AzCASE Annual Report 2015

Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence

Making It Count for Arizona Kids After the School Bell Rings

2014 - 2015 Annual Report

A Letter from Our Director Afterschool programs had their origins as crime prevention initiatives.

As more women entered the workforce more “latch-key” children went home after school with no adult supervision. Even worse was when they ended up out on city streets. While the creation of afterschool programs was encouraged by local law enforcement who argued for safe places for children to go after school, modern day out-of-school time programs have become much more than safe havens for Arizona’s youth.

Melanie McClintock, Executive Director

The Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence is one of 47 statewide afterschool networks that promote quality out-of-school time programs for all Arizona’s youth in elementary, junior high and high school. We are proud to advocate for and contribute to the expanded accessibility and quality of youth enrichment programs that are proven to bring relevancy to what is learned in the classroom and resiliency to our youth as they struggle to discover their passion and purpose in life.

We invite you to join us in emphasizing the importance of quality out-of-school time programs as a means to keep our youth safe and engage them in fun and rewarding activities. These become the activities that are deterrents to experimenting with drugs and alcohol, joining gangs, teen pregnancy and dropping out of school.

We are proud to partner with the hundreds of school, community and faith-based organizations that are collaboratively working to provide our children and youth safe, nurturing, experiential learning environments outside the classroom and the formal school day.

About AzCASE

The Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence (AzCASE) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to improving access to high-quality, affordable out-of-school learning opportunities for all Arizona youth by serving as the preeminent source for professional development, advocacy and community capacity building in the out-of-school time (OST) community.

AzCASE is one of 47 statewide afterschool networks comprising the national network of Statewide Afterschool Networks supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation (www.mott.org). These networks work to create a statewide system for expanding access to and the quality of out-of-school time programs.

Because young people spend 80% of their waking hours outside of the classroom, AzCASE is dedicated to improving public awareness and support for learning and personal development in those out-of-school hours. AzCASE serves as a hub for advocacy, public awareness, collaboration, and partnerships to advance out-of-school time on behalf of Arizona’s youth and families.

2014-2015 At A Glance l Quality Initiative Promotion & Adoption of the

Arizona Quality Standards for OST Programs The Arizona Quality Standards for Out-of-School Time Programs have been embraced enthusiastically by schoolbased, community-based and faith-based programs across the state.

Launching the AzQSAT

In the past year, trainings on the Quality Standards were conducted for:

>> The City of Scottsdale Parks and Recreation programs >> The School’s Out, Make It Count Conference >> The Flagstaff Unified School District FACTS programs >> The Arizona Department of Education Leading Change Conference

>> The Arizona State Librarians >> The Arizona Parks and Recreation Association Conference

Even more impressive is the traction that the Quality Standards are receiving from policymakers. To date, the following entities have voted to formally adopt the Arizona Quality Standards for Out-of-School Time Programs for use in their respective jurisdictions.

>> Pima County JTED >> The Tempe City Council >> The Phoenix City Council >> The Kyrene School District Governing Board >> The Tempe Elementary School District

16,000

copies of the Standards distributed since their launch in October 2013

The development and testing of the Arizona Quality Standards Assessment Tool (AzQSAT), a self-assessment tool that directly aligns with the Arizona Quality Standards, marks the second phase of our continuous quality improvement process. The AzQSAT was piloted by 105 programs statewide in November 2014 and new software has now been developed to allow programs statewide to measure their program’s quality against the Quality Standards free of charge.

The Make It Count Pledge

685 Arizona out-of-school time programs have signed the Make It Count pledge, demonstrating their commitment to using the Quality Standards to strengthen OST programming and youth outcomes.

685

programs signed the Make it Count Pledge

2014-2015 At A Glance l Outreach Professional Development Trainings

13 Trainings 468 Staff 72 Programs 1,404 Hours l

l

l

AzCASE trainings are the only source of external professional development for many Arizona outof-school time program staff. This year, we conducted 13 professional development trainings with 468 out-of-school time professionals on the following topics:

>> Providing Structure & Encouragement in Your Program Presented by Diana Brown

>> Foundations of Love & Logic

Presented by Larry & Kami Kerby

>> 9 Essential Skills for Love & Logic in OST Presented by Larry Kerby

>> Intentionally Fun!

Presented by Manny Padia

>> Literacy Enrichment through Drama Presented by Sean Cronin

Trainings were conducted in Flagstaff, Glendale, Phoenix, Tempe & Tucson to be maximally accessible to programs statewide.

Key Achievements in OST Advocacy

The 2015 Arizona Out-of-School Time Survey was sent out to every Mayoral and City Council candidate in Phoenix and Tucson. The survey had a response rate of 40 percent including Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild. All the responses were shared on our website. This survey will become an annual part of advocacy efforts for AzCASE. Supporting the efforts of the Afterschool Alliance, AzCASE helped recruit 19 out-of-school time providers and community partners in Arizona to publicly stand to keep 21st CCLC as a dedicated funding stream for outof-school time. These funds provide the next generation of before-school, afterschool, expanded learning and summer learning programs that keep young people safe, inspire them to learn and support working families.

As a member of the Arizona Child Nutrition Coalition, AzCASE mobilized our network to raise awareness of child nutrition efforts and advocating to Arizona’s Congressional Delegation for Child Nutrition Reauthorization.

Arizona Afterschool Program Directory

AzCASE created and maintains the AZ Afterschool Program Directory, a free statewide online directory of programs.

The Directory is bi-lingual, and serves as a powerful tool for parents to find programs for their children and for policymakers to access important data about afterschool programs. The Directory currently includes data on 926 school year programs and 581 summer programs.

