Charting the Course

By CynDee Zandes

This article is written by a member of our expert blogging community.

On October 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus thought he had found a new route to India and the spices that were in such demand in Europe at the time.  The Italian born Columbus was eager to sail for Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, not because he was an expatriate but because he was an adventurer and was delighted at long last to have a sponsor for his expedition.  His crew, divided onto three ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria were tired of the endless ocean and it was fortunate for Columbus that he found land before the crew mutinied. 

What's New at C4K?

Did you happen to hear bells tolling or fourteen choruses of “hallelujah”?  If you did then you are already aware that the C4K system is complete!  We’ve been working through the kinks for several years.  It is like pulling at a thread until the entire tangled ball unravels.  We made a commitment to “measure” many times before we “cut” and it has finally paid off.  For several years we have been proud of our product.  We believe that we have a great staff development system to support high-quality afterschool programs that are supported by exemplary performance.  We are proud of our Program Made EZ Lesson Plans and activities, units, kits and toolboxes that you can purchase from our online store.  We believe that the website provides a place for afterschool professionals to come and share best practices as well as the great work they’re doing.  In other words, we’ve been pleased with our work that you interact with.  What we’ve been working on is the systems behind the scene.  How do we track, guide, and support the work going on?  How do we create user-friendly interfaces and tools that make it easy to get the most out of the website?  How do we build a more effective Learning Management System that will allow you to assign, track and monitor your staff?  What tools do we need to help get new sites and users up to speed quickly and in a nearly-automated way?  These are the things that we’ve been working on and we are thrilled that it’s ready to launch.