Jump to section: NYSED News/Updates
Remembering Nita M. Lowey:
The New York Education Department and 21st CCLC Resource Center express their heartfelt grief over the sad demise of Nita M. Lowey. She breathed her last on 15th of March, 2025, aged 87. She started her career as a civil servant with the State Department of State and changed her course to public service after serving there for 13 years. She was elected to congress in 1988 and stayed in congress for almost 32 years. During the course of her congressional career, she initiated, sponsored and supported crucial legislation across sectors such as education, health, reproductive rights, breast cancer awareness and public broadcasting.
Nita M. Lowey played an instrumental role in lobbying, approvals and expansion of the 21st CCLC. She always had a passion for education and targeting the cause of marginalized communities so as to address their academic disparities. The role of Nita Lowey was honored in a beautiful way of naming the very program after her in regard to her lifelong efforts. We can safely claim that without her struggle, our hundreds of subgrantees would not have been able to carry on the wonderful work of imparting education to thousands of their students. She touched the lives of millions through her public service including us. We will carry forward the legacy and vision of Nita M. Lowey for 21st CCLC by making it better and expanding it further to the students in need of the after school program in the state of New York.
Important Reminders from the NEW '24-'25 21st CCLC Timeline:
Submit a Budget Amendment (FS-10-A) if there are reasonable and necessary changes to your budget. The FS-10-A, a revised M/WBE Goal Calculation worksheet, a revised Composite Budget, a revised Budget Narrative, and any applicable M/WBE documents (e.g., updated Utilization Plan, NOI, and/or EEO Staffing Plan) may be uploaded to Survey Monkey Apply up to April 15. Please do not send hard copies until the program office’s fiscal team requests them. Refer to the Budget Amendment Fact Sheet (Updated March 2025) on the TARC website for more information.
Conduct a comprehensive Needs Assessment (SMV indicator G-4) for the next program year. Engaging participants and their families in these information-gathering processes can occur at multiple points during the program year and may include any documentable methods such as surveys, polls, focus group conversations, or the collection of written/verbal correspondence expressing needs, requests, and recommendations for potential program offerings. Annual Needs assessments/inventories are ways to help programs collect and feed forward information about participants’ interests and the community needs into strategic plans as part of the ongoing, internal improvement cycle.
Participate in the 2nd Evaluator’s Site Visit, conducted by the Local Program Evaluator. This is an opportunity to open the program to the observation of the partnering evaluator, assess progress indicators, and to receive valuable, actionable feedback about program implementation and emerging results. Summary findings from this visit can inform the continuous improvement cycle and communicate progress updates to staff and stakeholders.
Attend the required, in-person Spring Conference in collaboration with the NYS Network for Youth Success Annual Conference. May 2, 2025, at the Hilton Albany.
Be sure that the students and teachers are linked in EZreports to facilitate the teacher survey administration (required only for programs serving students in grades 1-5)
Year 4 budgets will be submitted in Survey Monkey Apply this spring! They are due May 15th. Links to required documents can be found in the SMA application. Please do not send hard copies until the program office’s fiscal team requests them.
EZReports Guidance
We have informed our partners and subgrantees that EZreports will not be used after 3/31/25 since the contract with them has not been extended, as a new contract has been awarded to TransAct, following a competitive bid. TransAct, with their data collection system Afterschool21, will provide 21st CCLC data collection services for New York State. NYSED and the Resource Centers will assist subgrantees through this transition. Please reach out to EMSC21stCCLC@nysed.gov and your respective Resource Center for assistance.
The subgrantees will no longer have access to EZReports and EZReports data as of March 31st, 2025. It is pertinent to note that the new system will not be available for grant use until July 1st, 2025. Given the time of the end of the previous contract, and the time it will take for the new system to go live, there will be a 3-month gap in service. Due date for attendance data for 24-25 will be July 15, 2025. The new contractor, TransAct, will provide NYSED with a template to send to grants that can have their attendance uploaded into a 24-25 system program year.
During the process of transition, the subgrantees must continue to enter attendance data into EZReports up until 3/28 and the data needs to be current. During the transition time, subgrants will need to track their own attendance between the dates of March 31st – June 30th. At the end of the year, subgrants will need to fill out the template provided by TransAct and submit it to NYSED no later than July 15th, 2025. The Resource Centers of NYC and ROS will provide training and additional technical support, as and when required, by the respective subgrantees.
