CAN Newsletter – Celebrating Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week!
April 22, 2025
Afterschool professionals do more than supervise — they inspire, empower, and change lives. Every young person deserves access to high-quality afterschool experiences that nurture their growth, ignite their curiosity, and help them thrive. Behind every impactful program is a dedicated Afterschool Professional — a mentor, educator, and advocate committed to supporting youth beyond the school day.
Join us in celebrating Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week (APAW), April 21–25, 2025! Led by the National Afterschool Association (NAA), APAW is a special week to honor and elevate the individuals who play a vital role in the lives of young people during out-of-school time.
Here are some ideas to show your appreciation to the 850,000+ professionals making a difference everyday:
- Declare on social media: “Research shows that Afterschool professionals make a profound difference in the lives of young people. #heartofafterschool”
- Give a hand-written card from you and/or your child to the afterschool professionals you know.
- Send an email to an afterschool professional’s supervisor describing why that person is appreciated.
- Make healthy or non-food treats for the staff at your afterschool program.
- For more resources and information, check out the NAA website.
Thank you for all that you do to support our youth! This week we celebrate YOU: the Heart of Afterschool!
In This Newsletter:
ExL Ecosystem Plan Strategic Design
March 2025 Virtual Kick-off Recap
“Move at the speed of trust. Focus on critical
connections more than critical mass — build the resilience by
building the relationships.”
— adrienne
maree brown, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing
Worlds
Co-creating futures that reflect the many forms of whole child, family, and community wellness is at the heart of The Ecosystem Plan ExL Strategic Design process. The collective wisdom, dreams, grief, struggles, and hopes expressed throughout this journey form a powerful force of interdependence—helping us grow, stay grounded, and act with purpose.
In March, we officially welcomed the broader youth-serving ecosystem into this work through our Strategic Design Virtual Kickoff. This gathering celebrated expanded learning as a vital partner in advancing whole child, family, and community wellness. It was a space where critical connections were nurtured—across experience levels, sectors, and relationships: from youth and adult, to colleague and colleague, organization to organization, and system to system.
The Spring 2025 ELO-P Academy Continues This Week!
April 22 & 23, 2025
The California AfterSchool Network, in partnership with the California Department of Education’s Expanded Learning Division, is excited to co-host the Spring 2025 Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P) Academy. This multi-day virtual convening of workshops is provided to support our District, School, and Community Partner practitioners with the design and continued implementation of the CA Expanded Learning Opportunities Program.
Register for ELO-P Office Hours – Spring 2025
March - May 2025
The California AfterSchool Network (CAN), in partnership with the California Department of Education (CDE) Expanded Learning Division (EXLD) and other members of the System of Support for Expanded Learning, is excited to co-host Spring ELO-P Office Hours!
Office Hour Dates & Registration
Select Fridays from 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM:
- March 7, 2025 – This session has passed.
- April 4, 2025 - This session has passed.
- April 25. 2025 - This session was canceled.
- May 9, 2025
Connect with CAN at BOOST 2025 ☀️
April 29 - May 2, 2025 in Palm Springs, CA
We are excited to see you
at BOOST! The annual BOOST
Conference is the largest, most recognized, and
comprehensive global convening for after school, Expanded
Learning, and in and out-of-school time professionals.
CAN proudly supports the BOOST Conference as a Workshop Strand sponsor; we participate with an Exhibitor Booth and host a Cabana! We are excited to connect and engage with BOOSTers in sunny Palm Springs, CA, to Inspire Youth. Inspire Learning. Inspire Change.
The 2025 Lights On Afterschool Poster Contest is Open!
Deadline: June 30, 2025
The Lights On Afterschool poster contest is officially open! They are looking for any artwork that represents the spirit of afterschool programs. The winning submission will be awarded $500 and will have their design printed on more than 50,000 posters and displayed at more than 8,000 Lights on Afterschool events across the nation.
Become a Teach Engineering Champion
Applications close on April 30, 2025
Calling all STEM educators! Are you passionate about bringing hands-on engineering experiences to your students and community? The Teach Engineering Champions Institute (TECI) is looking for dedicated educators who want to lead, mentor, and advocate for STEM education. This is your chance to elevate your impact and help shape the future of engineering education.
Seasons of Computer Science
Registration NOW OPEN for Spring & Summer Workshops
Seasons of CS is a research-backed professional learning program for teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, and counselors working in California public schools. It offers high-quality, no-cost professional development in computer science facilitated by subject matter experts. Participants gain access to resources aligned with the K–12 CS Standards and become part of a supportive community of educators passionate about teaching CS. Participants also receive a daily stipend for active participation to honor their time and commitment.
Registration is NOW OPEN for Spring & Summer workshops!
Meet the CAN Team!
Social Media Campaign
The CAN team has grown over the last year and we want to highlight all of our amazing new (and existing) team members! We have started a campaign to showcase our team where you can learn a little more about our paths that have led us to CAN!
Check out the posts on our social media pages:
Check Out Our Other Newsletters!
Access the CAN newsletter archives to view past newsletters today! You may be interested in some of our other newsletters as well:
CAN Health and Wellness Newsletters
- Get informed on the connections between afterschool and Whole Child Health and Wellness.
- Subscribe today!
CAN STEAM Newsletters
- Get informed about the Million Girl Moonshot project and access other STEAM resources.
- Subscribe today!
CAN Policy Newsletter
- Get informed about policy-related content, including national, state, and local updates, that supports our Expanded Learning programs.
- Subscribe today!