Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Supporting the Development of Character
Many schools have started to include character education as a key thread that runs through the school’s culture. There are a variety of programs that schools might access, but one of the most popular seems to be Character Counts! This program is based on six pillars of character:
“Trustworthiness
Be honest • Don’t deceive, cheat, or steal • Be reliable — do what you say you’ll do • Have the courage to do the right thing • Build a good reputation • Be loyal — stand by your family, friends, and country
Respect
Treat others with respect; follow the Golden Rule • Be tolerant and accepting of differences • Use good manners, not bad language • Be considerate of the feelings of others • Don’t threaten, hit or hurt anyone • Deal peacefully with anger, insults, and disagreements
Responsibility
Do what you are supposed to do • Plan ahead • Persevere: keep on trying! • Always do your best • Use self-control • Be self-disciplined • Think before you act — consider the consequences • Be accountable for your words, actions, and attitudes • Set a good example for others
Fairness
Play by the rules • Take turns and share • Be open-minded; listen to others • Don’t take advantage of others • Don’t blame others carelessly • Treat all people fairly
Caring
Be kind • Be compassionate and show you care • Express gratitude • Forgive others • Help people in need
Citizenship
Do your share to make your school and community better • Cooperate • Get involved in community affairs • Stay informed; vote • Be a good neighbor • Obey laws and rules • Respect authority • Protect the environment • Volunteer”
If the school you are at does not have a character education strand, check out this Character Counts program by going on line and seeing how it might fit with your program.
How to demonstrate character can be found in a variety of Online Instruction minis and modules. Understanding Accountability, the Ownership Model, Agreement Setting, and more will help others see you as a person of character. Check out our resources at www.consultfourkids.com
Monday, September 27, 2010
Scope and Sequence Alignment
The scope and sequence refers to the material to be covered (scope) and the order it will be covered in (sequence). Textbooks usually prepare a scope and sequence for the classroom teacher. In many cases, this scope and sequence is adopted as is, in other cases, it is adapted by the teacher to meet the needs of students. A grade level’s scope of sequence documents typically build in times to review and re-teach skills throughout the year. This spiral continues to loop students into the learning. For example, in 4th grade it is expected that students will master Number Sense Math Standard 3.4--
Throughout fourth grade students will visit and revisit this standard. The 5th grade scope and sequence builds upon the 4th grade scope and sequence, creating a continuum of learning that is progressive and focused. Standard 3.4 in 4th grade morphs in fifth grade to Number Sense Math Standard 2.2:
This process of scope and sequence support student development, but when put together, the various grade level scope and sequence documents allows you to track the development of student knowledge over time, and a place to go when you are trying to offer remedial support during the after-school program.
When you use the scope and sequence documents in this way, you are doing a task analysis and determining what skills are needed at what time.
If you were to look at the 5th grade standard, students must have a variety of skills in order to complete long division problems with multi-digit divisors correctly. With a simple review of the problem it is easy to determine that the student must certainly understand the concept of division and what it means to separate a conglomerate into equal parts. The student must also know how to estimate so he/she has a place to begin the solving of the problem. The student must know his/her multiplication facts or how to access that information, how to subtract, how to follow the division internal procedure, and at the completion of the problem, the ability to look at the answer and identify whether or not that answer is plausible—all part of mathematical reasoning. By using this system of task analysis, you can observe the student as they work on a problem and determine where they are challenged. You can then select materials—games and other activities—that students can participate in to build the skills that are deficit.
While we don’t want to replicate the school day in after-school, we do want to support the student and the classroom teacher by knowing what is going on and bringing in after-school materials to reinforce the learning.
Being a good partner to the school day is a critical link for a strong after-school program. Check out our website, www.consultfourkids.com for Online Instruction videos on alignment.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Equity and Access
The notion of equity of access is evident in the U.S. Constitution. How this plays out from a governmental perspective, is that all Americans need to have access to information and have the opportunity to speak out on how the country is governed. So equity of access means that every citizen must have the opportunity to fully participate, to the range of their abilities and interest, in the American experience. It also means, that accommodations and modifications are made to ensure that everyone has this opportunity to access.
