consumer's Guide to Afterschool Science Resources
- Stories from the Field: Vision Education & Media (New York, NY)
- Teaching Tip: Safety First
- Poll: What would give your afterschool science activities the biggest boost?
The Case for the Arts in Afterschool (July 2008) PDF
- Afterschool News: The Case for the Arts in Afterschool
- Recommended Resource: Free Webinars on Technology and the Arts in Afterschool
- Stories from the Field: KidsQuest (Englewood, CO)
- Training Tip: Community Involvement
- Poll: How does your afterschool program use arts instruction?
When Students Blog (June 2008) PDF
- Afterschool News: An Afterschool Guide to Social Media
- Recommended Resource: Technology Lesson Plans The Afterschool Lesson Plan Database
- Stories from the Field: Chief Leschi School 21st CCLC (Puyallup, Washington)
- Announcement: AfterWords Wins Top Publishing Award
- Poll: What types of social media do students in your afterschool program use?
Math Centers (May 2008) PDF
- Recommended Resource: Afterschool Lesson Plan Database
- Stories from the Field: Gateway to Success (Drew County, Arkansas)
- Poll: What types of activities do you use for math enrichment in your afterschool program?
Tell It Like It Is: Afterschool Communication Tools (April 2008) PDF
- Recommended Resource: Afterschool Curriculum Choice: Technology Resources
- Stories from the Field: The Cumberland Empowerment Zone (Cumberland County, New Jersey)
- Poll: How do you communicate about your afterschool program?
Improving Literacy Skills With Read Alouds (March 2008) PDF
- Recommended Resource: Afterschool Lesson Plan Database
- Stories from the Field: Ontario Middle School Success Afterschool Program (Ontario, Oregon)
- Poll: Which of these literacy activities do you do in your afterschool program?
Staff Development 15 Minutes at a Time (February 2008) PDF
- Recommended Resource: Afterschool Curriculum Guide to Math
- Stories from the Field: Bladen County 21st CCLC Program (Elizabethtown, North Carolina)
- Poll: Which topics do you think should be covered in professional development for afterschool?
- Announcement: Registration for the 2008 Summer Institute is open!
Engaging Students in Homework (January 2008) PDF
- Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? If So, How Much is Best? By Harris Cooper, PhD
- Recommended Resource: Afterschool Training Toolkit for Homework
- Announcement: WGBH Wins CINE Award for Toolkit Videos
- Stories from the Field: Russian Jack 21st Century Community Learning Center (Anchorage Alaska)
- Poll: What role do you think homework help should play in an afterschool program?
2007
Afterschool Choices for High School Students (December 2007) PDF
- Stories from the Field: YMCA Youth Institute (Long Beach, California)
- Poll: Why do you think high school students participate in afterschool programs?
- Training Tip: A place of their own
How to Increase Family Involvement in Afterschool (November 2007) PDF
- Featured Resources: Reaching Out to Diverse Populations: What Can Schools Do to Foster Family-School Connections? and Organizing Family and Community Connections With Schools: How Do School Staff Build Meaningful Relationships With All Stakeholders?
- Stories from the Field: Sparks Program (Coatesville, Pennsylvania)
- Poll: Do you have family nights in your afterschool program?
- Training Tip: Feed them and they will come
Using Project-Based Learning in Science (October 2007) PDF
- Featured Resource: Consumer's Guide to Afterschool Science Resources
- Stories from the Field: My House Center for Learning (New Orleans, Louisiana)
- Poll: Do you use project-based learning in your afterschool program?
- Training Tip: Using Technology for Project-Based Learning
Making Arts Matter in Afterschool (September 2007) PDF
- Stories from the Field: Arts Corps (Seattle, Washington)
- Poll: What kinds of arts activities does your afterschool program offer?
- Training Tip: Try It Before You Teach It
Including Everyone: Helping Special-Needs Students Participate in Afterschool (August 2007) PDF
- Stories from the Field: SMILE (Tallahassee, Florida)
- Poll: We think interest in afterschool is growing! How many students do you expect to have in your afterschool program compared to last year?
- Training Tip: Students on the Job
Afterschool Programs in Rural Areas: A Conversation With Claudette Morton (July 2007) PDF
- Stories from the Field: Kid Zone and BLAST - Best Learning After School Time (Keokuk, Iowa)
- Poll: How are you spending your summer months?
- Training Tip: Technology in Rural Areas
"Key Ideas" for Mathematics Enrichment in Afterschool (June 2007) PDF
- Stories from the Field: PASS Afterschool Program (Lake View, South Carolina)
- Training Tip: Making Math Relevant
Using Technology to Advance Your Afterschool Program (May 2007) PDF
- Stories from the Field: Reno Valley Middle School "Learning Academy" (Hutchinson, Kansas)
- Poll: What types of technology do you use in your afterschool program?
- Training Tip: Involving Family
Collecting "Good" Data for Your Evaluation (April 2007) PDF
- Stories from the Field: Cooperative for Afterschool Enrichment (CASE) (Houston, Texas)
- Poll: Some afterschool programs don't operate through the last day of school. How late in the school year do you think an afterschool program should continue?
- Data Collection Tip: Including Students in Your Data Collection
From Compliance to Quality: How to Make Evaluation Work for Your Program (March 2007) PDF
- Case Study: Colorado 21st Century Community Learning Centers
- Stories from the Field: LA's BEST (Los Angeles, California)
- In Your Words: What fun literacy activities have you done in your afterschool program that you might not be able to do during the regular school day?
- Training Tip: Presenting Evaluation Results
What the Research Says About Talking and Playing in Literacy Instruction (February 2007) PDF
- Stories from the Field: Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center, After School Learning Center (ASLC) (San Francisco, California)
- In Your Words: What creative ways have you found to use technology with the students in your afterschool program?
- Training Tip: Use your afterschool newsletter to promote both student literacy and your program
Welcome to the first issue of AfterWords (January 2007) PDF
- Stories from the Field: Urban Gateways: Center for Arts Education (Chicago, Illinois)
- Training Tip: Research shows that high-quality afterschool programs have strong ties with the day school
