Talkin' About Afterschool with Mott

After a 2-month travel hiatus, I was back on the road last week! I do get a little itchy when I’ve been in my office chair for too long, so the chance to “move about the country” was perfectly timed. I took a pleasant and on-time flight (thank you, Southwest!) to Fort Lauderdale, FL to attend the 2001 National Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks meeting, funding by the C.S. Mott Foundation. I am the Co-Chair of the California Afterschool Network’s Leadership Team, which is why I had the opportunity to attend the meeting. Coincidentally, KIT’s Dr. Mary Shea also attended the meeting as part of the Oregon After School for Kids (ASK) team. Mary and I both had a great time reconnecting with the state networks who have hired KIT to provide training, conference keynotes, technical assistance or strategic planning for their state (big shout outs to Michigan, Wyoming, Connecticut, Missouri and Washington!).

In addition to the great networking, the meeting also allowed for a lot of learning. It was exciting to hear Dr. Milton Chen, senior fellow and executive director emeritus at The George Lucas Educational Foundation (and an ordained Jedi Master by George Lucas himself!), discuss the ideas from his book Education Nation. As he described it, an Education Nation is “a learning society where education of children is the highest priority, equal to a strong economy, high employment and national security, which rely on education.” He defined a “ladder of learning” from pre-K through high school blending formal and informal learning through schools, technology, museums, libraries, churches, youth groups and parks. A real strength of the United States, Dr. Chen said, is our informal learning institutions- parks, camps, museums, libraries and other non-profits. Here, here! To see some examples, visit the George Lucas Educational Foundation’s website on what works in education. It’s easy for those of us in the out-of-school field to think that k-12 education doesn’t apply to us. That that’s what they do, and we do something different. But the truth is it’s all the same kids. Our kids. The more we can integrate their learning and development in all parts of their lives, wholly and thoughtfully, the better off they will be. And the better of we will be, as they are our future!

I’ve got more to share about the Mott meeting so check back later in the week and into next week!

Oh, and that cute photo is of most of our California team. From left, Gordon Jackson, Assistant Superintendant and the California Department of Education, me, Julie Jarrett, After School Programs Administrator for Butte County Office of Education and Andee Press-Dawson, Executive Director of the California Afterschool Network. This photo was taken just after we showed all the other states how it’s done on the dance floor to the sounds of The Mambo Kings!