Summer Conference for Out-of-School Time 2015

Sponsored by APOST & PAEYC

Thanks to all conference attendees for a great day!

Resource Links are listed  below in the corresponding workshop description.

 

Click Here to learn more about Karen Pittman.

Click Here to Register.

 

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS

 

 

Are You Ready to Support Readiness?  Assessing the Match between Program Practices and Program Goals

Karen Pitman, Co-Founder, President and CEO, The Forum for Youth Investment

Karen has made a career of starting organizations and initiatives that promote youth development – including the Forum for Youth Investment, which she co-founded in 1998. Karen started her career as a sociologist at the Urban Institute, conducting studies on social services for children and families. In 1990, she founded and directed the Center for Youth Development and Policy Research. In 1995 Karen joined the Clinton administration as director of the President’s Crime Prevention Council, where she worked with 13 cabinet secretaries to create a coordinated prevention agenda. Karen has written three books and dozens of articles on youth issues, including as a regular columnist for Youth Today. She is also a respected public speaker and has served on numerous boards and panels, currently sitting on the America’s Promise Board of Trustees and YouthBuild USA. Karen has been honored with the National Commission for African American Education Augustus F. Hawkins Service Award (2002), the American Youth Policy Forum Decade of Service Award for Sustained Visionary Leadership in Advancing Youth Policy (2003) and the Healthy Teen Network Spirit of Service Award (2007), and in 2009 was recognized in The NonProfit Times’ Power & Influence Top 50.

 

Keynote Powerpoint Presentation Deck 

Traps and Gaps Worksheet

Readiness Skillset Mindset Worksheet

Readiness and Abilities Worksheet

 

 

The Poverty Spiral: A Tool to Help Out of School Time Staff Understand the Challenges of Poverty

Dana Gold, Director of Programs, The Mentoring Partnership of SWPA

Intermediate: Supervisors, Frontline Staff

Consistent, long-term mentoring relationships have been proven to support positive outcomes for youth living in low-resource communities. Participants will take part in The Poverty Spiral simulation and learn how this training tool can help mentors and program staff bridge the poverty gap and support long-term quality mentoring relationships.

Dana founded and led East End Cooperative Ministry’s Bridge House for homeless men. She then became the founding Executive Director of Sojourner House, a halfway house for women and subsequently the Founding Director of Programs for Infinite Family, an international video-mentoring program based in South Africa. Currently, Dana shares her experience in non-profit development and leadership as the Director of Programs for The Mentoring Partnership of SWPA.

 

 Mentoring Summit Poverty Spiral Powerpoint Deck

 

Improv Techniques to Improve Your Program and Your Waistline*

Shayna Willis, Consultant, Professional Development, Neighborhood Learning Alliance

Beginner: Directors, Supervisors, Frontline Staff

No matter how well you plan your program, surprises will arise. Although no one can ever be fully prepared, learning improvisation skills can help create the illusion of control even when you are surrounded by chaos. *Disclaimer: Improv may not improve your waistline.

Shayna Willis has been a highly qualified teacher for over 10 years and a mom for over five. Currently, she serves OST staff as a trainer with Neighborhood Learning Alliance, while working with students as an adjunct mathematics professor at CCAC. Outside of the classroom, Mrs. Willis is a member of the ComedySportz DC main stage players where she teaches Improv 101 to students and staff from major corporations throughout the DC metro region.

 

 

A Taste of Motivational Interviewing

Alexander Waitt, Founder/ Trainer, Fox & Bee Associates, LLC

Beginner: Directors, Supervisors, Frontline Staff

Motivational Interviewing is a skill-based intervention that aims to support self-efficacy and resolve ambivalence, facilitating confidence in your clients, in order to bring about significant cognitive or behavioral change. It is an evidenced based, person-centered way to build on existing strengths that supports clients to positively grow and change.

Alex is an experienced Motivational Interviewing practitioner and trainer with experience in designing whole team skills and programs that support effective organizational and client change. Alex has developed and implemented a 10 month MI training curriculum at a phone crisis enter and provides all the trainings, workshops, and mentoring at every level. A current doctoral student, Alex has a Masters of Science in Counseling Psychology in addition to a Masters of Science in Education. He has considerable experience working in crisis intervention and as a child and adolescent counselor. Based out of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, Alex is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) working both nationally and internationally.

 

 

Everyday Mentoring: Enhancing Adult-Youth Relationships within Your Programs

Kristine Pugliese, Everyday Mentoring Coordinator, The Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced: Directors, Supervisors, Frontline Staff

This workshop explores our potential to be mentors to the youth we work with every day. Participants will learn what it means to be a mentor, assess their relationship skills, examine the role of adult-youth relationships within their organizations, and discover training opportunities available to strengthen their relationships.

