Social and emotional learning matters!

Hello All,

The ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) has just announced the release by CASEL of a preliminary report about the impact of social-emotional learning (SEL) on academics. This study supports the research principle related to brain-based teaching that says: The brain/mind is social--how important social interaction and good social skills are for developing optimum performance in learners. The study involved over 300,000 children and concludes that students who participate in SEL programs improve significantly in social emotional skills, attitude toward selves, classroom behaviors, stress levels, and achievement test scores (by 11 percentile points). Learning good socio-emotional skills actually enhances academic performance. Rather like the health study that talks about how sleep impacts on obesity--too things that don't have, at first glance, a logical relationship. In addition, this CASEL study supports the findings of an earlier study this group did demonstrating the positive impact of after-school programs that focus on social skill development.

This announcement is part of The Whole Child initiative of ASCD (www.wholechild@ascd.org)--the organization's latest 'take' on the best principles to use when crafting school programs. The five elements of whole child programs are: health, safety, engagement, support and challenge. Funny, mine for both school and after-school would be something like...: healthy, connected, empowered, purposeful and creative.

It is an interesting exercise to try to write out one's most important values related to school and after-school services. Not an easy task. The one that is the hardest to state for me is the centrality of looking at children through the lens of brain-based and neuro-science research regarding how a child's brain learns and relates best.

Has anyone out there attempted to create their own value statement about after-school programming? Or a word or phrase that sums up brain-based research? I would love to hear what you have come up with.

Meanwhile, it is wonderful to see the research being done now on the importance of non-academic learning on academic achievement.

Penny Cuninggim

After-school programs can increase physical activity of adolescent girls

Afterschool programs can modestly increase the amount of physical activity among girls in middle school, according to new results from the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG), a multiple site, community based study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.

Results are published in the article, "Promoting Physical Activity in Middle School Girls," in the March issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The study found that programs which linked schools in 6 geographic regions of the U.S. with community partners (such as the YMCA or YWCA, local health clubs, and community recreation centers) increased time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity among the middle-school female students by about 2 minutes per day, or 80 calories a week. This finding occurred after three years of the intervention but not after two years. Physical activity was measured using accelerometers (a device for measuring the acceleration of motion), rather than self-reported. The authors write that results suggest this improved level of activity could prevent excess weight gain of about 2 pounds per year (or 0.82 kg per year), which, if sustained, could prevent a girl from becoming overweight as a teenager or adult.

In addition, TAAG showed a reduction of 8.2 minutes of sedentary behavior in girls in the intervention schools. Furthermore, the best results were seen in programs offered between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays, which suggest that afterschool programs are more effective than programs offered at other times, such as morning weekdays and weekends. The study results support the need for schools and community programs to work together to provide opportunities for physical activity programs in afterschool settings.

Researchers have found that as youth, especially girls, become adolescents, their level of physical activity decreases, putting them at risk for becoming overweight.

Listing courtesy of EurekAlert!

Massachusetts Catalogue for Philanthropy Seeking Applications - Deadline April 4, 2008

The Massachusetts Catalogue for Philanthropy was the first of its kind – conceived in November 1996, as a project of the Ellis L. Phillips Foundation. From the outset, it was designed to be the nucleus of interrelated and mutually reinforcing elements, engaging all constituencies of philanthropy in a comprehensive, institutionalized system for promoting philanthropy itself. This project includes the Generosity Index, a website, statewide systems for Venture Philanthropy, Special Projects, and Capital Campaigns for Small Charities; state Giving Days following Thanksgiving; and various stylistic and substantive elements. The catalog engages charities, grant makers, community foundations, fundraisers, donors, the media, scholars, and financial and philanthropic advisors.

Publication in the annual Catalogue for Philanthropy that is distributed to 80,000 households and small private or family foundations in Massachusetts, marketing and communication, and listing on the website, which is promoted to the general public locally and nationwide, and features every charity ever listed by the Catalogue.

Applications are due April 4, 2008 and eligible applicants are tax-exempt, not-for-profit organizations with 501 (c) 3 status in Massachusetts with budgets up to $3 million.

For more information: Carl Mastandrea, Catalogue for Philanthropy, 124 Watertown St., Suite 3B, Watertown, MA 02472, telephone: (617) 923-8401, website: www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org/ma/applynow/index.html.

Listing courtesy of the Mayor Menino's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs - Funding Update

A Lesson from Providence, Rhode Island: Afterschool an Opportunity to Engage "Troubled Youth"

Sunday's edition of the Providence Journal featured an innovative approach to addressing in-school disciplinary issues of school students. Instead of keeping students afterschool in detention, they are kept afterschool to learn emotional and social skills as well as complete reading and writing assignments. They focus on support versus punishment in what they call afterschool engagement.

