Agenda for Children Out of School Time Initiative

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/.

Current COVID-19 Update (January 4, 2021)

Dear Cambridge OST Community,
We must stay the course, continue to have high expectations, while advocating for justice, anti-racism, and the best outcomes for each and every of the young people we work for. In recent months, many of us may have had to question our roles and responsibilities in this ever-changing and challenging reality... and yet our young people, families and community still and consistently need our peace, push and programs just the same.

Please stay updated about how our city and school system is addressing the COVID-19 crisis by:

Checking the City of Cambridge COVID-19 Information web page.
And following recent updates and details sent out by the Cambridge Public Schools.

AFCOST is with you.
Onward and in solidarity,
Khari and Susan

Until we can reconvene in person, we will offer all AFCOST Activities virtually via Zoom. Please check our events calendar for upcoming AFCOST sessions. Once your register, be on the lookout for an invitation from the facilitators with a link to these online sessions.

We are working closely with our AFCOST Team Members, the STEAM Initiative, Inclusion and Find It Cambridge to offer resources to OST Staff, youth and families. Please post information about your Summer Programs on Find It Cambridge.

For more information about how to sign up your OST Program for a CPS Community Portal account and register to use CPSD Google Classroom, visit our Cambridge OST Coalition page.
Read about our Stories of Family Partnership work in this article published by the Global Family Research Project, defining and advancing the fields of family, school, and community engagement.
In addition to communicating directly with the families of children and youth that you serve, we strongly encourage OST Programs to update your program status information on Find It Cambridge, as this will help people who are also assisting families.

New program information for Middle School students is posted on our MSN Updates blog. Check out our 5 Key Elements for Successful Virtual OST Programming. If you missed the "How to Zoom Training on Virtual Facilitation", you can watch the video recording here.

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