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!

Mary in New Mexico

This is Mary Shea again and I just completed a 3 day trip to beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico where I did my site visit with one of our MEAF National Affiliates, the Bernalillo County Parks and Recreation Department. (By the way, there will be a test at the end of this blog to see how many of you can spell Albuquerque the first time!) I think it is one of the hardest words I have ever had to spell.

I flew on Memorial Day and I would recommend that option to anyone who doesn’t like crowded airports. It was a pretty quiet day in the skies and no one else was at the rental car counter so that was quick and I was at the hotel in downtown Albuquerque by early afternoon (of course I left my house at 4:00 am). I took a long walk downtown later in the day to get some exercise (hot and muggy weather) but it was a very quiet day because it was a holiday and few folks were downtown so it was peaceful.


Tuesday morning began with Jeffrey Paul, the Inclusion Manager for the County’s Parks and Recreation Department picking me up at the hotel and we began driving to Community Centers all across the county, which was very large and very diverse. Jeff had arranged and confirmed all the appointments so when we arrived I was able to tour the facilities and meet with staff and most directors. It was their time to ask specific questions about their programs and services as well as specific children they were supporting that they were having challenges with. It was a good day and I met with 5 of the 7 directors and approximately 18 - 20 full time staff and I was able to provide some quality site specific consultation.



The next day involved a full day of training at Mountain View Community Center where almost all staff (50 total) from the recreation department as well as 5 of the newly hired inclusion facilitators were in attendance. We did 3 of the KIT core modules (Respectful Accommodations, Supporting Positive Support, and Partnering with Families, and we addressed some specific issues in supporting children with attention deficit disorders. The staff really seemed to enjoy the training and activities and besides the fire alarm going off and having to evacuate the building quickly, the day seemed very successful and empowering to the staff. It was a very pleasant surprise to have both the Director and Assistant Director of Bernalillo Parks and Recreation Department stop by the training during the day and show their support for inclusion.

This visit was short and very busy but well planned and efficient and Jeff has done a great job in the 2 years he has been with the department. By the way, he told me he had an opportunity to apply for last minute stimulus funding that had come to their county and that is how he was able to hire 8 additional staff for summer programming! Wouldn’t that be a wonderful treat to every one of you if that was available?

Summer is finally here so wishing you all a peaceful summer and good luck with summer camps and programs and enjoy each and every day you get to spend with those joyful children whose parents have entrusted your with their care 