Program Quality News: July 16, 2020

We know youth program quality still matters.

Understanding that virtual programming seems likely to be with us into the next school year due to uncertainty around COVID-19, supports for quality improvement in virtual settings are increasingly important and raise many new questions, such as:

  • What does youth engagement look like in distance programs?
  • How do staff build high-quality practices into virtual programming, for both online sessions and the self-paced work between them?
  • How do we provide programs that are supportive of all children, youth, and families?
  • When collective trauma is impacting all of us, how do we support young people and their families who are experiencing long-standing traumas due to systemic racism and other vulnerabilities, that have become more apparent in recent months?

A recent post by the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality grapples with these questions and can be explored here.

 


 

Events & Opportunities

Supporting Quality Learning Experiences in Virtual OST

Free Webinar
Thursday, August 13, 2020
1:00-2:00 PM EDT

Join a discussion about program quality in virtual summer and afterschool programswith three leading national organizations in the quality improvement, coaching, and measurement space. Questions include:

  • How does quality differ in-person and online using established dimensions?
  • Do all dimensions matter equally; are new ones needed?
  • How should we account for stress in both students and staff?
  • Can the frameworks support planning virtual environments? If so, how?

Take advantage of the collective knowledge of three organizations that are leadingefforts to support high quality virtual youth programs through continuous improvementapproaches.Panelists include:

  • Gil Noam, director of The PEAR Institute
  • Georgia Hall, director of the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST)
  • Kim Robinson, managing director of the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality and executive vice president of the Forum for Youth Investment

Register now.

 


 

Virtually Engage Your Staff in Positive Youth Development Practices

Through partnership with Boys and Girls Club of America,we have recently debuted our newly designed Youth Work Methods online courses, which have been experienced by nearly 900 youth development professionals this spring.These cost-effective courses are available through our online portal and can be purchased directly from our online store.

 


 

Partner News

COVID-19 Summer Program Toolkit from Denver

The Denver Afterschool Alliance (DAA) compiled a comprehensive resource guide for preparing virtual and in-person programming for youth this summer. This toolkit is designed to serve as a gathering place for a wide range of resources that support program launch and continues to be updated regularly.

 


 

Equity Assessment and COVID-19 Impact Survey from New Orleans

The New Orleans Youth Alliance (NOYA) surveyed youth from programs in the city to learn about the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on youth programs and organizations, to inform NOYA’s advocacy efforts, and to help develop a coordinated recovery andemergency response effort for youth programs in the city. In addition to the survey findings, NOYA recently released an Equity Assessment to measure equity within organizational structures. The assessment includes a number of equitable practices toconsider across the following domains: organizational culture, recruitment & selection,decision-making, training & development, and partnerships.

The equity assessment and survey findings are both available here.