In 2000, I was participating in a doctoral program. At the end of the year, those who were completing the coursework required were recognized on stage in an auditorium that had been built long before equity of access had evolved into including the modifications and accommodations necessary to ensure that every person who deserved to be on that stage by virtue of the fact that they had completed 3 years of course work, had access. One of the people in the group was seated in a wheel chair. It became apparent that this person was not going to have access to the stage, and would, therefore, be excluded of participation in a “rite of passage” so to speak. Classmates and staff went to work to resolve this challenge and on the day of recognition, the person joined the class on stage. Then the person spoke to how it felt to have friends and colleagues not only understand on a core level about access and equity, but to take action to ensure that this is exactly what occurred.
Kids, all kids, need to have equity and access to your after-school program. The only viable exclusion is the exclusion that the child makes because he/she is unable to fully participate in the program because of the choices he/she is making regarding the agreements you have established. The exclusion for any other reason is denying youth the fundamental promise of this country—access that is equitable.
Access to a high-quality after-school program provides additional support and scaffolding to help young people close the achievement gap. Consult 4 Kids moves staff development to a new level. Check it out at www.consultfourkids.com
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Fall and After-School
What does this mean for after-school?
It means that we are clearly establishing routines and schedules that will carry us throughout the year. Of course you want schedules and routines to be flexible, but if you don’t establish them to begin with, no one will know that you are flexible, it will simply be perceived that you haven’t bothered to establish the routine needed to be a high-quality program.
It means that “dark-thirty” will soon be upon us and we will again need to consider students who walk home from the program, and how we can get them home before dark. In California you need to have a policy around this very real occurrence so you are handling this situation the same way every time, and always in the “best interest” of the young people that you serve. You will want to craft this “Early Release” policy to allow youth to leave before sundown during this period of time.
It means that we can naturally encourage our youth to look at college life, especially as it is supported by home coming events, fall sports, and the eagerness of students during the first semester. With older youth have them select a college or university that they are interested in learning more about, and then have them follow the college or university online and in the newspaper. Invite students from a nearby college or university to come and talk with the students about college life. You might even want to consider a field trip and a campus tour.
Fall is a wonderful time of the year. Enjoy each and every day with the students in your program.
Fall can be back-to-school for after-school staff as well. Check out our Vocational Training and Online Instruction opportunities at www.consultfourkids.com
[1] The September Equinox Explained. http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/september-equinox.html August 23, 2010.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Work Sheets to Games
One of the easier ways to do this is by translating “work sheets” into games. It is really much easier that you would think. First of all, homework assignments often provide you with exactly what students are working on. In math you will know what vocabulary is being worked on and what skills are being taught when you look at the homework being assigned. The same is true for science, history/social studies, and of course, language arts. Make a copy of the work sheet or ask for a copy of the text book so you can access the abundant resource of practice problems that are available to you.
You also need an understanding of some basic “game” types.
Path Games, like Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, and race track game boards are examples of path games. Path games begin at one spot and players travel along a path to the ending spot by rolling dice, spinning a spinner, answering a question, or some other way that can be replicated by multiple players. Along the path the player will encounter obstacles that are placed in the way to impede progress along the path.
Board Games, like Monopoly and Sorry, have a fixed board that you travel around multiple times, seeking victory. The board itself is “like a player” because certain spaces on the board support or detract from the players victory. Movement around a board game is also made by rolling dice, drawing cards that define a specific action, or following the guidance on the board itself (Go to jail, Go directly to jail; or slide on the triangle to the end of run if the run is the same color as your token).
Memory Games, such as Concentration, Go Fish and other games, in which the player is rewarded if he/she remembers where particular things are located, or which player has which cards that you may need.
Group Challenge Games, such as Jeopardy, Are You As Smart as a Fifth Grader, and Family Feud, have categories of questions that are asked and individuals and/or teams of contestants work together to ensure that a correct answer is given.
In all cases, you will need both the problems and the “answer key” so you can be sure that correct answers given will result in victory. Both work sheets and text books tend to have answer keys that are easily accessible. When creating the game you will need to make the “Jeopardy” decision—do you provide the answers and have them identify the question, or do you provide the problem and have them come up with the answer. Either way the result is the same—young people practicing needed skills in engaging ways.
As a country we say that our children are our most important assets. Make that a reality by supporting the development of the adults who work with youth on a day-to-day basis. Check us out at www.consultfourkids.com
Friday, September 17, 2010
Professional Development
The training and staff development that is afforded to each of your staff members should be in line with the goals of your organization in general, and your program in particular. It is important that you know what your goals are so you can provide appropriate training. For example, if one of the goals is to implement an academic program that is grounded in youth development principles; you may need to develop two aspects of the staff. First you will want to be sure that your staff has an in depth understanding of how to support academic improvement and secondly that staff has a clear understanding of how to approach their work with program participants through a youth development approach and mind set.
