Registration is Open!
2024 OST Symposium
November 19th, 20th, 21st
The Foundry​

The 2024-25 School Year Resource Guide is here!

For the School Year 2024-25, after school programs for both Elementary (K-5) and Middle Schoolers (6-8) will be available at various locations throughout Cambridge, including school campuses, youth centers, community centers, local non-profits, businesses, and more. This guide has been created to bring together all of these opportunities in one place!​

Learn more about the OST Expansion Study

Today, not all Cambridge families have access to afterschool and summer programs, or out-of-school time (OST) opportunities. The City of Cambridge has contracted with consultants to conduct an OST Expansion Study "to develop a three-year plan to expand and improve After School Care for Cambridge children." 

​For more information about the study, please reference the timeline on this page, which will be updated regularly to reflect progress to date.  You may also reach out to Susan Richards with questions.

i-Ready Personalized Instruction: An Introduction for OST Programs and Providers

On January 19th, 2023,  Cambridge Public Schools and AFCOST co-facilitated a workshop to provide an overview of the i-Ready personalized learning program. As the more than 25 OST professionals who attended the workshop learned, i-Ready is an online platform for CPS 3rd-8th graders to use beyond the school day to support their learning in the areas of Math and English Language Arts.

Click here to view the slides from the workshop or watch the recording!
​Important: If your program serves CPS students in grades 3-5, and you have interest in potentially having Chromebooks provided for you to keep at your program for students to use for i-Ready, please email Khari at [email protected] ASAP.

​High Quality Comprehensive After School for All

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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

Is Your Program a Safe Space?

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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.

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

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
  1. Study Guide
  2. 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/
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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.

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.

​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. 

Parent Voices on 
​Family Partnership

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

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. ​

Show Them that They Matter

 In our latest story, OST Practitioner Ayesha Wilson shares her journey learning about the diverse cultures of her students' families.

Showing us What they Know

 An OST parent shares her thoughts on what makes a family event engaging and fun for parents.

Keeping it Real

 OST Leader & father Joseph Corbie tells us about the importance of keeping it real with families.

The Path to College Success

Our latest blog post explores how parents and CSI work together to support College Success for students.

Youth Voices on Relationships & Self-Discovery

​In this video story, youth enrolled at the Gately Youth Center in Cambridge reflect on the importance of their relationships with staff.

Engaging Middle School Youth in Out-of-School-Time Opportunities

Why are some middle school youth still missing out on OST opportunities? What can we do to help?

Connecting Books and (Reluctant) Readers

Librarian Emily Meyer highlights tips and resources to help young people find books they'll enjoy reading this summer. 

Building a Welcoming Culture

Families and staff of the Cambridge Community Center share the importance of their monthly family nights.

The Power of the Outdoors

Explore the benefits of outdoor education for your program and your own health & well-being.

Building Dialogue

Vanessa Fisher, director of the Frisoli Youth Center, tells us how she engages families by building dialogue and relationships.

4  games to get kids excited about mindfulness

Read how a youth worker changed her whole approach to mindfulness in her program by using games.

Quality, Equity & Innovation

Uniting the out-of-school time community of Cambridge through peer learning & professional development.

Cambridge Agenda for Children out-of-school time

Looking for something?
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​135 Berkshire Street
Cambridge MA 02141 
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