Afterschool in our culture
Three things happened in the last few weeks that highlight for me how afterschool has taken root in Vermont and our culture. The first one was a piece on the radio http://www.vpr.net/episode/49485/ about a new children's book by Vermont author Katherine Paterson; a story about refugee children and their lives and families. (I haven't read the story yet) In the story, there is a section that talks about what is important to a young character, and afterschool is highlighted as central to a the character's needs. I thought that is a pretty cool indicator if fictional characters are valuing afterschool, then it must be important, not that I need convincing. But 'cultural indicators' are powerful markers. Secondly, the teacher of the year in Vergennes works in a 21C funded afterschool program and this was highlighted in a press release, highlighting the good work she did afterschool. Again, very cool-#2. And thirdly, I went to a meeting yesterday about audits that are being done for school improvement schools and one of the "major factors" folks will be looking at is: "Are there pre-school, afterschool, and summer programs available for all students needing more support?" Again, I was so pleased to see how the importance of using 'out of school' time is being recognized and embedded within the greater system in new ways. This is very telling that programs are working and valued by many; both at the local and state level. So let's keep moving forward!
Emanuel
Please leave your comments below and consider submitting a little piece like this for the wiki to share with others.
21 Grant Competition is open
Go to http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/pgm_federal/21st_CCLC.html for more info.
First Grantee meeting is October 14th in Stowe.
Summer Lights! Camera! Learning!
Videos are now in from the Summer Lights! Camera! Learning! competition sponsored by the Vermont Center for Afterschool Excellence. Lights! Camera! Learning! is a project aimed at capturing innovative learning on video and using the videos to spread the word about the wonderful experiences happening in afterschool programs across Vermont.
One component of the Lights! Camera! Learning! project is the People’s Choice award which allows individuals across the state to view the videos submitted and vote for their favorites. There are separate categories for elementary programs and middle/ high school programs, and anyone interested can cast a vote in both categories. Total viewing time for videos in either category is just under 40 minutes. The People’s Choice competition is open until October 10th and winning videos will be announced at the Vermont Afterschool Conference on October 22nd.
Link to People’s Choice award: http://vermontafterschool.org/lights_camera_learning/lights-camera-learning-peoples-choice-award/
Recent visitors to this site include:
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.