California #1 in Preschool Programs – Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today that California leads the nation in after school programs, placing first among all states in a national survey released Thursday by the Afterschool Alliance [http://afterschoolalliance.org/index.cfm] .

“The good news is, because we have followed through on our long-term commitment to invest in our children, California has the largest network of after school programs in the country,” Torlakson said. “These programs are helping our children learn and stay safe after school, while helping working parents keep their jobs. The challenge is that many more children still need to be served.”

Torlakson celebrated California’s number one ranking with students, parents, community leaders, and advocates Thursday in a visit to the after school program at Roy Romer Middle School in North Hollywood.

The Alliance gave California its top ranking in the 2014 edition of its “America After 3PM [http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/AA3PM] ” survey, singling the state out for both strong participation among students and high satisfaction with after school programs among parents. It found that expanded learning participation in California had increased to 25 percent, compared to 19 percent in 2009, with more than 1.6 million students enrolled.

via California #1 in Preschool Programs – Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education).

Bill to Improve After School and Expanded Learning – Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education)

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today praised Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. for signing Senate Bill 1221, sponsored by State Senator Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, which will improve the quality of after school and expanded learning programs and encourage more programs to operate year-round.

“Strengthening and increasing access to after school and expanded learning programs is a top priority,” Torlakson said. “High-quality programs help students succeed inside and outside the classroom by improving school attendance and academic success, while reducing high school dropout rates and juvenile crime.”

The legislation is just one part of Torlakson’s effort to upgrade expanded learning programs, which include before and after school, summer and intersession programs focused on developing the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs of students.

via Bill to Improve After School and Expanded Learning – Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education).

New After School Standards – Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education)

SACRAMENTO—Far from being lost time, the hours after school and during summer can be opportunities for students to build on what they learn in the classroom, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said today as he released a new set of standards that define expectations for California’s high-quality expanded learning programs.

Expanded learning refers to summer, intersession, and before and after school programs. Research on expanded learning programs shows a positive effect on student attendance at school, reduced high school dropout rates, reduced juvenile crime, and increased academic success for students. Shortly after taking office in 2011, Torlakson created an After School Division at the California Department of Education charged with improving and expanding these learning opportunities for students.

via New After School Standards – Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education).

The Leaven program expands to Vacaville – The Reporter

By Ryan Chalk

Two area nonprofit organizations are working together to make sure that young children in one of Vacaville’s underprivileged neighborhoods get much needed after school tutoring and mentoring.

Last week, The Leaven quietly opened its first after-school tutoring and mentoring center in Vacaville in a densely populated, but predominantly low income neighborhood on Bennett Hill Court. The new center, which adds to a network of similar programs installed in troubled neighborhoods in Fairfield, Suisun City, and Rialto in Southern California, has become part of a centerpiece of the Vacaville neighborhood, as it took up residence in the newly opened Opportunity House.

via The Leaven program expands to Vacaville – The Reporter.

RFA: After School Education and Safety (CA Dept of Education)

The After School Education and Safety (ASES) Program is the result of the 2002 voter-approved initiative, Proposition 49. These programs are created through partnerships between schools and local community resources to provide literacy, academic enrichment and safe, constructive alternatives for students in kindergarten through ninth grade. Funding is designed to: (1) maintain existing before and after school program funding; and (2) provide eligibility to all elementary and middle schools that submit quality applications throughout California. The Renewal application is for existing grant recipients who wish to continue funding at existing levels. The Universal application is for new applicants and for existing grant recipients who wish to increase funding. Approximately $10 million in funding is available for ASES Universal grants. The remaining funds are obligated for on-going grants funded via the Renewal application.

via RFA: After School Education and Safety (CA Dept of Education).

Collaboration is key for quality after-school programs, report says | EdSource Today

By Susan Frey

A new report shares lessons from national experts on how to best expand access to high-quality after-school programs, and emphasizes the important role of cities in providing these programs, particularly in high-poverty neighborhoods.

Committed leadership, data-sharing and citywide collaboration between program providers are the keys to more and better programs for youth, according to Better Together: Building Local Systems to Improve Afterschool. The report, released on Tuesday and funded by The Wallace Foundation, is based on best practices shared at a conference that took place in Baltimore in February. Representatives from more than 50 communities, including Contra Costa County, Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco, participated in the conference.

via Collaboration is key for quality after-school programs, report says | EdSource Today.

Daily Republic: FSUSD Students write positive letters to the editor

FAIRFIELD — Fairview Elementary School fourth-grader T’kai Smith begged and pleaded with her after-school Kids Corner teachers to take a field trip to the Daily Republic.

Last year, she and her fellow Kids Corner students finally got to take that trip, visiting everything from the newsroom to the printing press.

Homework instructor Verdell Cray had each of her first- through fifth-graders write a letter to the editor in thanks. Smith wrote the following:

“Dear Editor: Thanks for the tour. It was awesome. I want to come there more than 50 times. Can we come again? If yes, thanks. From T’kai Smith.”

via Students write positive letters to the editor.

Benicia Herald: City, school panels to liaison

Water rates, copper thefts, science plan on agenda

 

By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

Benicia City Council-School Board Liaison Committee will hear and discuss several reports Thursday morning, including proposed water and sewer rate hikes, student behavior at Southampton Shopping Center and copper wire thefts.

via City, school panels to liaison.

RAND Research Topic: Voluntary After-School Program Can Reduce Alcohol Use Among Middle School Children

There are many mandated school-based programs to prevent adolescent alcohol and drug (AOD) use, but few are voluntary and take place outside of class time. This cluster randomized controlled trial evaluates CHOICE, a voluntary after-school program for younger adolescents, which reduced both individual- and school-level alcohol use in a previous pilot study. We evaluated CHOICE with 9,528 students from 16 middle schools.

via Voluntary After-School Program Can Reduce Alcohol Use Among Middle School Children.