According to a study by the Afterschool Alliance, roughly 11.3 million school-aged children are left alone and unsupervised during the hours afterschool. Approximately 19.4 million children would participate in out-of-school time (OST) programs if they were offered. Indiana Afterschool Network (IAN) is an organization with a mission to promote afterschool and summer learning through connecting and inspiring youth, community partners, and advocates. IAN hopes to ensure all K-12 youth have access to high quality learning experiences that extend beyond the school day.
IAN recently launched the Indiana Academy for Out-of-School Learning to help educate OST professionals in a partnership with the National Afterschool Association and Child Care Aware. Roberta L. Newman is credited with creating the 36-course Certificate Series, and has previous experience developing comprehensive statewide certification and credentialing modules. These modules have been used in both Arkansas and South Dakota to successfully train OST staff. Thirty-six courses were created with the goal of providing high quality, affordable professional development and certification options.
The courses are self-directed or instructor-lead, and each yields a Certificate of Completion at the end. Participants can engage in online discussion-answer sessions, download resources, and utilize a note-taking tool within the program. Education courses range from Managing School-Age Children in Groups to Providing Homework Support. There are also administrative courses that cover subjects like Health and Stress Management and Creating Community Collaborations.
These certificate programs are provided at a cost of $75.00 per individual, per year, and scholarships are available to help pay for the costs. Additional cost-related information can be found here. To learn more about applying for this training opportunity, click here or send an email. To learn more about IAN’s Out-of-School learning programs, register for a free informational webinar. The upcoming dates are as follows:
- May 27 at 1:30 pm EST
- May 29 at 12:00 pm EST
- June 2 at 1:00 pm EST
- June 4 at 12:30 pm EST
Transform Consulting Group applauds the work that IAN is doing to raise the capacity of OST staff through creating awareness of these online professional development resources. Transform Consulting Group is dedicated to helping organizations stay current with the latest research and aligning programming to “what works”. Contact us today to learn more!
