The Vermont Center for Afterschool Excellence is one of seven Northeastern statewide networks partnering together on a comprehensive webinar series for the 2011-2012 school year. The states participating in the webinar series include: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

To receive information about upcoming webinars and other news, please join our email membership list.

Archive 2010-2011: Webinars and/or Conference Calls

Webinar: 99 Ways to Make Your After-school Program Even Healthier
Tuesday, June 21st
12:00-1:00pm
Confused by all of the nutrition and physical activity information out there?  Not sure what you can do with a limited budget?  Looking for ideas that would appeal to youth from different cultures? Join us for a presentation that highlights the work of CANFIT, a national non-profit that has been working since 1993 to build the nutrition and physical activity capacity of community based organizations that work with low-income youth of color.  Learn how to access national after school nutrition and physical activity guidelines, and have your specific questions addressed.

May 31, 2011 at 11am-12pm
Boyhood and the Media in Afterschool
Mark Tappan, Professor of Education and Human Development and Chair of the Education Program at Colby College.

Webinar Description:
Jock. Slacker. Gangster. Superhero. Goofball. Player. This presentation explores the narrow version of boyhood that is packaged and sold to boys by media and marketers  – and what parents, teachers, and others who work with boys can do about it.  From cartoons to videogames to movies, from toys to Halloween costumes to energy drinks, boys are fed a steady diet of stereotypes about what it means to be a man, including messages about violence, risk-taking, and sexual promiscuity.  This presentation offers an overview of this “cultural landscape” that boys confront everyday, and provides insight and information that can be used to help boys resist these negative messages and limiting stereotypes

February 25, 2011 at 10am-11am
Supporting High-quality STEM Learning Opportunities in Out-of-School Time Programs
Dr. Anita Krishnamurthi, Director of STEM Policy at the Afterschool Alliance

• Listen to the recording of the webinar at the MA Afterschool Network website

This webinar will discuss how afterschool and summer learning programs can support High-Quality STEM Learning Opportunities. STEM education has become a national priority with bipartisan support in both Congress and the White House. Afterschool and summer programs can play a major role in engaging and exciting students about STEM through hands-on learning projects that complement the school day. Anita Krishnamurthi, Director of STEM Policy at the Afterschool Alliance will be our guest speaker. During this webinar, we will share the results from the National Afterschool Association (NAA) and the Afterschool Alliance (AA) nationwide survey on STEM in Afterschool; highlight the successes of existing programs; and discuss resources needed and available for quality STEM programming in your afterschool and/or summer programs.

JANUARY10, 2011 at 10am-11am
Connecting Successful Practices to Next Practices and the Role of Empowerment
Ray McNulty, International Center for Leadership in Education

• Listen to the recording of the webinar at the CT Afterschool Network website
• View the slide presentation here
• To view the video clip Ray refers to during the webinar

We are excited to have Ray McNulty, President of the International Center for Leadership in Education, as our guest speaker for the January webinar. Ray’s talk is entitled “Connecting Successful Practices to Next Practices and the Role of Empowerment.” A brief description of the webinar follows: Education insiders and outsiders are calling for improvement in the way we educate our children. There seems to be synergy on both sides for change, so why isn’t it moving faster, and where are the results? We are told we need to use research-based best practices in this work and then we are informed that we must innovate — aren’t these directives in conflict with each other? This webinar and talk will share the role that empowerment plays in moving from best practices to next practices, along with strategies that can help us to be more creative in our work as educators and afterschool providers.

OCTOBER 25, 2010 at 12noon-1pm
Aligning the School Day: Collaborative Strategies for Principals and Afterschool Program Directors
Dr. Paul Young, National Afterschool Association

Paul Young, President and CEO of the National Afterschool Association will be our guest speaker for the webinar. The topic will be Aligning the Learning Day, including strategies for collaboration between the school day and out-of-school time. The following will be discussed: a review of the tenets of school and afterschool leadership, relationship building, communication skills, identifying the “sacred cows” within schools and addressing common myths about afterschool that impact progress, homework expectations, visioning, marketing afterschool , leadership standards for principals and afterschool leaders, review of best practices, sharing of practical, job-embedded planning tools that enhance communication and program quality.