Staff development that surrounds academics will include discussion of standards, learning modalities, how to work with youth during homework time and use an inquiry-based strategy to ensure that youth are learning from the homework practice, and how to embed standards in the application of school-day learning in the experiences and projects youth are pursuing in after-school. Staff development around a youth development approach would explore the 40 Developmental Assets, the work of H. Stephen Glenn, and strategies to build resiliency in youth.
Staff development includes theory training and the sharing of knowledge and information which is best done in a “sit-down” training environment, and then follow-up field coaching to ensure that staff can implement the strategies learned during the theory training. If you think about world-class athletes, they rely on a coach to help them tweak and adjust performance to maximize results. This is the importance of coaching in the field to after-school staff as well. Paying attention during training is not usually enough to guarantee outstanding implementation. Staff needs more than a quick check-in—they need a knowledgeable practitioner to work with them in the real-world with real-students. If you consider athletics as a model, the question becomes “what is the ratio between hours of theory training and field training”. C4K would suggest that for every hour a person is in theory training they should receive a minimum of 2-3 hours of field coaching to ensure strong program execution. Experienced staff may need less time in field support than new staff when they are executing on the routine, day-to-day program, but will need the same support as new staff when executing on a new concept or strategy.
Staff is your most important program asset. Preparing them to deliver exemplary performance is foundational to having a strong, high-quality program.
Invest in youth by supporting the development of staff that work closely with them—building relationships that are key to resiliency development. Scholarship an after-school program or individual.
Contact Us at
Consult 4 Kids Education Services for After-School
www.consultfourkids.com
Email: support@consultfourkids.com
Phone: 661-322-4347
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Waiting for “Superman”
The title for this interesting documentary is, so the story goes, a result of a story told by Geoffrey Canada, an education reformer and founder and CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone. As the story goes, when he was growing up, Geoff Canada read comic books and one of his favorite heroes was Superman. He commented to his mom one day that he was waiting for Superman to come and rescue him from his current life experience. Bursting his “bubble”, Mom explained that Superman wasn’t real and that he would not be coming to their neighborhood. As an adult, Canada has grown from a boy waiting for Superman, to a man that is indeed Superman for many students that live in the HCZ.
Although your program may not be in Harlem in New York City, and your program may not be receiving the national attention that the HCZ is receiving, and you may not be recognized as an education reformer, you too have a chance to be “Superman” for the youth that you serve. Each program day you have an opportunity to listen to youth, to support them complete homework accurately, learning from the practice, to guide them as they explore interests in a wide variety of arenas, and to help them develop leadership skills and a sense of responsibility for themselves and the community.
K-12 Education is in a process of transformation everywhere around us. Increasing student learning time is one of the top strategies for this reform. In the last few years, school districts have come to think of after-school as an ideal place for learning to continue. Embrace this opportunity. Help each young person be the best that they can be.
Invest in youth by supporting the development of staff that work closely with them—building relationships that are key to resiliency development. Scholarship an after-school program or individual.
Contact Us at
Consult 4 Kids Education Services for After-School
www.consultfourkids.com
Email: support@consultfourkids.com
Phone: 661-322-4347
Monday, September 13, 2010
Developmental Assets: Commitment to Learning
After-school programs help youth to develop a commitment to learning in three key ways:
1. Time and support for homework completion
2. Engaging activities to connect youth with school
3. Opportunities to read materials of interest
Having a designated time to complete homework each day provides structure for young people that many need in order to support the choice to focus on the homework and get it “knocked out” so youth can move on to another activity. It is important that you do not leave the staffing of this critical time in the program to chance. It is important, especially with older youth, that you have a staff member that can help with mathematics. Math is a huge stumbling block for some young people, and having a person who understands math and can teach others available to guide the completion of homework is essential. Also, be sure that you have space set aside for students to work alone, in small groups, or in a tutoring cluster. This will allow the student to work on homework in an environment that makes sense to them.
After-school is full of projects and other hands-on, experiential learning opportunities. Check in with young people often to be sure that you are letting them explore their interest. Change club activities often and design culminating events that allow students to share success with the entire student body as well as family and friends.