New Afterschool Research Show Programs Work

The California Afterschool Network featured the latest studies of two very distinguished researchers at one of their forums in January 2008. Denise Huang, co-author of The Long-Term Effects of After-School Programming on Educational Adjustment and Juvenile Crime: A Study of the LA’s BEST After-School Program and Deborah Vandell, author of Outcomes Linked to High-Quality Afterschool Programs: Longitudinal Findings from the Study of Promising Afterschool Programs presented their work.

The highlighted links provide access to their PowerPoint presentations and their research.

Doodle4Google - Register by Friday, March 28

Ever expanding their ways to involving schools, Google is sponsoring Doodle4Google, a competition for children and youth K-12 to help design logos for Google commemorating special holidays and other occasions. Registration must be completed by March 28 and final entries are due April 12. A panel of judges will select 40 finalists and the public will vote on the one they want to be posted on Google on May 22. Here is a chance for the budding artists in your afterschool programs to be discovered!

Afterschool Alliance Issues 2007 Year in Review

The Afterschool Alliance helps to remind us all what strides the field of afterschool made in 2007 by issuing 2007 Afterschool Year in Review: A Year of Challenges and Growth. Released earlier this year, this document profiles increases in afterschool funding, both nationally and in various states. It also provides sections on the latest research that demonstrates the effectiveness of afterschool programs and how support for afterschool is growing.

Youth Programs Resource Center Issues Monthly Funding Tips

The Finance Project, through its Youth Programs Resource Center issues monthly funding tips to help programs sustain their work. The monthly series began in June 2007 and their website maintains an archive of all the monthly tips.

February's monthly tip addresses how to partner with other organizations in rural communities to improve transportation.
Check them all out!

Akron Afterschool: A Case Study in Sustainability

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported yesterday that Akron Afterschool, the city's afterschool program, is being used as a case study for other afterschool programs in Ohio because of their ability to raise funding to operate their programs. Their $1.5M program serves 2,000 - many who are low-income children. They have been able to sustain their efforts by working with 60 different organizations as well as the school district and city government. The study is being done in cooperation with Ohio State University and the Ohio Department of Education. State officials are hoping to replicate their model elsewhere in the state.

Once this is published, we'll distribute the link to you so you can see what lessons may apply to your ongoing sustainability efforts.

The Nation's Top 60 Philanthropists

Curious about who gives big money in the United States? Slate has compiled a list of 60 of the wealthiest philanthropists as part of their special issue on philanthropy. Check out their rankings and donations.

Extended Learning Time Initiative Appears to be Working; Cost is a Factor

The Boston Globe reported last month that early results of the Massachusetts Extended Learning Time Initiative show it to be working.

Despite its early and promising returns, many observers also express concern about the costs of expanding and maintaining it across the Commonwealth.

The article reveals additional for your review.

Device Helps Overweight Children Watch Less TV

The Scientific American reported on a study published today in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, by Leonard Epstein of the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York. The study revealed that a monitoring device cut TV watching and computer time in half thereby helping overweight children eat less and lose weight. The device gradually reduced the amount of time a young person could watch TV or be at their computer by 50% . The use of this device also reduced the amount of conflict between a parent and child once the initial decision was made to use it.

The article provides additional information.

Afterschool Team Sports and Overweight Children

The Archive of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine recently reported their results of the Stanford Sports to Prevent Obesity Randomized Trial (SPORT). As a result of their six-month study of low-income children who played soccer, they learned that their body mass significantly decreased in three and six month intervals and the level of their physical activity rose during this time period. Their conclusion? Playing soccer afterschool was an effective means to keep children healthy.

Review the study to learn more.

Chicago Adopts Gaming for Afterschool Math Programs

The March 2008 issue of T.H.E. Journal reports that the city of Chicago is incorporating elements of gaming to teach students pre-algebra and algebra in four of its afterschool centers. Utilizing software from Tabula Digita, students go out on missions to score points as part of tournament style games. Multi-school competitions are then held for students and teachers alike.

"Our millennium students are digital learners and as such their brains are wired differently," said Sharnell Jackson, chief eLearning officer for Chicago Public Schools, in a statement released last week. "We felt compelled to identify exceptional teaching and learning tools for our after-school programs that offer a high-level of engagement, are rich in competition, and correlate to the core instruction being given in the classroom."

21st CCLC may be interested in reading more to see how they are using digital learning in afterschool environments.