PD/Events
REQUIRED - Spring Conference - Friday, May 2, 2025
The Spring 2025 Conference will be held in conjunction with New York State Network for Youth Success’ Empower Youth Success conference. Friday, May 2, 2025 is mandatory for all 21stCCLC Program Directors; our portion of the conference is free but if you would like to take advantage of the additional offerings make sure you have included it in your budget as there is a fee for the other days. Click here for full details for registration and hotel reservations!
These are non-required PD/events that may interest you:
April - May: NYSNYS: Free STEAM Training
Made possible by Peaceful School and led by Timothy Fowler, the Professional Development Coordinator at NYSNYS. Click on each time to register for a training.
Supporting Documentation of STEM Learning: Encourage reflective documentation through diagrams, journals, and models.
Reflecting and Processing Experiences: Promote understanding through reflection and discussion.
Making Connections to STEAM Careers: Introduce career pathways and connect activities to real-world applications.
If you have questions about the series, please email timothy@networkforyouthsuccess.org
April 16: NYSNYS: Youth Design a Better World: Coding, AI, and OST
Join Technovation to explore how to collaborate to promote student leadership, agency, and civic engagement.
Objectives:
Foundations of Tech Project Based Learning and the technical and entrepreneurial competencies gained with AI and coding.
Resources to Maximize Impact including Technovation’s free curiosity driven curriculum and best practices for equipping youth with cutting-edge skills.
Youth Generated Solutions from around the world using tech to tackle issues like recycling, mental health, cyber bullying, etc.
Wednesday, April 16th 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET
Register Here
April 22 + May 21: Change Impact: Lessons on Learning Live
Change Impact is excited to invite you to join Lessons on Learning Live, a space for leaders to engage in restorative, forward-thinking approaches to learning and professional growth.
These live virtual sessions are based on Change Impact’s Lessons on Learning paper series, which highlights the latest and greatest professional development studies, observations, and recommendations for the education and youth work fields.
In these uncertain times of rapid change, it’s more important than ever to center community, sustainability, innovation, and equity in our work. Let's gather to share fresh ideas and evidence-based strategies!
Tues, April 22
A Restorative Approach to Professional Development Explore strategies for creating meaningful restorative professional development that fosters growth and well-being.
Wed, May 21
Building Career Pathways for Youth Development Professionals Learn how to develop clear career pathways that enhance opportunities for youth development professionals.
April 24: NYS Library: Deaf History and Digital History: Understanding Ordinary Lives Online
In celebration of National Deaf History Month, the New York State Library's Reference Services Unit is excited to host Dr. Eric C. Nystrom and Dr. Rebecca A.R. Edwards!
In this online talk, historians Eric C. Nystrom and Rebecca A.R. Edwards will discuss their efforts to recover the lived experiences of everyday deaf people in the late nineteenth-century United States. Together, they combined digital history techniques with archival historical methods to bring new stories of deaf lives to light.
R.A.R. Edwards is a professor of history at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY.
Eric C. Nystrom is an associate professor of history at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he also serves as director of the graduate program.
Special note: This program is supported by the American School for the Deaf (ASD), and American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters will be provided by ASD. We are so pleased to have this partnership and support!
Date: Thursday, April 24, 2025
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
April 24: ACT Work Ready Summit - Greater Rochester Region
Join fellow K-12 and post-secondary educators, counselors and workforce professionals for the Regional ACT Work Ready Communities Educator Summit on Thursday, April 24 at Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES. This free, full-day event will explore how skills-based credentialing connects education to workforce needs, helping students build meaningful careers and strengthening the region’s economy.
At the summit, attendees will:
Gain insights from industry experts on career readiness and credentialing
Learn how WorkKeys Assessments and the National Career Readiness Certificate support student success
Engage in collaborative discussions with educators and workforce leaders
Breakfast and lunch are provided, and registration is free. Find more details and sign up at http://www.monroe2boces.org/workready. Register by April 8, 2025 (space is limited).
May 16:
NYSNYS: Building Circuits with Common or Accessible Materials
Friday, May 16th 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET
We will build circuits and create reusable circuit components from common or easily purchased materials such as paper, copper tape, paper clips, aluminum foil, etc.
Outcomes:
Explore simple circuit theory
Build reusable circuit components that students can bring home
Identify online resources for similar ideas
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On-Going Offering:
Self-Paced Professional Development
We're happy to remind you that 21C subgrantees have access to a number of free, self-paced courses through our partnership with Change Up Learning! Each course takes approximately 1-1.5 hours to complete, offers a Certificate of Completion (with SACC credits), and features resources you can utilize at your site.
