Fall 2005   

In This Issue:

• Breakfast Of Champions Wrap-Up

• Lights On Afterschool!

• Member Spotlight: 4-H CAPITAL

• Free Training November 11!

• Afterschool Advocate Wins YWCA Woman of the Year Award

• New CTAN Members  

• Calendar of Events

• Let Us Know: What Training Would You Like CTAN to Organize?  

• Top Stories in Afterschool

Breakfast of Champions

On Friday, August 12, over 60 representatives from local afterschool programs, policymakers, and community organizations gathered for the second annual Breakfast of Champions and Afterschool Summit.  The Breakfast was co-chaired by City of Austin Mayor Will Wynn and Travis County Commissioner Court's Judge Sam Biscoe.  

The "Breakfast of Champions" awards were presented to those in our community who have shown exceptional commitment to providing and expanding resources for afterschool opportunities for youth in Travis County.  This year's winners were:  

Donor: A Glimmer of Hope Foundation Afterschool Partner: Meals on Wheels and More  Media: Your Community Guide Afterschool Staff Member: Nia Keith, Council on At-Risk Youth Afterschool Volunteer: Susie Chapa Policymaker: Fred Butler, Community Action Network (CAN) School District Employee: Laurie Barber, Andrews Elementary Community Advocate: Miranda Oropeza

The Breakfast also highlighted afterschool news and progress in Travis County, including the upcoming Lights On Afterschool! event.  Attendees identified challenges and goals, and broke into small groups to discuss next steps. Consolidated information will be posted on the CTAN website, and CTAN subcommittees will utilize this collective work as a blueprint for the coming year's work.

Lights On Afterschool

October 20, 2005 is a day of nationwide rallies to call attention to the importance of afterschool programs for our nation's children, families and communities. The lights will be on at afterschool programs throughout Travis, Hays and Williamson counties during the third annual Lights On Afterschool!, an event organized nationally by the Afterschool Alliance. 

• Our community is celebrating Lights On Afterschool!  Oct 17-20^th at individual Afterschool Program locations. 

• There will be a culminating celebration on Friday, October 21^st at 7:00pm at the Travis County Expo center.  FREE TICKETS AVAILABLE TO AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS, FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!

For more information, contact:

Angie Rose, ARose@austinisd.org
Lights On Afterschool! 2005 Chair
3908 Ave B, #112
414-0450 ofc
935-5074 pgr
414-0377 fax

Member Spotlight:

At 4-H CAPITAL kids come first. 4-H CAPITAL (Children and Parents Involved in Technology and Literacy) is an exciting program designed to reduce children’s risk for school failure and school dropout by increasing science and literacy skills while promoting healthy growth and development. 4-H after-school participants get to experience the wild, wacky, and exciting side of learning through our special hands-on activities. 

Where else can you build and launch rockets in class, create an edible landfill, teach a goat new tricks, travel around the world through art projects, start your own babysitting business, play bongo drums, hang upside down like a bat in Austin or build a solar car? All 4-H programs incorporate Character Education, in which we creatively teach from the 6 Pillars of Character (Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Caring, Citizenship and Fairness).

Since 1992 4-H CAPITAL has continued its dedication to providing youth with quality after-school programming. Throughout the past year 4-H CAPITAL worked with approximately 15,000 youth in after-school and curriculum enrichment programs in 30+ Travis County schools and community sites. 4-H CAPITAL also offers special day camps such as our popular Aerospace and Sportfishing camps. 

The smiling faces and gained confidence of our 4-H participants and their parents are just some of the visuals that tell us that we are achieving our mission. To continue the great mission of 4-H CAPITAL you can help by volunteering in our Spring Break and Summer Camps, serve as mentors to youth in our school and community outreach programs, contribute educational supplies and contribute financial support. You can reach 4-H CAPITAL at 854-9600 if you are interested in learning more about our programs.

Free Training Opportunity!

Heart House, Communities In Schools, and YWCA-Austin have joined together to facilitate a training on Friday, Nov. 11, 2005 from 9:00 am - Noon.  CTAN Members are welcome to come to this free training opportunity, but we have limited availability.  First come, first serve -- so PLEASE RSVP!  The location will be at Heart House Austin, 7224 Northeast Drive, 78723.

The topic for this training is based on two influential books:

• Bringing Yourself to Work: A Guide to Successful Staff Development in After-School Programs by Michelle Seligson, Patricia Stahl

• The Complexity of Connection : Writings from the Stone Center's Jean Baker Miller Training Institute by Judith V. Jordan

This training will discuss the "MODEL FOR CHANGE" and will include step-by-step instructions and encouragement that will help participants connect to the material in a meaningful way, as well as examine practical applications of the psychological theory of connection as the core of human growth and development and its application for workplace and organizational issues.

The training will also discuss how important an impact an emotionally intelligent self and staff are on the development of young people.  Participants will come away feeling motivated and inspired after being reinforced with the idea that the "soft skills" that are not so readily recognized as indicators of academic success but are indicators of life success that can be developed and enhanced in everyone.

Remember, space is limited.  You need to RSVP to indicate your commitment to attending this training.  Please see the Training Section of the CTAN website for more information. (www.tcafterschool.org/training.htm)

CONGRATULATIONS, SHIRLENE!!

The CTAN Steering Committee wishes to congratulate Shirlene Justice for being the YWCA 2005 Woman of the Year in Education! Shirlene is a founding member of the Travis County Steering Committee and serves as the Afterschool Coordinator for Austin ISD.  For more information on the YWCA annual award, visit the YWCA Austin website at www.ywcaaustin.org. 

Calendar

Let Us Know:  What Training Would You Like CTAN to Organize?

National research states that one of the keys to high-quality afterschool programs is a continuous professional development plan. This makes a big difference in children's development and in the retention of qualified staff. Research shows that at the core of a high-quality program are well-trained, consistent, and well-compensated staffs. CTAN can play a critical role in providing and expanding resources for training for afterschool staff -- both those in direct care of youth and those in administrative and management positions.   

We would like your input in designing a training schedule that really meets your needs.  Please help us by taking this short survey to gather information on most needed and desired training courses.  Please take a moment to complete the survey!

Top Stories in Afterschool

• Send a message to our nation's leaders about afterschool programs (September 8, 2005)
     
• Online Forum on Funding for Afterschool Debuts (August 24, 2005)
     
• New Poll on Afterschool Released: KidsDeserveBetter.org (August 11, 2005)
     
• Lights On Afterschool Tools Updated for 2005 (August, 2005)
     

Contact us!  We'd love to hear from you. 

CTAN c/o Karen Hunt of The YWCA
2015 S. IH 35 #110
Austin, TX 78741

512-326-1222 Tel
512-326-1395 Fax

E-Mail: karen@ywcaaustin.org

www.tcafterschool.org