Agenda for Children Out of School Time Initiative

Exciting Opportunities to Join the AFCOST Team!

We seek team members who have the ability to see the big picture, to build community, innovate and who approach this work thoughtfully and intentionally. We value collaborative and facilitative leaders who have demonstrated an understanding of how children and youth are affected by social inequities and how to address these impacts.

Please click here to see a range of recently posted AFCOST positions, both full and part time.

If you have questions please feel free to contact Khari Milner (khari@agendaforchildrenost.org) and/or Susan Richards (susan@agendaforchildrenost.org).

High Quality Comprehensive After School for All

Working together, schools, afterschool programs, and community partners are better positioned to accelerate students’ academic, social, and emotional learning, especially students who have been historically underserved and those with special needs . . . Decades of data show these programs:

Accelerate students’ learning gains and improve their reading and math skills
Engage youth in learning and boost school attendance
Support social and emotional development
Prevent youth violence
Boost on-time graduation

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Summer Opportunities Guides 2022

Summer is around the corner, and after the year we've had, we are looking forward to the warmth of the sun and reconnecting safely for joyful learning and exploration with Cambridge children and youth.

Our Summer Opportunities Guides highlight affordable, high quality programs located in Cambridge. These documents are updated LIVE.

Middle School Summer Opportunities Guide 2022

Elementary School Summer Opportunities Guide 2022

Thank you for Joining Us!
Symposium 2022 - March 28-30, 2022

Thank you again for joining us for the 9th OST Symposium: Healing, Passion and Purpose.
We hope that the 2022 OST Symposium inspired you and helped you to connect with other OST providers, new ideas, content, knowledge.

Make sure to give us the gift of your feedback. Your feedback helps us improve as we plan the next Symposium.
Check back soon for links to videos and slide decks.

Thank you to our Zoom hosts, facilitators, moderators, panelists and speakers for creating space for sharing, learning, healing, and collective care.

March 28th, 10:00AM Reunions of Inaugural Liberation of Leadership Cohort and Social Emotional Learning Cohorts
March 29th, Workshops for OST Providers.
March 30th, OST Symposium Panel - The Power of Healing: Beginning our Journey Moderated by Shawn Proctor followed by our 2022 OST Symposium Keynote Speaker.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Shawn Ginwright, CEO & Founder, Flourish Agenda

We are so excited to welcome you to our new Cambridge OST Learning Institute!
The OST Learning Institute is an online repository of high-quality, multi-faceted, learning opportunities, experiences, and resources to support the professional growth, enrichment and development of all Cambridge OST professionals.
The OST Learning Institute will provide access to:

Trainings (both live and recorded organized by type and level);
Communities of Practice;
Annual OST Symposium;
Newsletter Archive;
Tools & Resources to support your OST work and self-care; and
AFCOST Blog.

Visit the OST Learning Institute

How are you refreshing your playlist for the New Year?

As we all continue to care for our children and youth and one another and navigate the uncertainty related to this ongoing public health crisis, many thanks and much gratitude to Melina O'Grady for sharing this helpful tip sheet to get us to think more intentionally about . . .
how we are unplugging and moving physically . . .
how we are stretching our brains mentally . . .
And what is making us laugh? Read more here.

If you'd like to share resources with your colleagues, tell us how you are coping and healing, and helping the youth and families that you work with to heal, and continuing to find joy, please submit a blog post by emailing. Here are some tips to help get you started.

The Liberation of Leadership Series
January 2022 -June 2022

Thank you for your interest. Liberation of Leadership Cohort 2 Participants have been selected.

This live training series engages a cohort of Cambridge OST leaders in a liberatory approach to leadership development.
The Program responds to the need communicated to AFCOST by program and executive leadership in the Cambridge OST coalition that effective leadership is essential to shaping an equitable OST system that responds to the realities of young people, families, and staff in our OST community. In addition, as our OST community moves into a post-pandemic new world, preparing leadership at all levels to re-imagine and then create the OST future we want for our Cambridge youth and families has never been more important.

Is Your Program a Safe Space?

Is your program a safe space for gender nonconforming and transgender youth?
Click here to read the latest AFCOST blog post written by Beck Govoni, Afterschool Director @CambridgeYCMA. Learn more about how you can ensure that all youth feel safe and have fun in out-of-school time programs.

Do you have some wisdom to share that would be helpful to share with your out-of-school time professional colleagues? Write about what you are learning and email it to AFCOST so we can publish and share with the Cambridge OST Community, and beyond.
Here are some tips to get you started. We want to hear from you.

Fall 2021 Opportunities Guides Available

Check out our new flyer with QR codes!

