When kids continue learning during the summer, they are healthier, safer, and more prepared for the school year ahead. NSLA staff and our roster of expert Field Consultants are available to help partners plan, train staff, prepare, and measure effectiveness for the coming summer. NSLA can design tailored training solutions for your program and offer the following services:
Program Planning
Summer Starts in September (SSiS) – Thoughtfully planned summer programs, with well-trained staff members, can offer young people an enriching summer experience, better preparing them to be successful in college, career, and life. In this session we will explore the form and function of the SSiS guide. Participants will chart their own pathway through the guide with support from NSLA’s Field Consultant team.
Data-driven Planning – Program evaluation can supply a wealth of valuable data about the quality of a youth program. But assessment and evaluation just provide the data – a list of numbers and words. Participants in this session will learn to learn from their data and use it as a tool for quality improvement. This training prepares participants to develop effective program improvement plans and to take this planning process back to their program settings.
Leading from the Point of Service – Leadership exists at all levels within organizations. Point of service personnel possess a firsthand perspective regarding how policy affects people. In this session, we will explore how to cultivate, elevate, engage, and sustain engagement from point of service personnel in the continuous quality improvement movement.
Program Management
Advancing Youth Development (AYD) for Supervisors – AYD for Supervisors is a one-day course that introduces supervisors of frontline youth workers to youth development from a managerial perspective. It is designed to help an organization infuse the youth development approach into program design and organizational culture.
Leading for Quality – The role of “Network Lead” is critical in a quality improvement system. In this session, we will explore the core competencies of effective network leaders who move interventions forward. Specific knowledge, skills, competencies, and dispositions will be explored.
The Role of the Coach in the Quality Movement – In this session we will explore the role of the coach in the continuous quality improvement movement. Attitudes, behaviors, mindsets, and dispositions of effective coaching will be explored.
Systems Building
Summer Landscape Assessment – NSLA will work with a community to create a snapshot of the summer opportunities that exist – who they serve, where, what activities, meals served, etc. We will data map the summer learning landscape and produce a report that identifies gaps, redundancies, and opportunities.
Community Indicators of Effective Summer Learning Systems (CIESLS) Self-Assessment – CIESLS is a set of indicators designed to examine six domains of effective summer systems. Participants and key stakeholders will complete a self-assessment based on the CIESLS to identify areas of strength and for improvement.
Community Report – Utilizing the results of the Summer Landscape and CIESLS Self-Assessment, NSLA will create a public-facing report summarizing the results and making recommendations for the next steps.
Strategic Planning – Participants will be guided through a strategic planning process, helping them use system indicators and examples from other cities to develop a summer learning system action plan.
Positive Youth Development
Advancing Youth Development One-day Overview – This training helps build the capacity and sustainability of community-based organizations and agencies as it deepens the workforce in the field of youth development. Participants will gain an understanding of the youth development training program: the rationale for the training program both conceptually and structurally and be introduced to the conceptual framework of youth development. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the importance of defining positive youth outcomes in our work with young people.
AYD 30-hour Training – Advancing Youth Development Training is an intensive 30-hour professional development opportunity for community youth workers who work directly with youth, ages 10 to 20, in school, community, or faith-based settings. In this training, youth workers learn the necessary tools and skills to better engage and support youth. Youth workers learn how to help youth navigate and use resources, identify their own strengths, and then define and achieve their goals.
Combating Adultism – Participants will be able to identify common cultural assumptions about young people and how these assumptions play out in practice. Participants will be able to identify five forms of adultism that affect young people daily and identify alternative “caring” behaviors to counteract adultism.