Included in most every club or activity we do in the after-school program should have a reading component in it. Reading informational text about something that you are interested in is reading practice. Encourage young people to work on-line (if you have computers available to you), read a wide variety of materials from song lyrics to recipes, to books, articles, and ultimately texts. Let youth see you reading and talk about the book you are currently reading. This gives permission for youth to do the same.
Talk with young people about the future, the plans that they have, and how you are willing to support them as they work to accomplish those goals. Let them know that success in life stems from a commitment to learning.
The experienced staff at Consult 4 Kids can help you develop a youth-focused and youth-led high-quality after-school program. Check us out at www.consultfourkids.com
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Work Plans
Once you have set your goals it is important that you organize yourself and your team to accomplish those goals. So the questions are: How do you organize your work? Do you have a Task List or do you utilize a To Do List or both? Do you use a calendar to plan forward? Do you think things through before you get started on a project? The beauty of a Work Plan is that it takes in the best elements of all of these organizing devices. A Work Plan outlines how you will accomplish your goals, what order you will do things in, who will be responsible for what, and puts a timeline to the project. A Work Plan describes what will be rather than what was.
In the creation of your Work Plan you will want to identify the goal you are working toward, jot down a list of who will be working with you, and list any special materials, equipment or other special needs. Once this is accomplished you will want to break down your plan for achieving your goal into specific actions and tasks. Each of these tasks may have a number of indicators that will serve as benchmarks for you to be sure that you are on the right track and trajectory to complete the goal. If some of these tasks are to be completed by others you will want to include how often and when progress will be monitored. Finally you will want to put dates to each of the tasks to ensure that you are on time to meet your goals.
Here is a sample of the beginnings of a Work Plan.
Goal: Achieve 115% of yearly ADA target by December 31, 2010. (If you are wondering why the target would be 115% of the yearly ADA, the answer is that in many programs during the last month of school it is very challenging to get 100% ADA and this way, the program would be ahead of the game.)
Activity | Measure of Success | Time Frame | Team Members |
Send out Phone-Vite to all 6th graders | 50 phone calls referencing the Phone-Vite | August 20-31 | Sally Jorge |
Set up table in front of school for days 1-5 of school—distribute information about program | Distribute 30 packets and have 20% of them result in student enrollment in program | August 26-30 | Julie Martin |
Conduct activities at lunch time weekly on Wednesday | Conduct1 Fear Factor event each Wednesday at lunch—distribute 20 enrollment packets, 20% result in student enrollment in program | September—4 Wednesdays | Student Street Team Self Martin |
Follow-up with students who come only 1 day | Check-up on each absentee within 24 hours of absence—50% of students return to program | September, 2010 | Assigned Program Leader |
If you don’t currently use a Work Plan, I encourage you to try it and see how much you accomplish!
Staff development is the most effective way of increasing program quality. Check us out at www.consultfourkids.com and see our staff development options. For pennies a day you can provide the needed support for your staff.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Setting Goals
Goals which clearly state what you are trying to accomplish will provide you with the destination. Let me give you an example. Let’s say that you want to go to Sacramento, California (obviously is you live in Sacramento you will want to select another location). There are a lot of different ways to get to Sacramento—you can go by car, bus, bike, train, or plane, and maybe even by boat, but in the end, if you are going to Sacramento, you will ultimately arrive in Sacramento. We need to be that clear about what we want to accomplish in running an afterschool program. What is it that you want to accomplish? At the end of the school year, where do you want to be, what do you want to know that you have accomplished?
A goal is a clear expectation that you can measure and accomplish within an identified time frame. For example, in my personal life I may want to know at the end of one year that I have read 12 books. So my goal would be written: Read 12 books before December 31, 2010. If last year I read 12 books and I wanted to read more books in the coming year, then I might say, “Increase the number of books read by 50% in the 2011 calendar year.” Now this goal means that I must read 18 books in the 2011 calendar year. If this were my goal I would calendar it out and know that I needed to read a book and a half each month.
When you think about your program this year, what are the goals that you might want to set? Do you have attendance goals? Improved academic achievement goals? Number of youth-led projects goals? Number of staff prepared for a promotion goals? All of these would make sense if they fit into the mission and vision of your program. When you are setting your goals for 2010-11, be sure that they are measurable, that you have clear benchmarks on the way, and that you are sharing your goals with everyone who is a stakeholder in your program.
