Keeping Current to Get Ahead: Sowing the Seeds of Interest

People talk about spring as a time of renewal, early spring flowers poke sprouts through the thawing ground. Days get a little longer and, after months of playing board games…

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Keeping Current to Get Ahead: Budgeting for What’s Necessary and Fosters Improvement

As the mid-winter approaches, and the February cold starts to set in we are reminded of spreadsheets and budget projections for the coming year. Out-of-school time programs large and small…

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Keeping Current to Get Ahead: The Heart of Afterschool

The term unsung heroes is commonly used when referring to afterschool professionals. A workforce that shows up everyday from 3:00 - 6:00, sometimes later. It is often a job that…

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Keeping Current to Get Ahead: Recognizing the Forest from the Trees

The out-of-school time field (also known as after school, school-age childcare, enrichment, etc.) has a long history, starting in the late 1800’s in response to the Industrial Revolution in order…

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Keeping Current to Get Ahead: Falling into Patterns

As program leaders we have all been there. The rush of registration is over, the program is settling in, things are going smoothly, and you finally have a minute before…

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Keeping Current to Get Ahead: Creating Connections and Opportunities

By now, mid-October afterschool programs are moving along at a good pace. Children and staff know established routines, relationships have been formed, and we are rapidly moving toward the holiday…

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Keeping Current to Get Ahead: Weaving Expectations into Program Improvement

When we hear the terms “high-quality”, “impactful programming”, “standards of excellence”, “continuous quality improvement” they often sound like a far-off place we would like our programs to get to. An…

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OEC Changes Regulation for After School Programs

On Thursday, September 26th, Michelle Doucette Cunninham, Executive Director, spoke to one small part of the changes. Specifically, the Office of Early Childhood has changed the regulation for after school…

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