As you wrap up programming in the next few weeks and prepare to kick off a new year, consider exploring the topics below to support your youth development efforts.
Gain tools to build design intentional activity plans: OST Alignment – Curriculum + Lesson Plans (includes a customizable lesson plan template - preview here!)
Level up academic engagement and STEM activities: OST Alignment - Academics or Educational and Fun Project-Based Learning
Learn ways to promote positive engagement and navigate challenging behaviors: Positive Behavior Management
Get started today!
If you’re based in NYC, activate your account here.
If you’re based in the rest of NY state, activate your account here.
Resources
Celebrating Military-Connected Children in April During the Month of the Military Child
April is designated as the Month of the Military Child or “Purple Up! For Military Kids.”
New York State is a member of the Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission (MIC3), which addresses the key educational transition issues encountered by military-connected students. We are asking for your support in April for “Purple Up! For Military Kids” by:
Coordinating a district-wide month or day celebrating military-connected students and promoting the event(s) through your communication channels (e.g., website, newsletters, media), stakeholders, and partners by tagging #MIC3Compact and #purpleup4militarykids.
Drafting a letter or memorandum to your schools encouraging them to consider sponsoring an activity.
Attending a district or school event celebrating “Purple Up! For Military Kids.”
Questions regarding the Month of the Military Child or the Interstate Compact can be directed to P12StandardsInstruction@nysed.gov.
SUNY Empire State Service Summer Corps – Host Site Applications Now Open
The SUNY Empire State Service Summer Corps is now accepting host site applications for Summer 2025.
SUNY is looking for community-based organizations, non-profits, and schools that would like to host Empire State Service Corps members for Summer 2025.
Corps members are current or recently graduated SUNY students who will be paid through the program (not by the host site) and placed in service-oriented positions across the state.
One of the program cohorts is K-12 Tutoring and schools hosting summer programs might be interested in applying as potential placement sites.
Corps members will work 300 hours throughout the summer (29 hours a week) and will be paid $16 per hour by SUNY through the program with no cost to your district or BOCES.
The program and placements run from approximately May through August 2025. Click here to apply.
Any questions can be directed to Jamie Frank at jamie.frank@suny.edu.
Talent Pool Submissions Open
The New York State Education Department is requesting recommendations from teachers and/or principals in elementary through high school (K-12) for consideration of membership on advisory boards, task forces, and special recognition programs.
Your recommendations will identify educators who will be of great value to your community and New York State and who may also ultimately receive prestigious recognition for their contributions and achievements.
The nominee must be a principal or currently teaching at the K-12 level in a New York State public, private, parochial, or charter school, or Department of Defense, and be appropriately credentialed in New York State. Attached please find the recommendation form for submission.
The deadline for submission is May 5, 2025.
Completed submissions and any questions may be emailed to Talentpoolhe@nysed.gov.
Women in STEM Month
In February, Network for Youth Success launched the STEAM Exchange, a blog intended to encourage and strengthen relationships between those committed to an equitable STEAM education and workforce in NYS.
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Program Spotlights
PS/MS 46's Learning Lobby Meets Parents Where They Are
PS/MS 46 has developed a program called Learning Lobby. The 21st CCLC site director Robin Frazier and librarian realized that parents were hanging around the school lobby waiting for their children at pick-up, and often asking random, but important questions about the school or processes within the school (for example, a parent asked how to get their child an IEP).
Building on this captive audience they have developed the program, which meets about twice a month, and entails a short—no more than 20 minute—presentation on topics important to parents, such as how to enroll their students on a website that gives them access to free books, how to “beat the mid-year slump,” and on the day of the SMV, to encourage reading.
The librarian provided parents free books for students at every reading level and offering suggestions for reading with their children. They also do presentations on community resources. The site director noted that because of the relationships that they’ve built through the Learning Lobby, they are getting more parents at parent workshops. What a great way to engage parents!
PS 66 Celebrates Black History
MMCC at P.S. 66 held a wonderful Black History Celebration event on February 12th where students were able to share poems and dances centered around Black history.
- Submitted by Shane Burt-Miller MMCC Program Director, 21st Century @ P.S. 066
To be featured in an upcoming newsletter, submit your stories and photos here.
Evaluators' Corner
Evaluation Session at the Statewide Spring Conference in Albany on Friday, May 2
How should we use this valuable time?
Share your creative ideas for the Spring Conference evaluation session here: https://forms.gle/9Vxa7CNxn9ngRhT39
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