Ready News: March 25, 2022
March 25, 2022
People, Places & Possibilities: Building Strong Learning & Development Ecosystems to Promote Equity
March Making the Invisible Visible Webinar Session
Tuesday, March 29, 2022, 12:30 PM ET
Recent research and initiatives make a strong case for what developmentalists have argued for decades: A young person’s learning and development is shaped in positive and negative ways by the interactions they have with all the adults across all settings in their life. Now is the time to reshape our systems to support this scientific understanding. It Takes an Ecosystem, the latest volume in the Current Issues in Out-of-School Time series, seeks to do just that. Editors Dr. Tom Akiva, University of Pittsburgh, and Dr. Kimberly Robinson, the Forum for Youth Investment, along with an inspiring group of authors, provide ideas, tools, examples, and visions for a more connected, more equitable world for young people and the adults in their lives.
In this session, we will deeply explore one of the book’s four key themes – how do ecosystems promote equity? Dr. Akiva & Dr. Robinson will be joined by chapter authors to engage in rich discussion of how the ideas presented in the book can come to life in our work with young people and communities.
Summer for All: How Coordination in Dallas is Making this Goal a Reality
Webinar
Thursday, April 14, 2022, 3:00-4:00 pm ET
This summer, extra resources and extra attention are being focused on summer learning opportunities. This extra attention and funding are increasing opportunities for high-quality and coordinated summer programs that support both young people’s academic and social and emotional growth. Through the Wallace Foundation’s National Summer Learning Project, our knowledge base of how to stand up, structure, and implement effective school district and partner-led summer programs has greatly increased.
Now, in the latest report in RAND’s Summer Learning Series, Summer for All: Building Coordinated Networks to Promote Access to Quality Summer Learning and Enrichment Opportunities Across a Community, we have the opportunity to look not just at what happens in programs, but what happens around them to set them up for success. In this session, we’ll dig in deeply with one of the organizations featured in the report, Big Thought Dallas, to learn more about how they have built a coordinated network focused on summer and how their learning from the summer space has supported their work to integrate other focus areas, most recently social emotional learning, into their organization and network.
Power of Us Workforce Survey: Calling All Youth-Serving Professionals and Volunteers
Every person who works with young people is committed to helping them thrive. On athletic fields, in afterschool programs, in libraries, in faith-based institutions, youth-serving professionals and volunteers are making a difference every day. Through the Power of Us Workforce Survey, youth-serving professionals and volunteers can contribute to a national effort to explore, define, and elevate their profession. Take the survey today!
Meeting the Moment: Cities Increase Investments in Young People to Support Pandemic Recovery and Beyond
A new survey findings report from the National League of Cities (NLC), “Meeting the Moment: Cities Investing in Young People to Support Pandemic Recovery and Beyond,” found that the number of cities funding afterschool and summer learning programs during the pandemic-recovery has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Cities are making use of federal American Rescue Plan Act and CARES funds, along with their general funds, to expand their programming. Perhaps most encouragingly, these investments are not temporary. Two thirds of municipal officials say they plan on continuing to increase their investments in afterschool and summer programming once the pandemic ends.
These findings signal a major win for youth and families across the country. NLC has released this new report along with an accompanying interactive data dashboard which reveals the evolution of municipal investments in afterschool and summer learning programs throughout the pandemic.
The Forum is Hiring a Chief Operating Officer
The Forum continues to grow and we have a number of exciting career opportunities available. We are currently seeking a Chief Operating Officer.
The successful candidate will act in partnership with the CEO as a key leader and strategic advisor with responsibility for:
- providing oversight of the organization’s core operational and administrative functions, including budget & finance, human talent & equity, IT & business systems, resource development, and administration
- leading or co-leading strategic projects and initiatives, and
- assisting the CEO in ensuring the Forum’s internal effectiveness through planning, performance management, resource allocation, and the development and execution of best-in-class operational systems, policies, and standard procedures.