Our Story

Consult 4 Kids, the current iteration of a commitment to young people, has roots in over two decades of work. Whether as teachers, coaches, mentors, consultants, or trainers, the Consult 4 Kids Team continues to dedicate its work life to improving the outcomes for children and youth who are often labeled, "at-risk". We prefer to think of these young people as "in opportunity", full of possibilities and potential. The C4K Team has experienced first-hand what it takes to run a high-quality after-school program that offers sports, performing arts, homework assistance, remedial academic support, character education, opportunities to provide community service, physical activity and other healthy living classes, all while building strong relationships with young people, their families and the school day staff.

Quality after-school programs require equal doses of exemplary performance by staff and excellent programming that supports student learning. The C4K Team has expertise in both and offers a unique model of staff development that will ignite the passion, enthusiasm, and innovation of staff by arming them with the mind set, skills and tool kit needed to be an outstanding role model and leader.

Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, proclaimed, "If we are serious about having more students be productive citizens, if we are serious about having more students prepared to be successful in college, dramatically improving the quality and the quantity of after-school programming is going to be at the heart of our work as a country."

C4K is serious about supporting the dramatic improvement of the quality of after-school programs and provides a forum for dedicated after-school leaders to share their expertise and work with individual programs to provide solutions to ensure high quality after-school programs throughout the United States.

If you would like to know more about C4K and our values, beliefs and mission check out the website at http://consultfourkids.com/AboutUs.aspx

Student Chatter – What do Youth Have to Say?

It is amazing to hear what young people have to say about the events and situations they encounter throughout their lives. The Student Chatter section on the Consult 4 Kids website provides a fantastic place for people, students and professionals alike, to read “first hand” what students think about when they are asked to respond to given questions.

Each month, Consult 4 Kids provides new questions to pose to students and also posts student responses to the previous month’s questions. The responses gathered by the Consult 4 Kids team reflect the personalities and abilities of today’s youth while providing them with an outlet to express how they feel about the things they deal with in their life.

Here are some responses to the questions posted in July 2011. See what youth had to day about their experiences during the summer.

What have you done so far this summer that has been fun?
• “I went to summer camp and learned how to ride horses.” – Charlotte, 6th Grade
• “My family spent three weeks camping at the beach.” – Jamie, 1st Grade
• “I helped my grandma make cookies for the neighbors.” – Kate, 2nd Grade

If you could go on vacation anywhere, where would you go?
• “If I could go on vacation anywhere it would be to visit my family in Ohio.” – Max, 4th Grade
• “I would go to the beach, in San Diego, California.” – Jane, 6th Grade
• “If I could go anywhere, I would go somewhere out of the country like Paris.” – Stacey, 11th Grade

What has been your greatest family vacation?
• “My greatest family vacation was when I went to Mexico for two weeks to visit my family.” – Sergio, 4th Grade
• “The best family vacation I ever took was when my family went to Florida to go to Disneyworld.” – Dora, 5th Grade
• “My favorite family vacation was when my mother took me to Nevada to visit my grandparents.” – Bella, 8th Grade

Who has been an inspiration to you this summer?
• “My mother has inspired me this summer; she is always there and never fails at having the right answer.” – Alex, 11th Grade
• “My older sister is who has inspired me this summer.” – Kaleb, 7th Grade.
• “My camp leader has been an inspiration to me this summer.” Lexi, 5th Grade

Check out the Consult 4 Kids website to read the different student chatter responses for months throughout the year. www.consultfourkids.com

Frontline Staff

Consult 4 Kids receives a lot of input from the frontline staff out in the field. We provide a forum for afterschool professionals to share their experiences, challenges, praises, and best practices with other professionals in the field. Often, when we are struggling though issues or problems, we forget that there is probably someone out there who has dealt with similar, if not identical, issues and problems. It is valuable to connect with people in the field who have had similar experiences and learn how they were able to overcome the challenge.

Check out what tips and tricks these frontline staff members have to offer other professionals in the field…

This has been said over and over but I don't think it can be said enough. In my opinion, the first and most important step in classroom management is to establish the routine of setting the expectation for the behavior for the activity planned before you enter the classroom. It works.
Wendell Crawford Site Coordinator, Mission Middle School, THINK Together

I am starting to get really excited about the new school year. I cannot wait to use the accountability model on my new group of 4th graders. I have been reading a lot in the vocational training as well as viewing tons of online instruction videos to get ready to hold students accountable with questioning techniques and knowing the difference between directing and telling. I feel that using the resources on the website during the summer has helped keep me fresh and I am ready to move forward. - Rosa Hernandez, Program Leader.

This summer, my program did not run according to plans. It was like the students completely forgot how to act at school, they were back talking, arguing, being disrespectful to tutors and their peers, quite frankly, it was a mess. I didn’t understand how or why this happened. Most of the students in my summer program had been in the afterschool program and should have known the expectations so I didn’t think that we needed to review. Obviously, I was wrong. I think if I had took the time to explain the expectations and made sure that every understood the agreements for the summer program, things would have gone much more smoothly. Next time, I will be sure to review the expectations and agreements briefly everyday to avoid the misbehavior I experienced this summer. – Victor Sandoval, Site Coordinator.

Don’t forget to visit the Consult 4 Kids website for more helpful hints from frontline staff. www.consultfourkids.com