Oakland Community After School Alliance

Free Network Telephone Workshop:
Thursday April 3, 2008

Youth Development After School

This free telephone workshop will feature Bonnie Benard, renowned youth development expert and author, who will define youth development, share strategies for implementing youth development in after school programs, and present resources including access to free regional youth development training for after school staff. After school practitioners will join the call and discuss how they have implemented youth development prinicipals in their programs. This telephone workshop will take place on April 3, 2008 from 10:00 – 11:00. All are welcome to join. For more information, click here

Click here to join the California Afterschool Network and to participate on their listserv.

From CalSAC’s newsletter

Clarification of Staff Requirements for ASES/21st CCLC Programs  

ASES and 21^st CCLC programs are required by law to hire staff that meet “the minimum qualifications of an instructional aide, as defined by the local school district.”  The California Department of Education recently released a document to clarify that every district may set its own minimum qualifications for instructional aides that apply to staff working in the afterschool program, and that these qualifications do not have to be the same as the instructional aide qualifications under No Child Left Behind.

For more information about these requirements, click here. 

On Our Watch: Preparing Urban Students for Life, Leadership, and Academic Excellence
April 25-26, 2008
EXCEL High School, Oakland, CA

Join Alliance members who will be attending and presenting at this conference presented by the Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools. This conference will focus on creating equitable and just urban small schools, with a focus on powerful teaching and learning. Participants will take away tools and strategies to use in their classrooms, schools and communities.

Click here for more information and to register!

Reinvigorating Arts Education in California Public Schools: What’s the Story?
April 21-22, 2008
Embassy Suites, Sacramento, CA

This conference, presented by the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association Arts Initiative and California Alliance for Arts Education, will showcase discipline-specific and integrated arts instruction, new resources for strengthening and expanding K-12 arts education in school districts, advocacy strategies, and new ideas for professional development and curriculum development.  A plenary presentation by Oakland Unified arts teachers with Arnie Aprill will be featured!

Click here for more information!

The Coalition for Community Schools will host a briefing on Full Service Community Schools on Thursday, March 27 at 4:00 pm.  This briefing will share information about the Full Service Community Schools strategy for individuals and organizations who are considering applications for the Full Service Community Schools grant program, now available from the Department of Education. 

Please email Shital Shah at shahs@iel.org with full contact information
if you would like to participate.  In addition, please include specific questions that you would like the panel to address.  You will receive an email by Wednesday, March 26^th indicating how to call-in.

This briefing will not address specific questions related to the Department’s Request for Proposals and is not sanctioned by the Department.  Rather it is an opportunity for experts in the field to share their knowledge and experience with potential applicants. 

Resource people include:

• Jane Quinn, National Community Schools TA Center, Children’s Aid Society
• Joann Weeks, Center for Community Partnerships, University of Pennsylvania
• Bob Seidel, Communities in Schools
• Marty Blank, Coalition for Community Schools

Please share this information with other interested parties

California Afterschool Network Policy Update

Important Policy Information
The California Afterschool Network Policy Committee has requested that the Network share this important and relevant after school policy information with the field.

SB 1492 (Mcclintock): Proposed New After School Legislation
If passed, After School Education and Safety (ASES) program funding would only be released in years which the previous fiscal year ends with at least a 3% surplus and it is projected by the Department of Finance and Legislative Analyst’s Office that in the two following fiscal years, General Fund revenues will exceed General Fund expenditures. Seeks to give the Legislature authority to set the annual funding level of the ASES program by repealing the portion of proposition 49 that requires voter approval to lower ASES funding.

Under the current law it would require a ballot initiative to implement SB 1492.
The measure proposes a new ballot initiative that would for all practical
purposes repeal Proposition 49, putting an end to guaranteed state funding for after-school programs serving hundreds of thousands of students. To view the text of this bill as it was introduced, click here.

On April 2, 2008 SB 1492 (Mcclintock) will go before the Senate Education Committee.
Individuals who wish to effectively comment on this bill should send letters and comments prior to April 1, 2008. To view a letter drafted by Lindsay Callahan of the Central Valley After School Foundation opposing this bill addressed to Senator Jack Scott, chair of the Senate Education Committee, click here.

View a Children Now analysis of this bill.

To locate more contact information for members of the Senate Education Committee including Senator Jack Scott, Chair of the Committee click here. To locate your State Senator, click here www.sen.ca.gov.

SB 1674 (Torlakson): Proposed New After School Legislation
If passed this bill will expand opportunities for after school program
staff to access the existing Paraprofessional Teacher Training Program;
clarify that ASES grantees using supplemental grants may use grant funds
to operate and track attendance and expenses on weekends in addition to
intercession, summer, and vacation periods; set a minimum grant amount
for small schools with 60 students or less with 2/3 of the students
attending the after school program in order to ensure that small
programs receive enough grant funding to employ the staff necessary to
run the program; and ensure that subcontractors of ASES grantees receive
a reasonable amount of administrative funds to administer after school
programs.

