CAN Newsletter – Happy Holidays From CAN!
December 11, 2019

CAN Newsletter
Happy Holidays!

Be Kind to Yourself and Each Other This Holiday Season

We Look Forward to All That We Will Do Together in 2020

Last year, I shared what I learned with my children about the holiday season from watching Sesame Street. “It’s all about kindness.” As I sat to write my reflection this year, that theme remains particularly relevant. With that in mind, and In that spirit of giving this holiday season I’d like to share a song with you called, Be More Kind. Its lyrics remind us, “In a world that has decided that it’s going to lose its mind, be more kind my friends, try to be more kind.” On behalf of the CAN Staff and Leadership Team, thank you for all you do. What you do each and every day as your chosen career is itself an act of kindness in this world.

As you prepare to spend some special time with your friends and loved ones this holiday season, I hope you will give and receive kindness and I wish you a season filled with love, warmth, laughter, and togetherness. Most of all, I hope you will find time to be kind to yourself. We have important work to do in 2020, and we can’t do it without you.

As we close out 2019 and look to 2020, we are more than excited for all that we will do together, including:

  • Supporting your Continuous Quality Improvement through the release of a new Quality-Standards-Aligned Assessment Tool that integrates elements of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and includes a specific focus on equity, supported by a comprehensive Continuous Quality Improvement Guidebook, and Online Quality Assessment System.  
  • Advocating for you through our participation in the California Afterschool Advocacy Alliance and support/participation in the California Afterschool and Summer Challenge. As well as supporting your advocacy efforts through the release of new data tools (including a searchable database and GIS maps) of Expanded Learning Programs that can help you make the case on how your programs can positively impact your local communities in a variety of ways. 
  • Providing forums for you to learn and share with one another including Site Coordinator Expanded Learning Symposium, the Site Coordinator Network, and Expanded Learning Summits.
  • As a learning organization, we also practice continuous improvement. 2020 will be a year of deep reflection and planning as our current Theory of Change and Strategic Plan sunsets and we release a new Strategic Plan in 2020 to guide our work through 2023.

This is going to be another exciting year for CAN and there is much we will do together. Be kind to yourself and others this holiday season. You matter to us, and even more to the children, families, and communities that you make better through your daily work.

With gratitude,

Jeff Davis and the CAN staff 

In This Newsletter:

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Logo: California Department of Education

Important CDE Updates
December 2019

Important updates from the California Department of Education Expanded Learning Division (EXLD) regarding:

  • Important Due Dates
    • Annual Performance Report
    • Request for Applications Deadlines
    • Attendance Relief and Staff Development Day Credit Deadlines
    • First Semiannual Attendance Report & Second Quarter Expenditure Report Due
  • Resources
  • Upcoming Regional Events
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Tiffany Gipson, CAN's Program Director, Quality Initiatives and NAA Executive member

“Speaking Up is How I Show Up” ft. CAN’s Tiffany Gipson

“I chose to show up in every space as a black woman speaking up and fighting for all children, and explicitly black and brown children who have been marginalized by this system.”  Tiffany Gipson, CAN’s Program Director, Quality Initiatives and NAA Executive member, explains how equity means showing up and acting with love to support afterschool field practitioners and serve families and children. 

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power light

Rolling Black Out Guidance from CDE

Across California, communities are dealing with rolling black outs that impact our schools and expanded learning programs. In some communities without power, schools are staying open, leaving expanded learning programs questioning if they also need to remain open. Below is a frequently asked question that addresses what programs can do if they need to close due to natural disaster, civil unrest or if there is imminent danger to students or staff.

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Count all Kids for the 2020 Census

Once every 10 years, our nation undergoes the gargantuan task of “counting everyone, only once, and in the right place” known as our nation’s census. In the 2010 census, so many young children were missed that states collectively lost over half a billion dollars a year every year for the last decade.

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Classroom Planning

This Holiday Season, Plan for Summer!

Start planning for summer now! Now is the perfect time to start planning for your summer of learning! The Wallace Foundation’s Knowledge Center offers practical tools and resources to help districts run successful summer programs that make a difference for youth. By starting to plan now, you can help ensure strong logistics, better-prepared teachers and, ultimately, more successful experience for participating students. 

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Infographic

Seen, Heard, Reflected: A Look At California’s Teacher of Color Shortage

California needs more teachers of color. It’s not just because our student population is growing more diverse – nearly 75% of students in Transitional Kindergarten (TK) through 12th grade are students of color– it’s also because of the enormous benefits that teachers of color provide to their schools and communities.

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Tips & Tricking

#EvalHacks – Evaluation Made Easy!

Simple steps to enhance evaluation and learning in your organization

Evaluation can feel intimidating, especially when it comes to figuring out how to balance data collection, analysis, and learning with all of the other things you need to do in a day.

Public Profit’s new tip sheet, #EvalHacks, shares seven simple, low-cost (or free!) things that mission-driven organizations can do to enhance learning and evaluation.