Greetings YDEKC Members and Friends –
Even if the weather in March came in like a lion and is on track to go out like a lamb, our public policy here at home (and everywhere else in the country) is on a different path. Action is gearing up for Best Starts for Kids implementation, the (Seattle) Mayor’s Education Summit and the Legislature is back at it for an additional 30 days to hammer out a budget. Lots of opportunities to get involved. We look forward to seeing you in the community!
In Service,
Jessica
Executive Director, Youth Development Executives of King County
ydekc.org | jwerner@ydekc.org | 206.336.6912
Advocacy: Garnering systemic support of the youth development field
Hello to the YDEKC community! I started as your new Public Policy Manager on February 22nd and got quickly started with visits to Olympia, meetings with partner Coalitions and beginning to connect with our members. I will share high level information here in the Advocacy section of our monthly Field Notes. On occasion, you will be receiving advocacy alerts with targeted calls to action related to our 2016 Advocacy Agenda. Later this spring we will also be launching a more detailed Public Policy newsletter for our members (and friends on request). Please feel free to reach out to me, Rene at your convenience.
Washington State: Back in Session for a budget
The legislature is back at it for another 30 days since they couldn’t reach agreement on a budget deal. Still, some good news out of this session around support for youth experiencing homelessness is highlighted here by The Seattle Times.
King County: Best Starts for Kids Blog
Stay up-to-date with all things Best Starts with their new blog! Dates for Community Meetings have been set for the next month to test early implementation plans. The best way to learn about the calendar for these efforts is to sign up for the BSK email updates here.
Seattle Mayor’s Education Summit, April 30th
This spring, Mayor Ed Murray is asking the city to come together to put forward our best thinking on how we can ensure equity and excellence for each and every student in Seattle. The Mayor’s Education Summit is a community process designed to identify ways the City of Seattle can help address long-standing inequalities in our public school system. Community Conversations are taking place all over the city. Please visit www.seattle.gov/educationsummit to find a gathering near you. You can also leave your ideas about ways to improve educational opportunities for all children and youth in Seattle here.
Outcomes: Promoting common youth development outcomes
YDEKC continues to play a role in elevating motivation and engagement and social emotional learning in partnership with the Road Map Project and with and for our members. Much is happening in this space locally and nationally as recognition of the importance of the skills and dispositions that influence youth success grows.
Spring 2016 Youth Engagement, Motivation and Beliefs Survey:
This spring YDEKC is making our youth survey available to member programs that want to better understand the skills and dispositions of the young people they serve. The survey is in its fourth year, and currently includes 6 self-assessment domains: academic identity, future orientation, mindsets, self-management, interpersonal skills, and cultural identity (new optional module). It also features three program domains: program engagement and belonging, program impact on academic behaviors, and program impact on self-management skills. Both print and online versions are available. Visit our website for more background on our survey work; contact Sarah Terry (sterry@ydekc.org) for more information.
Survey from The Wallace Foundation
The Wallace Foundation is conducting market research to better understand the opinions of a broad range of field leaders and policymakers in K-12 public education and afterschool about trends relating to desired outcomes of K-12 education and afterschool programs. Your responses will be strictly confidential and not be attributed to you or your organization. To begin the survey, please click here.
Capacity Building: Increasing member capacity through professional development and networking opportunities
Science of Hope Conference, April 19-20
Coalescing for Change: The Science of Hope, April 19th and 20th at the Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center. Don’t miss out on early bird registration! With a mixture of deep-dive workshops & facilitated work sessions, the conference will focus on sparking meaningful dialogue and tactical next steps towards hope-filled action. We can’t wait to spend two days discussing the science, practice and heart of hope; getting inspired and working together to create enduring health equity. Location: Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center, located near the Washington SeaTac Airport.
2016 Washington State Nonprofit Conference: Designing Our Future, May 17
Revolutionize the way you accomplish your mission. Join us at the 2016 Washington State Nonprofit Conference to explore ways human centered design can connect people, transform programs and advance causes. YDEKC will be presenting! Don’t miss it. Register here.
Upcoming Professional Development trainings:
Seattle Public Schools’ Professional Development Calendar for Education Partners (registration links and full workshop descriptions, including workshop length and location, begin on page 3 of the calendar):
- March 19, 1pm – Strategies for Youth Voice: How can the arts help center youth voice and participation in your teaching practice? Register here.
- March 22, 10am – Continuous Improvement Using Data: Using data to inform your programmatic and youth serving decisions is a skillset that is very powerful for all community partners to continually develop. Register here.
- April 2, 1pm: Trauma Informed Practice: How can the arts support students who have experienced trauma? This workshop offers critical insights and personal experiences of Teaching Artists using a trauma-informed teaching practice. Participants will gain skills and techniques to build community in diverse classroom settings. Register here.
Job Opportunities
Boys & Girls Club of King County
The Boys & Girls Club of King County is hiring for the position of YouthForce Executive Director! YouthForce (YF) is the workforce development program at BGCKC dedicated leveling the professional playing field for underserved youth. The ED would oversee all operations of YouthForce, including program development, operations, marketing, outreach, integration into Boys & Girls Clubs of King County’s strategic growth, budget, grants, and administrative activities, ensuring the highest quality programs and service are provided to its members. Click here to learn more!
Youth Program Directory
The most comprehensive way to find engaging programs that support and enrich the lives of young people ages 5 – young adult.
Summer Program Updates
The Youth Program Directory is now gearing up for summer! If you are in the directory and have changes for any of your program listings, please email our data specialist partner (Elizabeth) at Crisis Clinic 211 at YouthProgramDirectory@crisisclinic.org with your updates/changes. If you know about your summer programs in particular, please ensure that all locations including school sites are listed correctly.
If you are NOT in the directory…List Your Program
Go to the “List Your Program” page and check to see if you meet the directory’s Eligibility Policy. Then please submit both the “Organization Info Form” once and the “Program Info Form” for EACH program that you offer. If one program has multiple sites, you can list all sites within one program listing.
Like Youth Program Directory On Facebook & Twitter!
Like the Youth Program Directory Page on Facebook here and follow us on Twitter @YPDKingCounty. We’ll be sure to keep you up to date on the latest programs and more! If your organization or program has a good news story that we can link to be spotlighted on our Facebook or Twitter, please email alopezdiaz@ydekc.org.
Thank you for continuing to work together to advance the youth development field. Hope to see you soon!
The YDEKC Team
Jessica Werner, Executive Director
Sarah Terry, Research & Evaluation Manager
Rene Murry, Public Policy Manager
Andrea Lopez-Diaz, Member Engagement & Communications
Youth Development Executives of King County (YDEKC) is a coalition of youth-serving organizations working together to improve outcomes for young people.