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This Better Kid Care site from Penn State Extension offers research-based online training modules on a range of topics relevant to working with school-age children such as positive youth development and guidance, career preparation for youth, financial planning, and cultural competency and responsiveness. The modules include a combination of slides, video clips, research summaries, practical tips, and worksheets. Most are geared to practitioners. The trainings are free; a professional development certification of completion is $5-10. Some modules are available in Spanish.
Child care providers are often at the forefront of offering social-emotional learning and universal mental health support for school-age children. This tip sheet is a supplemental resource for direct service providers and offers simple strategies to successfully engage families, address youth development, and enhance staff progress while centering SEL and mental health services. For more information on targeted resources to elevate system and program initiatives, access the NCASE Social-Emotional Learning and Mental Health Toolkit: Support for Systems and Programs Toolkit.
This Better Kid Care module about supporting LGBTQ youth in out-of-school-time programs is designed to prepare staff to provide a supportive and inclusive environment. It includes videos of researchers, counselors, staff, parents, and youth who share their ideas and experiences. It also includes a number of helpful handouts, suggestions for wording about policies, and activity ideas. This resource supports equity.
This course from Better Kid Care focuses on three tiers of strategies educators and programs can use to create a culture of caring that prioritizes relationships and supports for mental health and well-being. These are important strategies, given that research has found that educators' emotional availability and sensitivity to children's needs decrease in times of stress. To promote well-being, the module suggests developing a culture of caring, deepening relationships, and promoting work-life balance and self-care. To prevent burnout, suggestions include offering job accommodations, reflective supervision, and referrals to community resources. There are helpful worksheets such as burnout assessment and team-building activities. Available in Spanish. This resource supports resiliency. This resource supports equity.
This slide deck shares the first findings released from the National Summer Learning and Enrichment Study conducted by Westat about school-run summer programs in 2021 and plans for summer 2022. The representative findings are drawn from 309 Local Education Agencies. 94% of schools offered some kind of summer programming, serving 18% of students enrolled in school the previous year, with finding staffing as the biggest challenge. 76% used ARP funding, with 75% focused on learning recovery and 57% supplementing with social-emotional learning. 80% also indicated plans to offer programs in summer 2022. A final report will be shared in mid-2023.
This professional development module addresses the benefits of, and strategies for including school-age children in home-based child care (HBCC) settings. It can be accessed via the Individualized Professional Development (iPD) Portfolio section the Early Childhood Knowledge Learning Center (ECKLC) website. Users receive three (3) contact education units (CEUs) for completing the module, knowledge check and evaluation.
This easy-to-understand booklet reviews the federal laws on inclusion and what they require and prohibit. It clarifies who qualifies for protection under these laws and examines how the laws apply to an OST program. It assesses the need for case-by-case assessments, reasonable accommodations, and communication access. It also includes tips and information on when accommodations are not “reasonable.” This resource supports equity.
This 3-part podcast series on social-emotional learning (SEL) explores with researchers from Harvard's EASEL program: (1) What Is SEL and How It Has Evolved, (2) High-quality SEL and the New Navigating SEL Guide, and (3) The Intersection of SEL and Equity. Although primarily focused on schools, the ideas apply to OST, too. The companion SEL program guide can be found here.
This revised IACET accredited professional development module developed by the National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment (NCASE) in collaboration with the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning (NCECDTL) addresses several aspects of Out-of-School Time (OST): history of the field, children and families' needs, workforce needs, and qualities and responsibilities of an effective OST professional.
IACET stands for the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training – this module provides .2 Continuing Education Units which is 2 contact hours.
The National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment (NCASE) recognizes the importance of supporting system-level leaders and program professionals as they develop resources and opportunities to address racial equity and inclusion in serving school-age children and their families.
The following selected resources address racial equity and inclusion, with a focus on leadership roles, and provide ways to implement these ideas systematically and programmatically.