Jump to section: NYSED News/Updates
Required Fingerprinting of Prospective School Employees by Covered Schools
Office of Early Learning Resource: Implementing the CR-S Education Framework in the PreK Classroom
Nomination Deadline Extended to Nov 15: The Louis E. Yavner Teaching and Citizen Awards
NCASE Practice Brief: Prioritizing Inclusion in Your OST Program
Important Reminders from the NEW '24-'25 21st CCLC Timeline:
Convene and document the proceedings of required meetings and events with data manager, fiscal manager, educational liaison, evaluator, partners, program staff, and/or safety team. This includes Advisory Board Meetings, Collaborative Planning Time with schools and partners, internal Professional Development Sessions, Family Forums, and other organizational events. See Site Monitoring Visit (SMV) Tool for more detail and timeline requirements.
Actively maintain all required programmatic, fiscal, and operational records and annually updated plans, in a system that allows for efficient retrieval and ready use (for evaluation, accountability, and other reporting procedures).
Convene 2nd Advisory Board Meeting. Include all stakeholders. Topics might include review of initial program implementation efforts, enrollment/participation, family engagement plans/activities, staff development plans, internal improvement cycle/QSA process.
Participate in the 1st 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, collaborate to track progress indicators, and to receive valuable, actionable feedback about program implementation. Summary findings from this visit can inform the continuous improvement cycle and communicate progress updates to staff and stakeholders.
Update the Evaluation Plan and Logic Model/Theory of Change, as needed.
Enter program fall 2024 participation and activity data into EZReports by December 31, 2024.
Conduct required, Internal Review/Check-In of Program Service Delivery. This is the opportunity for Program Leaders to observe their staff using a formalized process/protocol while staff are delivering programming to participants; they review the implementation of activities as designed/planned, the performance of staff, and the levels of engagement/targeted responses from participants. This provides valuable formative feedback to integrate into the internal improvement cycle. Additional information about this requirement and the Program Activity Implementation Review (PAIR) is in the Site Monitoring Visit Tool (SMV), Indicator D-2.
Complete surveys and/or data collection (e.g., staff implementation survey) for participating programs in SEL Pilot Study TBD
SAVE THE DATE- Spring 2025 conference in Albany on May 2, 2025.
EZReports Guidance
Make sure you have all your data entered into EZReports. Run Data Checks to quickly and easily see what data is missing. (Note: Data Checks are a new requirement in the SMV tool!)
PD/Events
*Visit the TARC website to access materials from the Regional Fall Conferences.
REQUIRED - Spring Conference May 2, 2025
The 21st Century Community Learning Centers Spring Conference will be held in Albany on May 2, 2025. The Spring Conference will be held in conjunction with Network for Youth Success' Empower Youth Success 2025 Conference. Attendance on Friday, May 2, is a grant requirement. Register now!
These are non-required events that may interest you:
Office of Early Learning 2024-2025 Webinar Series
The Office of Early Learning will host a series of webinars over the 2024-2025 school year that focus on best practices in PreK.
Science Everywhere – November 6, 2024 (3:00-4:00 pm)
Register here for the Science Everywhere webinar to learn about this new initiative designed specifically for PreK to cultivate a love for science.
Fostering Positive Behavior in PreK – February 5, 2025 (3:00-4:00 pm)
Register here for the Positive Behavior in PreK webinar to learn how to address challenging behaviors in PreK and build upon the learning environment.
Supporting Emergent Multilingual Learners in PreK – March 5, 2025 (3:00-4:00 pm)
Register here for the Supporting Emergent Multilingual Learners in PreK webinar to learn how to best support PreK students who have a home language other than English.
Inclusion in PreK: Why it Matters and Best Practices – May 14, 2025 (3:00-4:00 pm)
Questions can be directed to your OEL Liaison or OEL@nysed.gov.
Education Development Center (EDC.ORG) Workshop Series | Moving from Assessment to Action with the NAA HEPA Standards
This series of four virtual workshops will provide a highly engaging space for OST leaders to come together with their peers and other experts to think big and make concrete progress toward their OST wellness goals using the Collaborative for Advancing Health Equity in OST's Assessment to Action Guide: Six steps for implementing the National AfterSchool Association’s (NAA) Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (HEPA) Standards for OST, through an equity lens.
Sessions at-a-glance (all meetings will be held from 12pm-PT/2pm-ET to 1pm-PT/3:00pm-ET):
November 13 - Getting started: Taking stock and building partnerships
December 11 - Identifying, prioritizing, and anticipating challenges to strategy adoption
January 29 - Planning for success: Creating smarter (using “SMARTIE”) action plans
February 26 - Bringing it all together: Putting plans into action and next steps for continued success
For more information, please email us at healthequityOST@edc.org.