581

Summer Programs

926

School Year Programs

2014-2015 At A Glance l Events Out-of-School Time Conference & Awards of Excellence Luncheon

The AzCASE Annual Out-of-School Time Conference is the only statewide conference solely focused on professionally preparing OST staff to fully engage and prepare Arizona’s youth for life and learning. The 2014 OST Conference was held at the Phoenix Convention Center on Saturday, November 15, and featured 36 unique workshops, a Keynote Address from Jaime Casap, Global Education Evangelist at Google, Inc., and exhibits from 51 local organizations and vendors.

Event Participation

What Participants Had to Say

Geographic Representation

101 programs from 10 counties: Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, and Yavapai.

1 program from New Mexico.

924 724 Conference Participants from

Awards Luncheon Participants

101

programs

“It was my first time attending this conference so everything was new to me, however, I really enjoyed it and the sessions were all very interesting and resourceful. If there was more of me I would’ve attended all the sessions.” l

“This was my first conference and I was extremely impressed with the entire event. From the moment I walked in, up until the moment I left, I was not disappointed!”

Honoring This Year’s Out-of-School Time Leaders

Coupled with the Conference is the Out-of-School Time Awards of Excellence Luncheon, highlighting innovative out-of-school time programs and staff members for their exemplary work in furthering the delivery of quality youth development programs for Arizona’s children. At the 2014 Luncheon, AzCASE honored the following OST program and professionals: The Jane Romatzke Leadership Award Dr. Lupita Hightower, Superintendent, Tolleson Elementary School District

The Jane Romatzke Leadership Award is presented to Dr. Lupita Hightower (pictured with her family) by AzCASE Board President, Dr. Patricia Gillespie Hall.

Outstanding Out-of-School Time Professional Melissa Jimro, Chief Program Officer, ICAN Outstanding Out-of-School Time Program NACA Pathways

The 2014 Out-of-School Time Champion Award was presented to Dr. Kent Scribner, Superintendent, Phoenix Union High School District, for his dedication to quality learning opportunities for underserved youth in Arizona and his district’s commitment to providing out-ofschool time options for youth and families.

Financials Income $314,407

Expenses $398,348

*The AzCASE statewide afterschool network model is designed for AzCASE to be a resource and advocacy center that works with and through partners statewide to expand the availability and quality of out-of-school time programs. As a result, a larger percentage of our annual budget is spent on salaries and benefits than a traditional direct services provider.

STEM Grants

In partnership with Cox Communications, AzCASE distributed 12 grants to out-of-school time programs for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) projects. The intent of the AzCASE STEM Grants is to foster the expansion and implementation of best practices in STEM informal learning.

12

Grants

$15,134

Awarded

What’s on the Horizon 2016 promises to see the continued growth of our statewide quality initiative. The Arizona Quality Standards for Out-of-School Time Programs, first released in October 2013, are now being implemented in 700 program sites across the state.

The Arizona Quality Standards Assessment Tool, AzQSAT, which was piloted in November 2015 is now available online and free of charge to programs across the state. For the first time ever, out-of-school time programs have a tool to measure the quality in their programs and a tool that allows parents, educators and policymakers to compare programs across the state.

In FY 2016, AzCASE will continue to focus on the growth of our quality initiative. Emphasis will be placed on ensuring that programs are:

>> Adopting the Arizona Quality Standards >> Using the AzQSAT to measure their program’s performance >> Creating and implementing continuous quality action plans to ensure that program weaknesses are strengthened and youth impacts are broad based

>> Providing staff with the quality professional development needed to effectively meet the needs of the youth in their programs

Whether a parent, an educator, funder, or policymaker, AzCASE invites you to join us in putting Arizona’s children first and give them the academic and social/emotional safety net needed for them to stay in school and become successful in school, life and career.

Acknowledgements Board of Directors

Patricia Gillespie Hall, EdD, Board President Union Elementary School District (Retired) Tacy Ashby, EdD, Immediate Past Board President Grand Canyon University Kirk Astroth, EdD, Board Vice President Arizona 4-H Carey Chambers, Board Treasurer KPMG Lauren Stratton, Board Secretary Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale Irene Burnton Arizona Department of Health Services Barbara Ervin Deer Valley Unified School District Sandy Foreman Early Childhood Education Systems Consultant Josh Glider Kyrene School District Kim Hartmann KCH Solutions, LLC Lupita Hightower, EdD Tolleson Elementary School District Joseph Ortiz Edward Jones

Lawrence Robinson Arizona Summit Law School Aaron Secakuku Native Americans for Community Action Cindy Trejo Arizona Department of Education Tim Valencia City of Phoenix Andrea Whitsett ASU Morrison Institute for Public Policy Corey Woods, Councilmember City of Tempe

Emeritus Board Members

JoAnne Hilde Education Coalition of Arizona Ruth Solomon Pima County JTED Carolyn Warner Corporate/Education Consulting, Inc.

Staff

Melanie McClintock Executive Director Franny Sharpe Program & Outreach Manager Genevieve Burns Program Assistant

AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS KEEP KIDS SAFE

70%

of Arizona parents agree that afterschool programs can help reduce the likelihood that kids will • commit a crime • use drugs • become a teen parent DEMAND IS HIGH FOR AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS Learn more at www.azafterschool.org Afterschool Alliance. (2014). America After 3PM: Afterschool Programs in Demand. http://afterschoolalliance.org/AA3PM/.

Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence

More Arizona youth than ever before—

178,554

—are in afterschool programs.

For every child in a program,

2 are waiting to get in.

Arizona Center for Afterschoolwww.azafterschool.org Excellence www.azafterschool.org

Source: America After 3PM: Afterschool Programs in Demand, 2014.

3205 S. Rural Rd. Tempe, AZ 85282

info@azafterschool.org 480.730.7126

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WHEN SCHOOL’S OUT, MAKE IT COUNT!

Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence