Cambridge Agenda for Children Out-of-School Time
  • Our Work
    • Cambridge OST Coalition
    • OST Learning Institute
    • Elementary School OST Network
    • Middle School Network
    • Quality Improvement System
  • News & Events
    • OST Learning Institute
    • ESON Updates
    • MSN Updates
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Events Calendar
  • Stories of Family Partnership
    • The Importance of Meaningful Connections
    • Talking with Kids About Race
    • Committing to Racial Equity
    • Common Ground
    • Parent Voices
    • Showing Them that They Matter
    • Showing us What they Know
    • Empathizing with Parents
    • Building Dialogue
    • Creating a Welcoming Culture
    • Celebrating Families
  • Resources
    • Publications
    • Blog
    • How to Write a Blog Post for AFCOST
    • Professional Development Reports
    • 5 Key Elements for Successful Virtual OST Programming
    • Find It Cambridge
    • Cambridge STEAM Initiative
  • About Us
    • Mission and Beliefs
    • Our Ways of Being
    • History
    • Organizational Structure
    • Who we are
    • Contact
    • Work with us
  • Our Work
    • Cambridge OST Coalition
    • OST Learning Institute
    • Elementary School OST Network
    • Middle School Network
    • Quality Improvement System
  • News & Events
    • OST Learning Institute
    • ESON Updates
    • MSN Updates
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Events Calendar
  • Stories of Family Partnership
    • The Importance of Meaningful Connections
    • Talking with Kids About Race
    • Committing to Racial Equity
    • Common Ground
    • Parent Voices
    • Showing Them that They Matter
    • Showing us What they Know
    • Empathizing with Parents
    • Building Dialogue
    • Creating a Welcoming Culture
    • Celebrating Families
  • Resources
    • Publications
    • Blog
    • How to Write a Blog Post for AFCOST
    • Professional Development Reports
    • 5 Key Elements for Successful Virtual OST Programming
    • Find It Cambridge
    • Cambridge STEAM Initiative
  • About Us
    • Mission and Beliefs
    • Our Ways of Being
    • History
    • Organizational Structure
    • Who we are
    • Contact
    • Work with us

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!
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Watch Video
​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 kmilner@cpsd.us ASAP.

Fresh off the presses! Live document.  Is your OST Program listed? 

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Exciting Opportunities to Join the AFCOST Team!

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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 two part-time opportunities with the AFCOST Team.

If you have questions please feel free to contact Susan Richards (susan@agendaforchildrenost.org). 
​

​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
Print Resource

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
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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?

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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. 

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

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Reimagining OST
and
Innovating into the Future


​Thank you to everyone who attended!
​
Check here for links to videos and notes.
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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
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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.
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Some Free Resources for Home Learning

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  • 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
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​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
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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
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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.
Watch video
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Showing us What they Know


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

Keeping it Real


 OST Leader & father Joseph Corbie tells us about the importance of keeping it real with families.
Watch video
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The Path to College Success


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

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.
Watch Video
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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?
Read Report

Connecting Books and (Reluctant) Readers


Librarian Emily Meyer highlights tips and resources to help young people find books they'll enjoy reading this summer. 
Read Blog
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Building a Welcoming Culture


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

The Power of the Outdoors


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


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

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.
Read blog
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Quality, Equity & Innovation

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

Cambridge Agenda for Children out-of-school time

Looking for something?
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51 Inman Street 
Cambridge MA 02139
​617-349-4099

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​135 Berkshire Street
Cambridge MA 02141 
617-349-6553

oUR fUNDERS

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Copyright © 2017 Cambridge Agenda for Children Out-of-School Time