Be careful about setting too many goals. In any year, 1-3 goals is more than sufficient. Be careful that you set a goal, not a task for your to do list. Good luck setting a goal or two that will move your after-school program forward.
Check out our Online Instruction videos: Site Coordinator Mini “Goal Setting” with Debra Horton, to get more support with setting goals and actualizing them so you are successful in accomplishing them. Take a look at what we have to offer at www.consultfourkids.com
Friday, September 3, 2010
Sharing Space with Teachers
So here are some tips for being a “good guest”.
Show up when you say you will. No one likes it when you come early. It can interrupt the flow of what they are doing. So, if the plan is for you to arrive at the classroom 40 minutes after the beginning of program, then stick with that. This is part of understanding how important that time is for the teacher.
Be courteous to the teacher who is hosting you. Before you begin to share the space, talk with the teacher. Find out how they would like for you to work inside the room. Be sure you ask about the use of the white boards, where students should hang backpacks, whether or not chairs should be left up or down for cleaning and where the trash can is to be at the end of the day.
Be honest and open. If something happens during the after-school program that in anyway violates the classroom space (broken chair or pencil sharpener, spilled glue, a torn book or bulletin board) leave a note and offer to repair or replace. It is what you would expect if the situation were reversed. Too often we hope that no one will notice if we don’t say anything. Needless to say, avoidance doesn’t work. Let you “roommate” know immediately.
Be willing to be flexible and adaptive. The space that you share is designed to accommodate the school day learning. You are sharing the space with your host, so remain conscious of the preferences and patterns that they have. Be clear with the teacher so you know exactly what they expect of you.
Keep the space neat and tidy. Take pride in sharing the space well, and leaving it each day, better than you found it. Even when you are in a hurry at the end of the day, take the time to leave the space ready to house the students the next day.
Don’t make assumptions. This is easy to do—we think we understand and how folks want things, especially if you have had an opportunity to work with a teacher in a different setting. Check things out with them to be sure that you really ARE on the same page. Offer to share the responsibility for the maintenance of the classroom space.
If you will follow these simple tips, and remember that you must treat others in the same way that you would like to be treated, will help build a solid relationship with the teacher you share space with.
It’s challenging to share space with others. If you are challenged with this, go to our website, www.consultfourkids.com and link to Troubleshooting and share your challenge and ask for support. We’ll get back to you within 72 hours.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Building Relationships At the Beginning of the Program Year
It is important that you recognize your key stakeholders from the very beginning of the year. There is a saying that you only have one chance to make a first impression, and that is the absolute truth. Whether we like it or not, people very quickly make up their mind about what kind of person you are, what you value, and how you treat others. So who are your key stakeholders that you need to build relationships with from the very beginning of the school year?
Parents are an obvious choice. These are the people who are trusting you each day with the most important people in their lives: their children. It is important that you are warm and welcoming, and take time each evening to greet the parent with a warm smile. This will go a long way to let the parent know that you treat children and youth with respect and dignity. Also, building this relationship from the beginning will make it easier to have a hard conversation later on should it become necessary. It is important that you are genuine in your treatment of parents. Don’t bother to put on a “dog and pony show” as they will be able to discern your lack of sincerity. Remember, you and the parent are sharing children and youth, and they are an important ally.
Another obvious choice is school day personnel. This includes the principal, teachers, the food services manager, the custodian, the yard assistants, the office manager, and other instructional assistants. Not only do you share children and youth with this group of people you also share space and common goals. Certainly there will be some resistance to you from some of these folks. The reality is that before after-school these folks were able to catch up on the day’s work somewhat uninterrupted. So go out of your way to “be a good neighbor” and share space with them in the same way you would like for them to share it with you.
Finally, you are building relationships with the children and youth in your program. Get to know them. Find out about what brings them joy, how many pets and brothers and sisters they have, and the name of their favorite food. Work to find that sense of common ground with each and every one of them.
Building relationships takes three things—time, care and belief. Take the time to say hello. Wish them a great week-end and let them you know you plan to take excellent care of the space that they are sharing with you. Also, keep the faith and believe that you will be getting outstanding cooperation from each of these stakeholders and that ultimately, it is the kids who will be victorious.
Invest in youth by supporting the development of staff that work closely with them—building relationships that are key to resiliency development. Scholarship an after-school program or individual.
Contact Us at
Consult 4 Kids Education Services for After-School
www.consultfourkids.com
Email: support@consultfourkids.com
Phone: 661-322-4347