19th Annual Arizona Statewide Afterschool Conference

 Saturday, November 19, 2011
8 am to 3:30 pm
Phoenix Convention Center, West Building
100 N 3rd Street, Phoenix 

Introducing the Keynote Speaker...

The Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence is pleased to announce Dr. Gale Gorke as keynote speaker for the 2011 Arizona Afterschool Conference: The Power of Afterschool: Discovering Each Child’s Passion and Potential, taking place on Saturday, November 19th at the Phoenix Convention Center. 

Dr. Gorke will join over 500 afterschool providers and staff from across Arizona to share her experience and strategies to engage all youth in afterschool programs.   Both her keynote and workshop will address the important role that afterschool programming plays in providing experiential learning opportunities and provide hands-on ideas to engage children with a variety of learning styles and interests.

A veteran of the education field, Dr. Gorke has nearly 25 years of experience in afterschool and public school settings with a doctorate in academic intervention in afterschool programs.  Dr. Gorke is the Executive Director of Kids Kan Inc., an organization that specializes in staff development, activity selection and program implementation. She effectively models teaching that accommodates for all youth, regardless of ability.  Learn more about Dr. Gale Gorke on her website at: http://galegorke.com.

 I really enjoyed the energy that Gale brought to the conference. She got us all energized in the morning by getting us up and out of our chairs, interacting with other people. And by interacting, I mean we were partnered with someone at our table.We had to eyeball what they were wearing, turn our backs, and then do something to change our appearance. At least 3-4 times.

So. Much. Fun.

 By the time we were done, I was wearing articles of clothing from someone else at my table! Hilarious. But it got our blood flowing, got us awake and ready for the workshops. I learned much from Gale:

Three Things We Know About Change -

• Individualized
• What do I have to give up?
• Without pressure, things will go back to the way they were before the change.

Learning Made Easy - 

• You
• The Environment
• The Curriculum

The Element -

• Aptitude
• Passion
• Attitude
• Opportunity

Reasons We Don't Find Our Element - 

• We don't understand our power
• We don't understand nature
• We don't understand we can grow and change
• We lack the education...or have not recovered from education

What is Intelligence?

Ask the right question - "How are you intelligent?" Not "Are you intelligent?"

Intrapersonal Intelligence - how well you know yourself

Interpersonal Intelligence - how well you know other people

Love this quote:

"We live in a world of possibilities
When we believe it, we'll see it"
~ DeWitt Jones

Opportunity - 

• Never too late!
• Overcome fear
• Expectation - can't see what you're looking for!

Workshop Session I - The Power of Afterschool Program Staff facilitated by Jackie Reilly and Sarah Chvilicek, University of Nevada

Description - Afterschool staff members have an enormous power to impact the youth with whom they work Come and learn about positive youth development and developmental assets, and explore the power you have to impact youth! You will enjoy a memory walk, discuss and do a hands-on activity, to understand how to connect the youth you work with to youth development research.

Review - While there were some interesting take-home sheets, I was more interested in the "youth development" and "developmental asset" aspect and could have done without the interactive activity.

Side note: I had to decide between this workshop and another workshop about marketing to teens. I should have gone to the other one.

Workshop Session II - Integrating School and Afterschool: A Panel Discussion facilitated by Michelle Gayles, Valley of the Sun United Way

Description: Building partnerships between out of school time programs and schools is a tremendous opportunity to connect formal and informal learning in order to prepare youth for a future that demands a wide variety of skills. Workshop participants will engage with a diverse group of afterschool and school staff to learn how they are effectively partnering between schools and out of school time programs to leverage their strengths for the benefit of Arizona's youth, including opportunities for skill building, character development and engagement of caring adults.

My Thoughts - I wish I could remember the names of the people that had sat on this committee, but for the life of me I cannot find the piece of paper that mentioned all that. From what I can remember, there was a school administrator, a nonprofit ED, a teacher?, and someone else (Darn me for tossing that paper!). Either way, it was a good mix of people representing the topic of discussion. They responded to a set of questions, but also answered questions from the audience. What with the economy and all, I've been debating on whether I should have my own "place" or just collaborate with another youth-based organization. I was hoping to get some sort of how-to plan for that, but just mainly got advice for a newbie like me considering that option.

• Show data
• Mutually beneficial
• Communication
• Consent level - CEO/Principal of school
• Organizational buy-in
• Designer/Supervision
• Service/Delivery

Side note: This workshop was not my original choice. I had intended to go to another workshop that talked about common core standards afterschool. I got talked into going by a friend. LOL. Was disappointed a smidge...until I realized I could get the handouts for that workshop on the AZCase website.

Workshop Session III - No Fear Grant Writing! conducted by Jill McIlroy, Free Arts of Arizona and Jarrett Ransom, The Rayvan Group (jrransom [at]hotmail[dot]com)

Description - This workshop focuses on submitting a grant request regardless of dollar request. No grant too small or too large. Any amount of funding assistance goes a long way in today's economy. Jill and Jarrett will work with you on drafting a grant request outline by working individually with their supervised guidance. This new workshop combines two tenured development professionals who have focused on grant writing in the nonprofit industry for several years; bringing real-life situations to the table.

My Thoughts - As an occasional volunteer for Free Arts AZ, I wanted to get a feel for how their development process works. Being a writer, some people may--mistakenly--believe that writing grants would be easy. If the author in question writes non-fiction, no problem! However, I write fiction. So this may take getting used to.Needless to say, I plan to make a grant writer a permanent part of my staff. LOL.Here are a few things I gleaned from this workshop:

The 10 C's of Writing a Winning Proposal - 

• Concise
• Complete
• Clear
• Compelling
• Credible
• Compliant
• Community-Oriented
• Consistent
• Clean
• Current

For a program design, the #1 goal is the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely) objective:

By the end of  ________ , increase/develop/educate___________ by ____________%

Reasons why a grant may not be approved -

Funder- related:

• Doesn't fund in your community
• Doesn't fund projects like yours
• Hasn't been contacted to discuss the project
• Has a specific application format that you didn't follow
• Only funds preselected organizations

Program design - 

• Unclear project purpose
• Goals are not broad
• Objectives are not specific/measurable
• Implementation tasks are missing
• Evaluation plan was not included
• Management plan lacks qualified personnel

Financial Info -

• Project budget lacks line item detail
• Project budget does not add up
• Organizational budget is not current
• Sustainability not demonstrated
• Form 990 has never been filed
• Organization not listed with Guidestar
• Application submitted after deadline

General Tips - 

• Don't take rejection personally
• Just write - you can go back and adjust your writing, style, format, etc.
• The best grant writers love red ink and know when to accept and reject corrections
• Be sure to follow funder guidelines and answer all questions in full.
• Do not cut and paste
• Stay current
•  Stay mission-focused
• Measure

How to stand out amidst other submissions - 

• Relationships
• Collaboration agreement (there's that word again)

 Overall, I really enjoyed this conference and plan to attend again next year.