Upcoming Events:

June 29 - July 2
Real World Learning: For The Global Child
MICROSOCIETY
The MICROSOCIETY conference offers opportunities for educational leaders and after-school directors who understand how real-world connections impact the motivation to learn. Attendees will participate in a hands-on learning experience with a site visit to Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School.

June 29 - July 2
Creating Peaceable Schools and Communities: Supporting Leadership for Hope & Justice
Peaceable Schools Institute
The Peaceable Schools and Communities Summer Institute is for educators, activists, administrators and others concerned with social justice, education, and peace-building. It offers knowledge, tools and relationships to build communities of inclusion and equity.

July 8 - 10
Educating Minds and Hearts: Summer Institute 2008
Center for Social & Emotional Education
This three-day institute is designed to support school teams and individuals developing school climate improvement plans to promote safe and civil schools that support positive youth development, democratic school communities, student learning and achievement.

July 10
National Summer Learning Day
The John Hopkins Center for Summer Learning
The day will feature over 300 events nationwide, including a major policy event in Washington, DC, where summer learning leaders from around the country will come to make the case for increased federal investment in summer learning programs. The first ever "Champions of Summer Learning" will go to three policymakers who have made summer learning a policy priority.

July 10 - 12
Putting the World into World-Class Education
Asia Society
Educators, decision-makers and thought-leaders from across the country will attend this national forum on the leading policy innovations and best practices that will advance international knowledge and skills as an essential component of a rigorous 21st century education.

July 12
Young Women's Day: Health & Fitness Expo
You Go Girl Go
This event will raise health awareness through fitness workshops and showcase young women who are successful and making a difference in life, career, community, and school. Young Women's Day will also be a source of information and community resources for young women.

July 14 - 17
NIOST 2008 Summer Seminars
National Institute on Out-of-School Time
Trainings will prepare attendees to provide technical assistance to after-school programs working on quality improvement. The seminars will cover skills of observation, analysis and problem-solving to assess and counsel programs.

July 15 - 17
21st CCLC Summer Institute
The U.S. Department of Education; Charles Stewart Mott Foundation; JCPenney Afterschool Fund
This annual conference will concentrate on a diverse set of topics such as embedding core academic content (math, literacy, and science) into after-school activities and using data to analyze program progress toward improving student academic outcomes.

July 15 - 17
Make Practice Perfect! Train the Trainers Summer Institute 2008
University of Pittsburgh
The conference will help attendees identify their place in the continuum of professional development as a trainer. Workshops will help trainers develop and transform training techniques to improve trainee job performance by increasing transfer of knowledge and skills directly and accurately into the practice setting.

July 19 - 23
SNE 2008 Celebrating Food, Family & Cultures
Society for Nutrition Education (SNE)
SNE is dedicated to promoting healthy, sustainable food choices and has a vision to be recognized as the premier organization for food and nutrition education professionals. SNE provides forums for sharing innovative strategies for nutrition education, expressing a range of views on important issues, and disseminating research findings.

July 21 - 23
Service Learning: A Strategy for Keeping Youth in School
The Institute for Global Education and Service Learning
The Institute, in collaboration with the National Dropout Prevention Center, will host a three-day institute that will reinforce principles of high quality effective service-learning, help educators understand the dropout crisis, explore how service-learning promotes positive youth development and prevents dropouts, and allow participants to choose a model of service-learning to investigate.

August 11 - 13
Multiple Cultures, Multiple Voices: Preparing Diverse Learners in the Era of Globalization
The Center for Schools & Communities
This three-day conference will offer research-based tools, strategies and resources to strengthen and support the academic and career success of English Language Learners through education preparation and instruction, workforce and P-16 transitions and supports and partnership development.
















Bonobos and Bonjours: Authors Featured at Literacy Conference

More than 70 people attended the annual TASC Masters of Literacy (TML) End-of-Year Conference at Barnes & Noble/Lincoln Center to present their after-school program special projects. TML participants create programming that makes literacy enjoyable for kids. Two families presented books they wrote and published with their kids during a Saturday morning book-making project hosted by the Committee for Hispanic Children & Families after-school program at PS/IS 279 in the Bronx. Professional authors Leslie Kimmelman, Mathea Levine and TASC's own Hopi Morton read from their books and talked about the process of writing children's literature.

From star chefs (Mario Batali) to astrophysicists (Neil deGrasse Tyson), great achievers share memories of what they did after school in the TASC 2007-2008 Annual Report. In the young lives of these highly accomplished women and men, their development didn't stop at 3 PM. Learn about their Tom Sawyer-ish adventures and intellectual and creative awakenings. Catch up on one of the most transformative public-private initiatives in New York City history, which helped grow public funding for daily after-school programs from $60 million to $295 million over ten years, and helped expand the number of kids served annually from 10,000 to 140,000. Visit the TASC Web site.



LEGISLATIVE WATCH
New York City
By law, the New York City budget must be adopted by July 1. At press time a budget agreement had not been reached. The City Council and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg are continuing to negotiate, with many critical restorations of services for kids and families, including after-school programs and Beacons, hanging in the balance. Both sides continue to meet daily at City Hall.

New York State
The New York State Afterschool Network (NYSAN) has published a new policy brief that offers recommendations for a strong statewide after-school system. "Afterschool Funding in New York State: The Case for a More Coordinated System" explores New York's diverse funding landscape and provides detailed information about each funding program. It highlights remaining needs and existing barriers to improving after-school programs. To read the brief, visit the NYSAN Web site.

The New York State Education Department is surveying parents, community partners, school administrators and teachers on social and emotional development practices in their schools and districts. TASC encourages parents and community partners to help strengthen these practices by responding to this 10-minute survey before June 30. To participate, visit the NYSED Web site.







FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Lodestar Foundation Collaboration Prize
Deadline: July 21
The Collaboration Prize recognizes collaborations among two or more nonprofit organizations that would otherwise provide the same or similar programs or services and compete for clients, financial resources and staff. The program also seeks to build an information base of effective practice models that can be studied and used by academics, nonprofit leaders and grant makers to inspire and advance their work. For more information, visit the Youth Funders Database.

The Open Meadows Foundation Grants
Deadline: August 15
The Foundation is led by and benefits women and girls, offering grants to projects that are designed and implemented by women and girls, reflect the diversity of the community served by the project and promote community power as well as racial, social, economic, and environmental justice. For more information, visit the Youth Funders Database.

Weed and Seed Communities Competitive Program Grant
Deadline: August 19
The Weed and Seed initiative is a community-based, comprehensive multi-agency approach to law enforcement, crime prevention, and neighborhood restoration and is designed for neighborhoods with persistent high levels of serious crime and corresponding social problems. For more information, visit the Youth Funders Database.

Ezra Jack Keats Minigrant Program
Deadline: September 15
The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation uses royalties from the author to support programs helpful to humanity. Sample creative projects include ongoing pen-pal projects bringing disparate communities together, book-making and the creation and performance of puppet shows. For more information, visit the Youth Funders Database.

Seeds for Education Grant Program
Deadline: November 15
Project goals should focus on the enhancement and development of an appreciation for nature using native plants. Creativity in design is encouraged but must show complete and thoughtful planning. The use of and teaching about native plants and the native plant community is mandatory and must be appropriate to the local eco-region and site conditions (soil, water, sunlight). For more information, visit the Youth Funders Database.







RESOURCES
Discounted Financial Management Courses for TASC eNews Subscribers
Fiscal Management Associates is offering current and former TASC grantees and subscribers to this newsletter discounted rates of up to 25 percent for summer courses. The courses, Audit Management and Preparing Financial Statements and Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professionals are intended to bolster the fiscal management capacity of nonprofit organizations. Register online at the FMA Institute Web site. To take advantage of the special TASC rate, select "Yes" to register with a special promotion and enter this TASC promotion code: TASCF08. For details on this offer or questions, contact Stu Cohen at (212) 931-9134.

More Time for Learning: ELT Initiatives & Enrichment Opportunities
A new policy brief from The Collaborative for Building After-School Systems (CBASS) explores Expanded Learning Time (ELT) initiatives, a school reform strategy that lengthens the traditional school day or year to increase learning time. The brief describes the momentum of various ELT initiatives around the country, identifies differences between ELT and traditional after-school programs, and calls for policymakers to explore how ELT might serve as an opportunity to strengthen connections between school and after-school systems. For more information and to download the full brief, visit the CBASS Web site. To read about TASC's Expanded Learning Time/New York City project, visit the TASC Web site.

Strengthening Out-of-School Programs in Rural Communities
A new Child Trends report highlights the challenges faced by rural programs and suggests several strategies that can strengthen them. The report proposes five key strategies for obtaining resources for rural out-of-school programs including increasing the number of trained staff members and using existing volunteer organizations to recruit staff. For more information and to download the full report, visit the Child Trends Web site.

American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) OST Forum Brief
This April event was the second in a three-part forum series, sponsored by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, examining capacity-building efforts in OST programs with a focus on New York City's 2005 OST initiative. The forum highlighted the city's efforts to build program capacity, results from the second year of a longitudinal evaluation, and a ground-level perspective on how the OST initiative is helping improve local programs. For a full recap of the day's events and to download the presentations, visit the AYPF Web site.

Imagine: Afterschool Space that Works
A brief by the New Jersey School-Age Care Coalition (NJSACC) encourages after-school professionals to "think differently" about the spaces in which they work and to invest time and resources in creating attractive, exciting and more effective after-school environments. For more information and to download the brief, visit the NJSACC Web site.

Immersion Presents Ocean Exploration
Immersion Presents is a multimedia program designed for formal and informal settings that engages young people in the excitement and adventure of ocean exploration. Founded by oceanographer Dr. Robert Ballard, Immersion Presents broadcasts live expeditions from places like the Black Sea and the site of the Titanic wreckage. Use of the Web site is free and curriculum can be purchased separately. For more information, visit the SEDL Web site.







JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Program Officer
Location: New York, NY
The After-School Corporation

Director of Development
Location: New York, NY
The After-School Corporation

After-School Director
Location: New York, NY
New York Foundling Hospital

After-School Program Coordinator
Location: New York, NY
Hudson Guild

After-School Specialist
Location: New York, NY
Hunter College Elementary

School Age Coordinator, Dunlevy Milbank
Location: New York, NY
The Children's Aid Society

Have a job to advertise in our eNewsletter? Email info@tascorp.org. Please visit the TASC Web site for all of TASC's job opportunities.



PRACTICE
Fiscal Tips for Your Program's Year-End

As after-school programs reach the end of the school year (and for many, the fiscal year), here are end-of-year tips for smart fiscal practice.

1) Compare budgeted expenses to actual expenditures for each program, with an eye toward significant differences.

2) Be sure to accrue all the expenses you can before the end of this fiscal year, including items for which you have not yet paid. This will help maximize use of funds that are available this year, and avoid having this year's expenses count against next year's budget.

3) Submit your expense payment requests to funders as soon as possible. Not only will this assist with your cash flow needs, it will help each funder to close out its fiscal year and start focusing on next year's awards.

4) Review this year's spending and expenses in preparation for creating or adjusting your budget for the upcoming program or fiscal year. Be sure to budget for salary increases, and if you pay for food or fuel, prepare for rising costs.

If think your fiscal staff might benefit from additional training, see the Resources section above for discounted offerings from Fiscal Management Associates.