Kristine Pugliese is the Everyday Mentoring Coordinator for The Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania. In this position, she is helping to increase the mentoring knowledge and skills of adults who work with youth in the community. Prior to working in the mentoring field, she was a public school teacher for ten years. Kristine earned a M.Ed. from Portland State University and a M.P.A. from the University of Colorado.

 

 Everyday Mentoring Powerpoint Deck

 

 

Quality Programming for Secondary Students

Mary Dodaro, Director of Youth Engagement and Aaron Altemus, Program Associate, The Consortium for Public Education

Beginner, Intermediate: Directors, Supervisors, Frontline Staff

Middle and high school students need high quality after school programs as much as their younger peers do. Develop strategies for selecting STEAM-based programming partners who can keep older students engaged and attending regularly. Learn about free and affordable digital tools to enhance learning, maximize attendance and manage behavior.

Ms. Dodaro studied film at Columbia College in Chicago and received her degree in education from California University of Pennsylvania. She began teaching in the Chicago Public Schools and most recently taught English Language Arts in Monessen Middle and High School. Currently she administers The Consortium’s CASTLE and PrimeTime after-school programs and engages students in youth advocacy and digital media projects.

Before joining The Consortium in 2014, Mr. Altemus served as Gifted and Talented Coordinator for Wilkinsburg School District, where he also taught English and Social Studies. As part of his current responsibilities, he directs the TIGERS after-school program in collaboration with The Consortium and five community partners. Mr. Altemus is an alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh where he earned a Master’s Degree in Secondary Social Studies Education.

 

 

Simple Interactions for Lasting Impact – How A Simple Idea Can Change the Big Picture of Out of School Time

Junlei Li, Co-Director, Fred Rogers Center, St. Vincent College and Tom Akiva, Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh

Intermediate, Advanced: Directors, Supervisors, Frontline Staff

What makes an out-of-school-time program GOOD for children? And how do we build on what’s already going well, and build towards something even better? Using a simple camera and a one-page “simple interaction” tool, we can capture and understand what high quality staff-child interactions look like anywhere in out of school time. We can significantly enhance the quality of our work with just a few sessions of internal learning sessions focused on such interactions.

Junlei is a professor of child development, early learning, and children’s media at the Fred Rogers Center. He developed and led the “Everyday Interactions Matter” project with PAEYC to promote a practice-based, interaction-based model of learning for early childhood professionals.

Tom is a professor in the applied developmental psychology program at University of Pittsburgh. Specializing in youth development and out of school time program, Tom led the “simple interactions” professional development program in collaboration with APOST and out-of-school time providers. Tom and Junlei collaborate closely, focusing professional learning on the active ingredient of “staff-child interactions.”

 

 

Positive YOUth outcomes begin with YOU

Lauren Chanadet, Client Advisor, Employee Wellness and Model Account Strategy, Highmark Health, Inc.

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced: Directors, Supervisors, Frontline Staff

In caring for others, we as youth practitioners often forget to care for ourselves.  Making healthy choices for ourselves and employing positive self-care techniques also result in positive results for the youth we serve. This session will provide education and tips that you can incorporate into your lives in and outside of your after school program. Areas of focus include: fitness, nutrition and stress management.

Lauren has a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from Slippery Rock University and a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology and Health Promotion from the California University of Pennsylvania.  She is currently completing a MBA with a concentration in Project Management from Southern New Hampshire University.  She is a certified personal trainer through NASM and holds certifications in multiple group exercise and ergonomics. Lauren started her wellness career as an intern at the Highmark Fitness Center and then managed the facility, taught classes and provided one-on-one training for six years. As Client Advisor on the Highmark Employee Wellness Team, she acts as the fitness expert, where she researches the company’s health and current trends, then provides employees with fitness, movement education and programming.

 

 Healthy Youth Begins with You Powerpoint Deck

 

 

Structure and Clear Limits 

Melanie Claxton, APOST Trainer

How do you prevent chaos in a youth environment without stifling youth’s positive energy?  Youth need structure and clear limits in order to feel safe.  This interactive workshop helps participants analyze the level of structure in their programs and practice identifying and maintaining clear limits.

 

Introduction to the Active-Participatory Approach (Parts 1 and 2)

Melanie Claxton, APOST Trainer

Youth programs can be optimized for youth needs, motivation, and engagement. The Active-Participatory Approach to youth work was designed to address these goals. This youth-centered approach is the foundation for the Youth Work Methods Series.

 

 

Quality Campaign Orientation

Stephanie Bechel, APOST Quality Advisor

Being a Quality Campaign by no means certifies a certain standard of quality. As a Quality Campaign member, your OST program commits to responsibilities, including but not limited to: “continuous improvement in quality, including submitting an action plan to APOST annually, and active service on the Quality Campaign Committee supporting advocacy for the importance of OST programs.” This orientation is for you if your organization’s 2-year membership in the Quality Campaign is ending soon, or your organization has recently expressed interest in becoming a Quality Campaign Member.  During the orientation we will review the steps to complete the QSA process and become a quality campaign member.