To view the text of this bill as it was introduced, click here.

Individuals may comment on this bill. To view a fact sheet and letter of support for SB 1674 drafted by Jennifer Peck, Executive Director of the Bay Area Partnership for Children and Youth and Co-Chair of the Network Policy Committee addressed to Jack Scott, chair of the Senate Education Committee, click here.

To locate more contact information for members of the Senate Education Committee including Senator Jack Scott, Chair of the Committee click here. To locate your State Senator, click here.

As our partners – I share this with you. These are painful budget times. The crisis kit attached offers ways for people to let their feelings be known in Sacramento. The briefing offers how we as a district are handling the crisis internally.

Best, Kirsten

Espere éxito: Cada aula, cada alumno, cada día

From: Troy Flint
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 3:39 PM
To: Executive Team; Strategy Team; All Site Administrators List
Cc: troy.flint@ousd.k12.ca.us
Subject: Budget Crisis Staffing Implications Briefing Note

Hello All,

It’s no secret that the $5 billion reduction in education funding proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger is a frightening prospect for California’s schools. As you surely recognize, the cuts have very real and severe consequences, not only for the state’s schoolchildren but also for the adults who work to provide them with essential educational opportunities.

In order to meet the Governor’s demands, many school districts have issued preliminary layoff notices and announced dramatic reductions in student programs. These decisions have prompted considerable anxiety both in Oakland and across the state. We write now to provide some clarity on how Oakland Unified intends to address the fiscal crisis. Please refer to the enclosed briefing note in discussing the staffing implications of the state budget shortfall and our coordinated opposition to proposals that balance the budget on the backs of California’s school children and school district employees.

Naturally, a question involving so many lives will not be resolved with a single document and we expect to field questions on the staffing issue from all corners of OUSD. The budget crisis situation is fluid in many respects and some of the details regarding our response will become plain only as events unfold here and in Sacramento. In the meantime, we will provide the facts as we know them and work closely with the broader OUSD community to offer the answers they seek.

In closing, we would like to thank you for your strength and cooperation during this most difficult time. The caliber of leadership in Oakland Unified gives me no small confidence that we will emerge from this trial prepared to continue the critical work of accelerating student achievement. Again, if you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best,

Troy

P.S. Please note that the budget crisis toolkit is available in English, Spanish and Chinese on the homepage of the OUSD website.
final-budget-crisis-staffing-implications-briefing-note.pdf

budget-crisis-kit-single-file.pdf

Troy Flint

Spokesperson

Oakland Unified School District

1025 Second Avenue

Oakland, CA 94606

510.879.8242 (w)

510.206.3737 (m)

510.879.1834 (f)

Expect Success: Every Student. Every Classroom. Every Day.

The Conference for Afterschool Professionals

http://conference.calsac.org/

Welcome to CalSAC’s Statewide Conference Updates. You are receiving this letter because you are subscriber of CalSAC’s email newsletter, policy listserv, have attended a past event, or have partnered with CalSAC in some way. That means you are a part of the CalSAC Connection, a statewide network of afterschool professionals. Please forward this information to listserves, programs and professionals in your area. If you wish to unsubscribe to these emails please click the link below. Thank you, see you in April.

Registration Deadlines and Important Dates

· March 12, 2008- Last day for accepting group registration rates

· March 13, 2008- $25.00 late fee added to total conference cost per person if not registered by 3/13/08

· March 17, 2008- Hotel Rooms must be reserved by this date for the CalSAC discount of $142.00

· March 25, 2008- Last day for pre-registration, must register on site after March 25th.

· March 25, 2008- Last day for submitting refund requests

The Afterschool Challenge is Coming.

Save the Date: Tuesday, May 20

The Fourth Annual California Afterschool Challenge is coming Tuesday, May 20. All afterschool professionals and older youth who are served by programs or came up through programs are invited to attend!

Please visit the Afterschool Challenge webpage to learn more about this advocacy day and to use our new and improved online registration. Alternatively, you may send in the registration form via email (mmangan@calsac.org) or fax (415) 957-9776.Don’t forget, registration for this event ends May 1.

Some of the exciting things to remember for this year’s Challenge:

· This is a tight year with the state’s budget cuts, so it’s very important that we all link arms to tell legislators not to cuts funds for California’s children and youth, including afterschool programs.

· We want youth who are affected by afterschool programs to have a voice this year, so please register older youth in your programs or young staff who came up through after school programs to speak about how their afterschool programs have benefitted them.

Join us and help get the word out. Tell your partners and associates to come to Sacramento Tuesday, May 20. For more information, call (415) 957-9775 or info@calsac.org.

Contact CalSAC:
California School-Age Consortium (CalSAC)
657 Mission Street, Suite 601
San Francisco, CA 94105

Ph: (415) 957-9775
Fax: (415) 957-9776

info@calsac.org
http://www.calsac.org/