Wvsan receives a $ 75,000 grant to improve after school programs in West Virginia – My Buckhannon

The post -school network in West Virginia, a program facilitated by the University of West Virginia University extension recently received a grant of $ 75,000 from Beneudum Foundation to launch new quality initiatives to support programs out of school, including online platform for Professional development to promote continuous continuous improvement in quality and interaction with state standards after school.

The State Network across the country of Western Virginia (WVSAN) is working to increase access to training programs after school and summer, creates partnerships that strengthen the capacity of these programs and advocate for the growing need for such services in Western Virginia.

“Post -school programs are vital for both academic success and for providing a safe place for young people while their parents are at work,” says Susan Gamble, director of WVSAN. “This grant will help us increase the quality and stability of these programs, ensuring that they are available to all young people throughout the country.”

The main goals of this grant focus on improving the quality of the program, providing opportunities for professional development and expanding access to resources for post -school suppliers throughout the country.

One of the key initiatives of this grant is to improve the quality of the program by aligning programming after school with the newly set standards for the quality of the West Virginia Afterschool program. These standards have been updated and improved through partnership with WVSAN, Early Care and Education Department of the Early Care and Education Division and the Education Division in West Virginia Nita M. Lowie 21st Century in the Community Training Program (21st CCLC). The WV Afterschool quality quality assessment tool provides a frame for the best practices when working with young people.

“One of the first things we will do is create a series of standardized training around new quality standards to make them accessible and understandable to suppliers after school. The training will be intended to encourage the environment of continuous improvement of programs, providing high quality practices for professionals when working with youth, “Gambble said.

The training will be a series of three parts, as well as offering train opportunities to reach as many suppliers as possible in the country.

They will also create a better assessment and understanding study of the needs of child providers, as well as determine the search for a system for identifying youth development identification data. This study will manage the creation of new platforms and educational materials.

Another goal of this grant is to increase access to professional development for suppliers. In addition to standardized training modules, they will also work to pilot a subscription platform for youth development. This will be an online, standalone platform that will remove barriers for programs for costs and convenience.

“Many of the things we are doing right now meet what programs and suppliers tell us they need,” says Tammy Joe Wilt, a WVSan quality coordinator. “These programs are really dedicated to the service of young people and providing them with training opportunities that are practical and engaging. We want to help create an environment where young people can go further than they have ever gone before, so the opportunity to provide these resources for suppliers who make this happen is very important to us. “

The after -school network in West Virginia is part of the 50th state network after school, funded in part by the Charles Stewart Mot Foundation. For more information on the initiatives and opportunities provided via WVSAN, visit their website.

If you want to learn more about the WVU extension, visit extension.wvu.edu or follow @wvuextension on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.