Note from the Idaho Afterschool Network Lead:
Phew! March came and went fast! Before I get into a review of these past 4 weeks, I have three housekeeping issues that I would love your help with:
- Spread the word! We are still seeking to fill our VISTA position in Eastern Idaho. The Idaho AfterSchool Network VISTAs will be key members on our team for conducting program surveys in Eastern Idaho, building our interactive map, and helping execute our communication plan. At this time the position is officially located in Idaho Falls, but I am seeking to possible find a location in Bannock or Bingham counties. It is great for new grads, those re-entering the workforce, or any one who just want to serve their community and make a difference. Click here for more info.
- Become a Community Mentor! "Community mentors" are needed for the new VISTAs joining our team. A "community mentor" would be people throughout Idaho that can help our VISTA navigate our communities. Our VISTAs are young and some are traveling away from home to serve. They may need direction on where to go from time to time, where to book a training, new program to survey, place to hold an event etc. If you can help in this way, click here to shoot me an email.
- Please take a quick eight question survey about professional development in your program, click here to access. We are in the process of putting together our first "professional development" training schedule. This can cover in-person regional training, on-line and webinar training and the training offered at the annual AfterSchool Summit in September. Topics can cover kids safety, social/emotional issues, curriculum and enrichment, parental outreach, and/or professionalism and sustainability of programs. We will likely cover these topics over time, but your feedback will help us begin to determine what would be most helpful in the immediate future.
Now onto the whirlwind of past fast and furious four weeks! Highlights from March were meeting with our Congressional delegation, participating in the National AfterSchool Summit with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and meeting with NASA Astronaut and former Idaho educator, Barbara Morgan.
I kicked off April at the Idaho State Prevention and Support Conference, and connected with even more amazing people...out-of-school program providers! I wish I could have had more time with them. I am currently writing this from Chicago, attending an AmeriCorps VISTA supervisor training to prepare for our VISTA team members that will join us in just a few weeks.
Finally, better late than never... It's alive! Our website is finally live! Idahoafterschool.org - It is a work in progress, but it has the basics for now. We will soon have a section committed to professional development and resources, so keep checking back. For now, take a tour, your feedback is welcome. Also since we don't have a proofreader on staff, if you catch a typo, would please let me know?
I'm going to sign off with a quote from Manny Scott, one of the original "Freedom Writers" who spoke at the Prevention Conference last week. He spoke about the powerful role educators can have in a young child's life, he begged the audience to continue believing in the potential of kids, even those others may have given up on...
"On your worst day, you can still be someone's best hope!" - Manny Scott
All the best,
Marie Hattaway
p.s. Our newsletter list continues to grow, thank you to those who are passing along this link to their lists. Also, we hit over 500 likes on Facebook last month! I put a little focus into Twitter too and in less than 3 weeks went from 7 followers to over 80. Social media is such an inexpensive way to connect and network. If you have not yet, please “like us” on Facebook, post our page on your newsfeed and follow us on Twitter. Its free, lets use it!
About the Idaho Afterschool Network
We are a statewide network charged with the mission to ensure Idaho's youth have access to high quality out-of-school programs. The IAN is focused on building statewide awareness about the importance of out-of-school programs, developing standards and training for existing programs, sharing resources with communities to launch new quality programs and connecting more families and youth to a local quality program. Click here to learn more about Idaho's need for after school programs.
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