TheConnector

TheCONNECTOR is Youth Community Connections’ (YCC) communication tool for sharing updates and for seeking action from its partners. TheCONNECTOR contains the following highlights:

RECENT NEWS AND EVENTS
Vote in the Primary Election on August 10!
YCC Says Farewell to Abou Amara, Jr.
Out-of-School Time Funding Opportunity
Request for Workshop Proposals: MnSACA and Mn AEYC 2011 Annual State Conference

NEW RESEARCH AND RESOURCES
The "Make It Stick" Campaign
Afterschool Programs Can Make a Differnce in Children's Health
Issue Brief Explores Afterschool Benefits for Middle School Students
New Resource on STEM Learning Afterschool

POLICY AND ADVOCACY
Senate Action Puts Federal Funding for Afterschool At Risk
YCC Policy and Advocacy Committee Meeting Set for September


FUTURE EVENTS
U. S. Department of Education and Partners to Host Webinar
Fall Urban 4-H Youth Development Partnership Kickoff
SAVE the DATE: 2010 Lights On Afterschool
10-10-10 March for Children

EMPLOYMENT IN YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
City of Brooklyn Park
YWCA St. Paul

Vote in the 2010 Primary Election!
This Tuesday, August 10, 2010, the Primary Election will be held all across Minnesota.  YCC encourages you to get out and vote in this Primary Election!  The League of Women Voters has created a Voter Guide 2010 to help you learn more about the candidates.

The polls open at 7:00 am and close at 8:00 pm.  Don’t know where to vote?  Visit the Secretary of State’s website to find your polling place.

YCC Says Farewell to Abou Amara, Jr.
YCC staff, and partners, would like to recognize Abou Amara, Jr. for his year of service and his dedication to our mission of ensuring all Minnesota communities provide access to high-quality afterschool and summer learning opportunities!  He has contributed to several efforts and initiatives over the past year.

Abou completes his year of service August 11, 2010 and begins his next journey in life at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute in pursuit of his masters degree.  Please join us in wishing him well, abou@youthcommunityconnections.org. 

Out-of-School Time Funding Opportunity
The Minnesota State Arts Board has posted its schedule of grant application deadlines and advisory panel review meetings for the first part of FY 2011.  The board expects to have one grant round in the fall/winter and another in the spring; additional dates will be added to the calendar later this fall. www.arts.state.mn.us/calendar/index.htm. 

Sessions are being offered this month for the upcoming Artist Initiative grant round.  Register online if you'd like to attend.

For more information, please visit www.arts.state.mn.us.

Request for Workshop Proposals: MnSACA and MnAEYC 2011 Annual State Conference
The Minnesota School-Age Care Alliance and the Minnesota Association for the Education of Young Children are seeking qualified professionals to present workshops at the 2011 MnSACA & MnAEYC Annual State Conference. The 2011 MnSACA & MnAEYC Annual Conference will be held February 4-5, 2011 at the St. Paul RiverCentre.
 
The theme for this year’s conference is “The Leading Edge:  Innovative Programs and Professionals." Please make note of our conference theme while filling out your proposal. Proposals which match the conference and track themes will receive priority.   Please help us meet the professional development needs of early childhood and out-ofschool- time professionals by submitting a workshop proposal by August 20, 2010.  Workshops will be chosen based on the clarity of presentation summary, appropriateness of topic, cultural relevancy, participatory format and a reference check.  Accepted presenters will be notified in September via email.
 
Thank you for your assistance in ensuring that this event is a valuable experience for all. If you have any questions, please contact Ashley Crunstedt, Conference Coordinator, at (651) 203-7248 or email ashleyc@ewald.com.

NEW RESEARCH AND RESOURCES

Check out some of the latest research on after school, youth engagement and quality improvement on YCC’s website under latest research.

The "Make It Stick" Campaign
The “Make it Stick” Campaign is a social marketing effort to bring to life A New Day for Learning, by showing what is already working all across this nation to advance expanded and out of school time learning opportunities.  The key message throughout the campaign is how we all play a critical role in providing high-quality learning opportunities to children and youth – as young learners, parents, teachers, business leaders, members of the community and elected officials.

Through various blogs, online videos, case studies, and other mediums, the “Make it Stick” Campaign equips advocates with the proper messaging techniques, research, and outreach tools that will help you make the case for the need of expanded and out-of-school time learning opportunities.

One location that is showing great promise is right here in Minnesota. Dayton’s Bluff Elementary in Saint Paul. To see all the great work being done there, click HERE.

For more information on the campaign, please visit makeitstick.org.

Afterschool Programs Can Make a Difference in Children's Health
“Childhood obesity” and “national deficit disorder”: terms that each represents a frightening trend facing today’s youth. The Säjai® Foundation, a national nonprofit based here in Minnesota, is focused on fighting both of these issues by partnering with afterschool programs to teach children why to value and how to live a healthier life by encouraging them to experience the outdoors, to be active and to make smart nutrition decisions. The Säjai Foundation’s Wise Kids® programs educate kids about energy balance, or how energy in (food and drinks) needs to be balanced with energy out (energy burned through daily living and physical activity). The Wise Kids Outdoors program builds on energy balance while teaching kids how to safely explore the outdoors, and just how fun that can be.

To learn more about the Wise Kids programs and their work, please see their website at www.sajaifoundation.org, or contact Amy Rea, 952-288-3364, amy@sajaifoundation.org.