Resources
In Case You Missed It—21stCCLC Manual for Program Directors
The 21stCCLC Manual for Program Directors was updated this past summer. Links and resources were added. New and Seasoned Program Directors alike should check out this updated resource: 21st CCLC Program Manual for Program Directors (August 2024)
Required Fingerprinting of Prospective School Employees by Covered Schools (Attachment)
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide additional information and remind all covered schools that it is the responsibility of a covered school to ensure that all prospective school employees are required to be fingerprinted and have a criminal history background check done prior to covered school employment as outlined in Part 87 of the Commissioner’s regulations.
Please direct any questions to OSPRA@nysed.gov or (518) 486-9060.
Office of Early Learning Releases Guidance on Implementing the Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework in Prekindergarten
As an extension of the Culturally Responsive-Sustaining (CR-S) Education Framework, the Office of Early Learning has released Implementing the CR-S Education Framework in the PreK Classroom.
This resource was designed to support educators in creating student-centered early learning environments that honor, reflect, and affirm the student diversity found in our classrooms today.
This resource is available on the Office of Early Learning website.
Questions can be directed to your OEL Liaison or OEL@nysed.gov.
The Louis E. Yavner Teaching and Citizen Awards – Nomination Deadline Extended to Nov 15
The Board of Regents invites nominations for the Louis E. Yavner Teaching and Citizen Awards. These awards provide recognition of a teacher and a citizen who has made outstanding contributions to New York State education about the Holocaust and other violations of human rights.
The deadline for the submission of nominations for the Louis E. Yavner Teaching and Citizen Awards has been extended to November 15, 2024.
Additional information about both the awards, including the application forms, award criteria, and required documentation, is available on the Office of Standards and Instruction’s Yavner Awards webpage.
Questions may be directed to the Office of Standards and Instruction at 518-474-5922, or P12StandardsInstruction@nysed.gov.
NCASE Practice Brief: Prioritizing Inclusion in Your OST Program
A new practice brief from the National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment (NCASE) shares best practices to ensure that every student can thrive in your OST program, including English learners, immigrants and refugees, students with disabilities, and highly mobile students (i.e., migrants, students in foster care, and students experiencing homelessness).
Here are some highlights:
Adopt a strengths-based approach, focusing on students’ existing skills and knowledge rather than highlighting gaps or deficits.
Foster a sense of belonging, autonomy, and empowerment through opportunities for students to collaborate with staff and engage in decision-making and goal-setting.
Practice trauma-informed care to address the cognitive and social-emotional impact of trauma in special populations by fostering trust, safety, collaboration, and self-confidence.
Personalize family engagement and create individualized programming that reflects families’ unique backgrounds.
Collaborate with the school day to ensure timely access to resources for students and families by sharing data and incorporating school-day equity supports, such as professional development, culturally responsive programming, and mental health resources.
World Origami Days: Oct 24 - Nov 11
Oct. 24 – Nov. 11 are World Origami Days. To give this ancient art medium a try, see OragamiUSA’s page to gain context about the celebration. Then help students become origami masters by practicing fun animal patterns from the World Wildlife Fund.
National STEM Day: Nov 8
Nov. 8 is National STEM Day. Get your students excited about science, technology, engineering, and math by creating fun challenges. Jumpstart your thinking with ideas from Rasmussen University for younger students. Get older students talking with our STEAM Careers: Myth Busting discussion guide (in the STEAM Toolkit).
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching 2024-2025 Award Cycle – Nominations/Applications Now Open
New York State is seeking nominations/applications for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) 2024-2025 award cycle. These awards are the highest honors bestowed by the United States government to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM, including Computer Science) teachers.
Principals, teachers, parents, students, or members of the general public may nominate exceptional STEM teachers in grades 7-12 for the 2024-2025 award year. Teachers may also initiate the application process themselves. Once a teacher is nominated or initiates an application, they will receive an email invitation to begin the application process.
The application deadline is February 6, 2025, for STEM teachers in grades 7-12. Nominations for K-6 grade STEM teachers will be accepted in the fall of 2025.
For more information regarding PAEMST, including eligibility criteria, nomination details, and the application process, please visit the National Science Foundation (NSF) PAEMST website. Additional information is also available on the Office of Standards and Instruction’s (OSI) PAEMST webpage.
Questions may be directed to OSI at 518-474-5922 or P12StandardsInstruction@nysed.gov or to the NSF PAEMST team at paemst@nsf.gov.
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Program Spotlights
Photography at The Center for Community Alternatives
Photography students from The Center for Community Alternatives created a yearbook to highlight the exciting things happening in their afterschool program. Check it out! Thank you Jackie Gonzalez and Christine Talbot for sharing.
Engineering at Commonpoint, PS 206
From Karen LaRose, Program Manager, 21st Century Programs at Commonpoint, PS 206:
Students were focusing on the 'E' in STEM: Engineering. 4th graders participated in spaghetti tower challenges, 3rd graders created wearable glasses using 3D pens, and 1st graders used popsicle sticks to create animals, plants, and other items.
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