Live web version of MSN Guide:
https://bit.ly/MSNAfterschoolGuide2021

Live web version of the ESON Guide:
https://bit.ly/ESONAfterschoolGuide2021

Request copies! We will deliver them to you!
Both Guides are on Find It Cambridge

CPS COVID-19 Safety Training for OST Programs, Aug 31, 2021

Signed CPS Partner MOUs should be returned to Khari at kmilner@cpsd.us by 9/8/21.
If you have any questions or concerns please email or call Khari (617-349-6553(o), 617-874-6787 (c)

If you missed it, please share this recording of a training hosted by the Cambridge Public Schools to share key safety procedures in the out-of-school hours.

Slide deck from 8.31.21 Training session

8.31.21 COVID Procedure Training - CPS Partners Q&A

SY 21-22 CPS Partner MOU
This MOU should be completed and signed by organizations with programs and/or programming that:
a) Take place in a CPS building.
b) Receive CPS students who ride CPS buses to your programs after school.

Watch our newest Story of Family Partnership
Parent Voices: Committing to Racial Equity

Reimagining OST
and
Innovating into the Future

Thank you to everyone who attended!

Check here for links to videos and notes.

Watch "Caste in the Classroom, Education for Second-Class"

If you will join tomorrow's OST Clubhouse conversation, you can join us or watch on your own.
Check out the study guide and feedback questionnaire

America After 3PM 2020 Report
The Afterschool Alliance's 4th edition of America After 3PM provides a detailed account of children in the afterschool hours, identifying: trends of participation in, and unmet demand for, afterschool programs; the experiences and opportunities programs afford; and which children and families are missing out, and why. http://afterschoolalliance.org/AA3PM/

Read the latest report from the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, Child Care and Education During COVID-19: A Report on the Economic and Social Impact on Women in Massachusetts.

For those of you who could not join, or if you would
like to revisit the event, please view the recording:
Passcode: O!y7&qAr

In addition, we encourage you to learn more about the Common Start Coalition, a statewide partnership of organizations, providers, and individuals working together to make high-quality early education and childcare affordable and accessible to all Massachusetts families. Their goal is to ensure that all children in the Commonwealth have the same, strong start and enter school on a level playing field. https://commonstartma.org/.

Write a blog post for the OST Community

Check out our blog and write to tell us more about how you are staying connected and supporting co-workers and families during this time. Here are some tips for writing a blog post.

Some Free Resources for Home Learning

CPSD@Home - Resources to support student learning at home
MIT Full STEAM Ahead - Thematic STEAM lesson packages
Cambridge Public Library - Free digital services
12 Virtual Museum Tours - Free virtual tours
PBS Mass Learning Resources - Free curricula for educators
Scholastic Learn at Home - Free teaching resources
National Geographic Kids - Free, fun learning resources for children
STEM Resources from TERC - Free STEM curriculum and activities
Edutopia: How to Support Home Learning in the Early Grades - article
PBS Kids Lab Educational Resources - more Free curricula for educators
Parent Toolkit - one-stop resource produced and developed with parents in mind
Go Noodle - Resources to promote movement and mindfulness at home
Boston Children's Museum Educator Resources - Curriculum kits and field trip information
The Exploratorium - Free Online Learning resources and digital library
NASA Afterschool Universe - Free STEM curriculum and activity ideas
SEDL: Afterschool Lesson Database - Free sample lesson plans for OST

Click here to share your favorites with us!

OST Symposium 2019
Check out our Slide Show
Seeing Possibilities: Racial Justice, Equity & Access
Connecting, reflecting, teaching, sharing, learning!

AFCOST Youth Connectors Damilola Oluwole and Medjine Lucien and AFCOST Coach and Trainer Melinda Barbosa pulled together these slides, reflections, and photos of the Symposium to inspire staff who work to support youth development in out of school time programs.

What inspires you to work with young people?

Find Common Ground

Nelhai Mallebay-Vacqueur, a teacher in the King Open Extended Day program, shares an account of her journey working to build bridges of cultural understanding with the families of the children in her program.

Watch Video

Keeping it Real in Family Partnership: A Facilitator’s Guide

This facilitator’s guide is intended to provide instruction and inspiration for how members of the Cambridge OST community might use the Family Partnership Stories produced by the Agenda for Children to enrich staff development efforts. This guide provides: a brief summary of each story, story-specific reflection questions, and ideas for interactive activities that can help deepen participants’ engagement with the material.

download facilitator's guide

Parent Voices on
Family Partnership

Cambridge OST parents share their thoughts on how Cambridge out-of-school time programs can best partner with families.

Watch Video

New Report Highlights Critical Importance of Family Partnership

Equity-based family engagement helps parents and caretakers in underserved communities become effective advocates and culture-bearers in schools, which boosts educational quality and relevance. Learn more in this new report published by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.

Download Report