Author: School's Out Washington

Training of Trainers—Career Connected Learning & Designing Culturally Responsible Programming

By School's Out Washington

School’s Out Washington (SOWA) in collaboration with community and Million Girls Moonshot developed two live trainings to support pathways and access for girls of color in STEAM through tangible resources and trainings for youth development professionals.  Career Connected Learning: STEAM prominently exist in every community and culture – this training is designed to help widen our lens, resources, and project management skills to support developing Career Connected Learning opportunities for under resourced youth. The purpose of this training is to gain thoughtful strategies and techniques for embedding a decolonized approach to career connected learning projects, programming, and events. Designing Culturally … [ ]

What does it mean to be of a place?

By Adriana Zazula

Washington is renowned for its natural beauty, from the stoic Cascades and the stillness of the Hoh Rain Forest to the roaring Columbia River. CultureSeed nurtures a sense of belonging for youth in southwestern Washington amongst the beauty and vastness of the surrounding nature. Their mission is to “provide year-round connection to nature, self, and others, for our underserved* youth and communities to thrive.”  The organization is located in the rural town of White Salmon where the population is less than 3,000. CultureSeed is committed to long-term relationship building with the youth in their community.  Their cohorts are groups of … [ ]

Youth Development Advocacy Week 2022

By School's Out Washington

The youth development field is primed for major funding and supportive policies to increase access to programs and supports for providers. In order to secure these wins for kids, we need providers, youth, and other stakeholders to help increase awareness and build energy in the legislators to make big things happen this session and in the years to come. Youth Development Advocacy Week is a great opportunity to raise your voice with others across the state and show why funding and supports are critical to supporting children and youth during and after the pandemic.  REGISTER! Youth Development Advocacy Week is … [ ]

“I did not expect to cry.” – King County youth workers feel the love at closing celebration

By School's Out Washington

The Best Starts for Kids Out-of-School Time initiative continues to adapt to meet the needs of our region’s young people and has once again been extended. Current grant recipients will receive funding from January to June 2022, as gap coverage until the next round of Best Starts funding becomes available for application. “Wait, is this the first time we’re meeting in person?” “Look how long your hair is!” “The last time I saw you was literally years ago at this point…” “Wow, you’re so much taller than I expected!” Best Starts for Kids Out-of-School Time cohort members were gathering to … [ ]

Community of dream makers

By School's Out Washington

An end of the year message from our CEO, Elizabeth Whitford. As we come to the end of another unprecedented year, I am proud of how School’s Out Washington has been able to support and strengthen expanded learning staff and programs. Communities across the state looked to SOWA to drive equitable funding, accessible professional learning, and supports to help them bring high quality, life-changing programs to young people. Modeling humanness and responsiveness, our incredible staff answered that call when the field needed us most. Below are just some highlights of what we were able to make happen together. Reasons to … [ ]

Best Starts for Kids Virtual Open House

By School's Out Washington

Interested in being part of the next iteration of Best Starts for Kids? Check out their upcoming virtual open house on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Stay up-do-date by subscribing the Best Starts blog. Learn more about School’s Out Washington work on the 2018 – 2021 Out-of-School Time grant. Best Starts for Kids will host a virtual open house for existing and prospective community partners to learn more about the opportunities for funding in the first quarter of 2022. Way back in 2017, Best Start for Kids headed out on the road to spread the word about … [ ]