Much of our work is focused on coordinating efforts around professional development, program quality initiatives, and overall elevation of the afterschool and youth-serving field by:
In June 2023, Vermont Afterschool and the Vermont Interagency Afterschool Youth Task Force developed guidelines intended to support program administrators, staff, parents/caregivers, children, and youth in understanding what quality looks like for all afterschool, summer, and youth programs in Vermont, and to set an aspirational vision for what we strive to achieve for Vermont’s children and youth.
In October 2023, Vermont Afterschool hosted a Field Forum to discuss the new guidelines. Click here to watch a recording of the Field Forum.
It's our goal to provide a broad array of quality learning opportunities for those who work with youth in the third space and out-of-school time. We also want to emphasize that many of the trainings are for anyone working with youth, and we hope you will find something that lights you up and helps you further your career, hone your skills, and improve outcomes for youth.
At any point in the year, afterschool program directors, site directors, or other authorized individuals charged with securing professional development trainings can request to schedule a specific training. Some workshops can be provided in a virtual format. The cost of trainings is typically $120/hour (minimum 2 hours per training) though pricing may vary according to training length and partnership agreement. Licensed school-age programs are eligible for a cost reduction of 50% (limited reduced funding is available per year). Additional training costs may apply. Please note that we require a minimum of 10 participants for each workshop (with a maximum of 40 participants).
And visit our Event Calendar to find upcoming scheduled workshops.
Vermont Afterschool offers Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Methods workshops that have been developed to help adults improve their practice in supporting social, emotional, and cognitive development in their programs.Â
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Afterschool Essentials is an accelerated half-year program that Vermont Afterschool offers FREE for afterschool staff working in licensed afterschool programs. It is designed to meet the needs of the professional with limited experience in the afterschool setting and is connected to our Afterschool Foundations Certificate.
This four-part series is for leaders of licensed programs in the afterschool field in Vermont and is specifically designed for experienced directors and site coordinators who are looking for that next level of growth and development.
Do you want to support a group of youth to create change in their lives? Helping Them to Lead the Way is a five-part workshop series on the knowledge-base and skill sets for raising up youth voices and supporting them to create the change they see is needed in their lives, schools, and/or communities. From individual self-advocacy to empowering community level youth leadership, this series will walk participants through an Empowerment Model for creating youth-led change, while supporting them in creating their own youth leadership development plan.
This series will provide participants with knowledge of adolescent development, leadership, and relationship content relevant to each phase of the empowerment model, and will present key principles and activities of youth empowerment, while supporting participants to develop their own youth leadership goal and accompanying plan to achieve that goal. Culminating in the presentation of participants’ youth empowerment project plans and the design of an evaluation of their effectiveness from the youths’ perspective, this series provides the content and experiences for developing and planning a youth-led change initiative in partnership with youth and empowering their leadership development as change-makers.
Dates:*
Micro-credential course overview, Introduction to the Awareness Phase and the Power of Relationships | Friday, January 10, 2025 (10:00 AM–4:00 PM | in-person location TBD*
 The Visioning Phase, Leadership Practices and Youth Voice Frameworks | Date/Time TBD (by the group) | 2-hour Virtual
The Transformation Phase, Supporting Leadership Development and Creating Change | Date/Time TBD (by the group) | 2-hour Virtual
The Growth Phase, Laying the Groundwork and Preparing the Adults for Youth-Led Change | Date/Time TBD (by the group) | 2-hour Virtual
Project Presentations, Peer Evaluation, Reflection, and Celebration | TBD (10:00 AM–2:00 PM) | in-person location TBD*
*We will do our best to find locations for the in-person sessions that are centralized to registrants’ locations.
Cost: FREE
Click here to register before November 15, 2024 deadline.
If you work with adolescents, are a parent or caregiver of a kid age 12-18, or are wanting to learn how you can support youth experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or in crisis, please consider taking this free 8-hour workshop.
