As the new school year starts we have an opportunity to rethink old habits, start new ones, explore interests, and become engaged in the field beyond your program. The Out-of-School Time field has grown and evolved over the past 24 years since the start of the Millenium. The field offers robust opportunities through federally funded 21st Century Community Learning Center Programs and state level investments supporting bi-annual afterschool grants to communities across the state. Core knowledge and competencies through the National Afterschool Association. Statewide afterschool networks, like the Connecticut Network for Children and Youth provide intermediary support to help expand access, funding, and improve overall program quality at the local and state level. In short, you, the afterschool professional are part of something bigger, part of the afterschool community. 

Prioritizing your own learning starts with you. What are you curious about? Do you want to solve a programming problem that has been with you for years? The research and best practices show the constantly changing and improving experiences and the impacts and outcomes high-quality afterschool and summer programs have on children and families. People often think of research and long articles with graphs and numbers. In our field, journals and research are dependent on you, the practitioner to tell the stories of success, failure, and improvement. 

These stories are captured in out-of-school time journals such as the Journal of Youth Development and Afterschool Matters. Some examples include how to foster better school-community partnerships, the positive impact of professional development on programming, and more. Taking the time for yourself, even if it’s a half hour per week to keep current and get ahead to foster best practices in your own program are incremental steps toward program improvement. 

Program quality is not something that happens overnight. It takes an investment in yourself and your own leadership. You decide what it contains, the only rule is it begins. Tiny tweaks in your own practice can make a big difference in staff performance. Have a great year!