Money, professional development, and great summer programming content? Hoping I now have your attention! TN Afterschool Network/United Ways of Tennessee is seeking 10 top-notch grant sites for our Afterschool Serves Tennessee initiative.
All afterschool and summer programming sites are invited to participate for free in the training, regardless of whether or not they are awarded, and professional development/training certificates will be awarded so you can get credit for the hours. Those awarded as grantees will also receive $500 upfront, and an additional $1000 after a service learning project(s) is/are implemented and completed. We are hoping for sites from all over the state–urban, rural, suburban—and varying age groups.
Training will begin in the second part of January throughout February and possibly into early March in a train-the-trainer fashion, so your representative can lead the charge to implement efforts. We will also provide lounge hours for additional technical assistance throughout the spring to provide support and help with planning, as well as in the summer to assist with any implementation needs. Reporting we be in in August/September. To qualify you must agree to:
Attend 4 trainings, each an hour and a half in length (archived for later viewing if timing isn’t optimal)—DHS/DOE recognized certificate for participating in the professional development.
1. Service-Learning 101: to provide initial orientation to Service-Learning focusing on the IPARDE (Investigation, Preparation, Action, Reflection, Demonstration, Evaluation) and the Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice (SQP)
2. Dorothy, We are Not in Kansas Anymore will focus on implementing IPARDE utilizing the Quality Standards, Student Voice, Meaningful Service and Link to the Curriculum.
3. Somewhere Over the Rainbow will focus on implementing the IPARDE system utilizing the Quality Standards, Partnerships, Diversity and Reflection.
4. There’s No Place Like Home will focus on implementing the IPARDE system utilizing the Quality Standards Progress Monitoring and Duration and Intensity.
We’ll also hold several service-learning “lounges” throughout the remainder of the grant period that would provide further support and encourage facilitators to share successes and lessons learned, as well as a venue to seek resolution of questions and issues encountered.
Depending on the age and interests of the children and youth at your programs, we’ll provide additional information for the facilitators to share with students around substance abuse, reducing the digital divide, disaster response needs in their own communities, corporate connections, and STEM opportunities. While we do want the children and youth to determine and design their own projects, we have special interest in engaging them in work in these specific state and community challenge areas, although that is not required.
We will require the following info/data for you to receive the final payment:
- Brief description of the service learning project(s) completed—problem(s) addressed, activities, etc.
- Outcomes of the projects
- Number and age of participants
- Pre and post-test SEL skills data from participants (we will supply a very simple tool)
- Pictures
To apply, please send agreement to terms, and estimates of the timing, age range, number of participants, and any other preliminary thoughts to my attention via this email address no later than COB the 6th of January (please no more than a page total—bullets or brief paragraphs are fine). Mary is available via phone or email if you’d like to bounce ideas off a sounding board before submitting. You can reach her at mary.graham@uwtn.org or call 615-495-9970.