New Jersey After 3
Training & Technical Assistance
Overview
New Jersey After 3 provides training and professional development for hundreds of afterschool educators each year – a major investment in the human capital of those who work directly with students and families. Quality training opportunities strengthen programs by providing afterschool educators with information, skill development, tools, and resources to improve service delivery.
***Research shows that for an afterschool program to be truly effective, it should be run by highly educated staff and program directors (Hall & Gruber, 2007).
 THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY REQUIRES TRAINING!
8 Hours: Professional development for licensed child care or afterschool program staff.
19 Hours: Professional development for site directors.
New Jersey After 3’s training and technical assistance efforts are certified to satisfy State mandated training hours, and are available to multiple levels of staff through a variety of offsite and onsite training opportunities. All staff can easily meet their professional development training requirements by participating, or enrolling staff in one or more of the New Jersey After 3 training opportunities, detailed below, with minimal expense.
Content-Specific Training
New Jersey After 3 offers content-specific training that corresponds to specific curricula and special initiatives. In light of reduced school district budgets across the state, diverse content such as sports, health, and physical fitness; arts and culture; and civic engagement are particularly critical in the afterschool space. In particular, we have focused on the following core areas over the last seven years:
Audience: Site Directors, Supervisors, Specialists, Youth Development Staff, AmeriCorps Members, and Direct Service Staff.
Cost: $50 per person for six hours of training.
Site Director Leadership Institute
The Site Director Leadership Institute is designed to give site directors an “infusion of inspiration” by strengthening and fine-tuning their leadership skills. The Leadership Institute will enhance their ability to effectively manage their programs and staff while maximizing their programs’ impact on students. Each session will focus on a specific issue related to afterschool program management. For example, hiring and retaining high quality staff, working effectively with parents and the local community, and infusing youth development principles into program planning. Guest speakers will be part of the agenda and include ample time for peer sharing and networking. New Jersey After 3 will be fulfilling a great need within the state, as state licensed centers require site directors to have 19 hours of Professional Development.
Audience: Site Directors and Program Directors
Cost: $350 per person for 24 hours of training over 4 days
Management Support: Operations and Quality
New Jersey After 3 provides technical assistance on-site in the areas of support and training. This service is ideal for new programs or programs under new, site-level leadership. Operations technical assistance includes administrative review to assure program is in alignment with State licensing requirements, staffing patterns are sufficient for high quality programming, how to market your program to students, parents, and community and others. Quality technical assistance includes working with site-level leadership to implement an assessment tool or using results from an assessment tool to focus on improving areas of need, with regard to resources, so that a program is stronger. New Jersey After 3 uses nationally recognized assessment tools to assist in this process.
Audience: Site Directors and Program Directors who are looking to improve program quality and overall student and family success.
Cost: $500 for three site visits which includes pre and post assessment reports.
Afterschool Educators Conference
New Jersey After 3 offers regional conferences on Saturdays throughout the year to part-time instructional staff who work directly with children. During these sessions, educators participate in workshops on topics such as classroom management, specific content areas (e.g., Arts, Health), discipline techniques, parent engagement, and more. All trainings are from 8:00 am to1:00pm. Staff receive 4 hours of professional development by attending one conference. State licensed centers require staff to have 8 hours of professional development.
Audience: Site Directors, Supervisors, specialists, and direct service staff, youth development staff, AmeriCorps members.
Cost: $45 per person for one four hour Conference or $75 for two four hour Conferences.
Summer Peer Learning Institute
During the summer months, site directors and assistant site directors gather for regional Peer Sharing sessions. Through this experience, program staff work together on a specific issue or challenge in their afterschool program. Through peer sharing and team problem solving, staff learn from each other and work towards increasing program quality and better expanding learning time.
Audience: Site Directors and Site Supervisors.
Cost: $300 per person for eighteen hours of training
Promising Practices Showcase, Conference & Awards Reception
New Jersey After 3’s annual Promising Practices Showcase, Conference & Awards Reception convenes afterschool educators from across the state to discuss best practices. The goals of this initiative are to promote sustainability in the field of afterschool and to develop high quality afterschool programs. By sharing practices that have worked well across the New Jersey After 3 network, New Jersey After 3 is building a collection of successful strategies and activities that any afterschool program can adapt. From supporting staff development, to incorporating youth voice into program activities, Promising Practices provides the tools for afterschool programs to incorporate strong practices without having to “reinvent the wheel” each time. In 2012, for the first time, the Promising Practices competition will be open to afterschool educators across the state, beyond the New Jersey After 3 network.
Audience: Educators, Administrators, Corporate and Foundation Leaders, Program Directors, Public Sector leaders, Program Site Directors, Supervisors, Specialists, Youth Development Staff, AmeriCorps Members, and Direct Service Staff.
Cost: $80 per person
Contact Information
Group rates and packages are available for all training offerings. For more information, please visit www.njafter3.org or contact Kiran Gaudioso, Vice President of Program Operations, at kgaudioso@njafter3.org or 201-341-1361.
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