Issue Brief Explores Afterschool Benefits for Middle School Students
The Afterschool Alliance releases a new Issue Brief, "Afterschool: Providing Multiple Benefits to Middle School Students," which explores how afterschool programs can attract and retain youth in grades six through eight.  It is one in a series of Issue Briefs sponsored by the MetLife Foundation that addresses the benefits afterschool programs provide to youth, families and communities.

New Resources on STEM Learning Afterschool
Frontiers in Urban Science Exploration Resource Guide, produced by the Collaborative for Building After-School Systems (CBASS) to promote informal science education after-school. The Resource Guide describes Frontiers in Urban Science Exploration (FUSE), created by The After-School Corporation (TASC) to stimulate a culture shift that leads to greater opportunities for kids to experience informal science education after school, as well as in school and during summers

For more information, please contact Jessica Donner, Director, CBASS at jdonner@tascorp.org.

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POLICY AND ADVOCACY UPDATES

Senate Action Puts Federal Funding for Afterschool at Risk
Last week the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations made a surprise move and passed a fiscal year 2011 education spending bill that increased funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Grants by $100 million and allowed funding to be used to extend the school day and/or school year.  Currently, 21st CCLC funds are the only federal resources dedicated for afterschool and summer learning opportunities.

As of last week, Congress was engaged in an active policy debate and discussion about providing young people access to additional learning opportunities.  The debate was taking place as Congress sought to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), formerly known as No Child Left Behind.  The following two strategies for providing additional learning opportunities to children and youth currently under debate are 1) providing high-quality afterschool and summer learning opportunities, and 2) extending the school day or year.  The actions of the Senate Appropriations Committee essentially move these policy decisions away from members of Congress to the U.S. Department of Education. 

Members in the House of Representatives have not taken similar action.  The House has increased funding for 21st CCLC by $35 million and kept these federal funds designated for afterschool and summer learning opportunities. 

While extending the school day and/or school year is valuable, parents and young people will still need support afterschool and during the summer.  YCC is concerned about the future funding for afterschool and summer learning opportunities in Minnesota.  Based on a recent Out-of-School Time Funding Streams report by the Minnesota Department of Education, 21st CCLC funding comprises 34% of all major funding sources for afterschool and summer learning in Minnesota. To learn more about the impact and importance of Minnesota’s 21st CCLC Program, please read YCC’s Policy Brief.

The Senate and House education spending bills will go to both floors for final vote – if approved, these bills will go to conference committee.  There is still time to ask Congress to write the policy and determine how 21st CCLC will be allocated.   

YCC encourages the afterschool and summer-learning community to contact your congressional representatives to share the impact your programs are making in the community.  Members of congress will be on recess later this month and back home in their districts – please consider inviting them to your program.  Visit YCC’s website to find your congressional representatives.

YCC Policy and Advocacy Committee to Meet September 10, 2010
Youth Community Connections’ Policy and Advocacy Committee will meet on September 10, 2010 from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. at the Oxford Community Center, 270 N. Lexington Parkway, Saint Paul, MN.  Please join us as we discuss federal policy and decisions impacting afterschool and summer learning.  We will also discuss strategies and opportunities to engage candidates in discussions about afterschool and summer learning programs.

FUTURE EVENTS

U. S. Department of Education and Partners to Host Webinar
On August 10, 2010 from 2:30 to 4:00 pm, The U.S. Department of Education, United Way Worldwide, National PTA, SEDL and the Harvard Family Research Project are hosting an open webinar titled Data Driven: Making Student Data Accessible and Meaningful to Families.  The webinar will take a look at practical examples of how districts and schools are using data to engage families in their children's education. The webinar will also introduce tools that enable practitioners, districts, and schools to incorporate data into their own family engagement strategies.  For more information, including how to register for this webinar, click HERE.

Fall Urban 4-H Youth Development Partnership Kickoff
Tuesday September 21, 2010, from 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon at the Urban Research and Outreach/Engagement Center, 2001 Plymouth Ave N, MPLS, MN 55411.

Come kick off a new year of partnering with Urban 4-H Youth Development!
Volunteers and program leaders are invited to begin their program year with inspiring entertainment, motivating conversations with other youth workers, and delicious food!

SAVE the DATE: 2010 Lights On Afterschool
YCC is working to promote Lights On Afterschool which will take place October 21, 2010. Lights On Afterschool, the nation’s celebration of afterschool and summer programs, attracts one million Americans to 7,500 events at afterschool programs across the country.  

YCC is encouraging afterschool and youth serving organizations in Minnesota to take part in Lights On Afterschool and help call attention to the need for afterschool and summer learning opportunities!  This year Lights On Afterschool will take place during a school release day in Minnesota.  Lights On Afterschool can be celebrated anytime that week – so begin your planning today!

For more information on Lights on Afterschool, go tohttp://www.afterschoolalliance.org/loa.cfm.

10-10-10 March for Children
The 10-10-10 March For Children will bring 10,000 concerned Minnesotans to the capitol on Oct. 10, 2010 to let representatives know that children must be strongly considered in all policy decisions made at the legislature.  To learn more, read the full article online:
http://www.cdf-mn.org/node/454.

EMPLOYMENT IN YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

City of Brooklyn Park is currently seeking a Youth and Family Program Assistant. To see the full job description and application information, click here.

YWCA St. Paul has seven openings for Academic Services Instructors. To see the full job posting, click here.

Youth Community Connections
200 Oak Street SE, Suite 270B ~ Minneapolis, MN 55455
PH: 612.627.0160
WEB: www.youthcommunityconnections.org