Author: School's Out Washington

Building Quality in Washington State

By Sarah Terry & Sheely Mauck

The origins of quality improvement Since 2008, School’s Out Washington has been leading the effort to build and sustain a quality improvement system for expanded learning programs. The impetus for this work is grounded in the belief that all children deserve the opportunity to thrive and an understanding of how historical inequities continue to limit opportunity for children experiencing poverty and racial oppression.  The reality is that schools cannot meet these challenges on their own. We need an integrated approach to learning across the day and year to narrow opportunity gaps and amplify classroom learning. We know that children and … [ ]

Students get an up close look into the judicial system

By Brianna Kirschenbaum

Originally created for teachers, Judges in the Classroom is now open to youth development programs. Created by The Washington Courts, Case Method Institute, and Harvard Business School Professor David Moss this program provides up-to-date, free, curriculum-aligned, K-12 lesson plans for judges to present at your site any time during the year (currently through Zoom). The lessons are interactive and provide students with a unique opportunity to learn first-hand about the legal and judicial systems as well as the basic concept of fairness. Lesson plans and supporting materials are free and are easily accessible to download.  High-quality civic education is crucial in equipping youth with the knowledge necessary for meaningful community … [ ]

King County Best Starts for Kids quality out-of-school time initiative extended for fourth year

By School's Out Washington

The Out-of-School Time Initiative, a part of King County Best Starts for Kids, began in 2018 and was slated to provide youth program providers with funding and quality improvement support through 2020. The initiative is designed to increase access to high quality and culturally relevant summer and afterschool programming for elementary and middle school youth. In total, $8.3 million was distributed to 12 People-of-Color-Led organizations and 7 Place-Based Partnerships (representing 26 organizations). The cohort represents dynamic, engaging youth development work and has fostered a richer landscape of services across King County In January of last year, the SOWA Best Starts team was gearing up to enter the final assessment season, collecting data on programs’ gains, and planning to close out the inaugural cycle with a bang. When COVID hit, communities across the county (and the world) scrambled to support each … [ ]

Professional development made easy—an interview with Janell Jordan

By Adriana Zazula

A new year often means change and that holds true for SOWA’s training opportunities. Janell Jordan, King County Program Manager, shares their excitement for the new King County Training System and provides insight as its project manager. While virtual, trainings are open to any youth development professional and there is no fee to attend. What is the King County Training System? Why King County?The King County Training System is an option for organizations and their staff to access training and professional development opportunities. Training opportunities range from topics such as Exploring Structure Racism, Mapping Multiracial & Cross-Cultural Identities, Leap Into Science, our suite of … [ ]

Reflections on Bridge

By Janell Jordan

We did it! 394 individuals virtually gathered over four days to grow, strategize, nourish, and ultimately work to create sustainable impact for our field.   Planning this year was tough, not knowing what folks would need or want in the middle of a pandemic, while also navigating the fight for Black lives and the buildup of fear around the upcoming election. There were so many unknowns we were juggling, and our team worked really hard to ground ourselves and the spaces we curated in our Bridge values: equity, belonging, leadership, nourishing, change, innovation, and community. Some aspects of the conference manifested so beautifully and perfectly timed, and other aspects we dropped the ball a bit and have room to grow.   Holistically, though … [ ]

“Your impact, especially in a time like this, is magnified”

Staff at the Birch Creek youth center knew that summer programming during a pandemic would be different, but they didn’t know how different. On the first day of program, out of the 30 youth signed up, only one attended.  As they tried to address the barriers, they kept finding new ones. Kids felt awkward on video calls with their peers. Some families didn’t have the tech they needed, or didn’t know how to navigate the online platforms. It was straightforward when kids could drop in to programming at the youth center in their neighborhood, but now their homes have had to become … [ ]