Youth Thrive is an evidence-informed framework for approaching our work with youth ages 9-24. Instead of a sole focus on limiting risk factors or maintaining a problem-free environment, Youth Thrive teaches youth work professionals and parents to recognize, support, and build on protective and promotive factors. Based in strengths-based and positive psychology, this approach can be used in any setting where youth and families are served.
Click here for more info and to register for an upcoming training.
Vermont Afterschool partners with the Child Development Division (CDD) to offer FREE 3-credit, online courses for afterschool professionals through the Community College of Vermont (CCV). This is a tuition-free opportunity for those who are currently working in a regulated child care setting.
The Afterschool and Youth Work Certificate is offered by the Community College of Vermont (CCV) as a way to help youth work professionals advance in their careers. The certificate provides students with essential skills to develop, support, and administer high-quality afterschool and youth programs for young people ages 5-18. Emphasis is on developing programs that use youth voice, active learning, planning and reflection, and supporting effective collaboration with families and community partners. Vermont Afterschool worked with CCV to develop this certificate, which can be completed fully online for a total of 24 credits. Scholarships are available.
In recognition that we have so much to learn from each other, we offer different types of community of practice as a way for staff to come together and reflect on how they can improve personal and program practices. Learning comes from facilitated discussions with each other. These monthly communities of practice are FREE.
Vermont Afterschool regularly hosts field forums on different topics relating to out-of-school time providers and professionals including health, safety guidance, funding, advocacy, and more. Visit our Event Calendar to find upcoming field forums to attend.
Vermont Afterschool’s Annual Conference, typically held in late-October/early-November, brings together Vermont’s out-of-school time directors, staff, educators, and partners for a full day of carefully-curated workshops across three breakout sessions, an inspiring keynote, exhibitors, networking, and a celebration of the important work afterschool professionals do for Vermont’s children, youth, and families.Â
Bookmark our conference webpage to stay updated on plans for the next annual conference!
The afterschool and youth work field is dynamic and filled with passionate, caring, and innovative individuals that enter the field through a variety of avenues. Whether you are new to the field, an emerging leader, or a veteran looking for new opportunities, there are many pathways to help you grow your skills and make this your career.
The Afterschool and Youth Work Certificate is offered by the Community College of Vermont (CCV) as a way to help youth work professionals advance in their careers. The certificate provides students with essential skills to develop, support, and administer high-quality afterschool and youth programs for young people ages 5-18. Emphasis is on developing programs that use youth voice, active learning, planning and reflection, and supporting effective collaboration with families and community partners. Vermont Afterschool worked with CCV to develop this certificate, which can be completed fully online for a total of 24 credits. Scholarships are available.
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Through Vermont’s Agency of Human Services, Child Development Division, those working with children and youth outside of school hours can tie into a statewide career development system through core competencies for the afterschool professional, an afterschool professional credential, and an on-the-job training program.
If you work in a licensed afterschool program, you are required to create an Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP) to show that you reflect upon and plan your professional skills, knowledge, and development. Your IPDP includes two parts
This four-part series is for leaders of licensed programs in the afterschool field in Vermont and is specifically designed for experienced directors and site coordinators who are looking for that next level of growth and development.
Vermont Afterschool partners with the Child Development Division (CDD) to offer FREE 3-credit, online courses for afterschool professionals through the Community College of Vermont (CCV). This is a tuition-free opportunity for those who are currently working in a regulated child care setting.
Research has demonstrated that youth benefit from high-quality afterschool programs. According to the National AfterSchool Association report, Why Afterschool Quality Matters, high-quality afterschool programs:
We provide a variety of quality improvement resources for afterschool program staff and the community, including:
Vermont Afterschool offers assessor visits to licensed afterschool programs for the revised STARS model through SPARQS (System for Program Access to Resources for Quality Supports).
The goal of these visits is to support a culture of quality in licensed afterschool programs in Vermont by offering feedback to inform afterschool programs’ continuous quality improvement plans and raise the bar for quality. Click here to learn more.
Our team implements an ongoing cycle of continuous improvement and assessment to support quality improvement efforts of afterschool programs throughout the state. Available services include coaching, training, consultation, observations, and more. Contact Us
An essential factor in increasing program quality is determining how a program is implementing best practices. We recommend the Weikart Center’s Program Quality Assessment (PQA) tool to empower you to evaluate the quality of your youth program, giving you the tools to identify your program’s strengths and target areas for improvement. The PQA tool is nationally recognized as the leading tool to promote high-quality out-of-school time programs. There are two versions: the Youth PQA (programs serving youth in grades 4-12) and School-Age PQA (programs serving youth in grades K-6). Currently, we provide targeted support to 21st CCLC and licensed afterschool and child care programs for YPQA.
Highly trained staff better understand the goals and objectives of programs and are able to build stronger relationships with the youth, families, and communities they serve. Afterschool professionals from the front lines all the way up to the administrative level can take advantage of our conference, workshops, and online learning opportunities.
The National Afterschool Association’s (NAA) new Core Knowledge, Skills, and Competencies (CKC) will further professionalize the field and keep the field current with practices and skills needed for staff to be knowledgeable and skilled in the workforce. They will establish the standards of practice that support staff, programs, and the profession. The NAA CKC were established to meet the needs of all afterschool staff and grow with them. This document should be utilized by staff to assess their current skills and knowledge and create their individual professional development plans.
Vermont Afterschool partners with the Vermont Agency of Education to evaluate 21st CCLC program data and research to determine program outcomes and ultimately inform the best practices and standards we recommend.
American Institute for Research – How students spend time outside of the classroom—before and after school and during breaks and summer vacation—has a tremendous impact on what they achieve in school and in life. Quality expanded learning opportunities extend learning and positive youth development beyond the school bell and engage students who might otherwise be left behind. Our work in the afterschool and expanded learning field supports the creation, evaluation, improvement, and maintenance of high-quality afterschool and expanded learning programs in a variety of ways.
Beyond the Bell: Turning Research into Action in Afterschool and Expanded Learning – A series of briefs and tools focused on how afterschool programs can support the social and emotional development of young people. AIR designed these resources to make research on the afterschool and expanded learning field accessible, easy to read, and ultimately useful in practice.
Beyond the Bell Toolkit 4th edition – A suite of professional development services, products, and practical tools designed to help afterschool program leaders and staff members create and sustain high-quality, effective afterschool and expanded learning programs.
Search Institute – The Search Institute offers research-based tools and resources to translate the passion and commitment of your youth development staff into effective developmental relationships that help young people thrive.
Afterschool Alliance – Delve into the Alliance’s vast collection of research resources that shows afterschool programs are keeping kids safe, inspiring learning, and helping working families across the country.
National AfterSchool Association – NAA is pleased to offer the afterschool professional a wide range of tools and downloads designed to both grow your career and strengthen your program.
Expanding Minds and Opportunities – Studies have shown that high quality expanded learning programs link to student achievement. The tools and research summaries here outline some of the most compelling research on the impact of expanded learning on student achievement, attendance, and classroom behavior.
Afterschool and summer learning programs are uniquely positioned to provide kids with enriching academics, social-emotional support, caring mentors and trained educators, healthy meals, physical activities, and opportunities to explore careers and gain workforce skills. These programs engage students in enriching, hands-on projects that provide more time for deeper learning. They provide intentional focus on social-emotional learning and kids’ mental health. And they keep kids safe.
We offer a number of free resources to strengthen the field and help Vermont’s afterschool and summer programs provide the expanded support kids and families need to emerge from the pandemic crisis strong, resilient, and hopeful.
We host regular field forums on different topics relating to out-of-school time providers and professionals including health, safety guidance, funding, advocacy, and more. Sign up for our e-newsletter to get advance notice of the next field forum.
