Go Volunteer Before Brunch
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Last month, I had the opportunity to volunteer with a few of my friends at the Laboratory School of Finance and Technology (MS/HS 223) in the Bronx. We spent Saturday morning eating too many donut holes and writing cards of encouragement to the high school's incoming seniors. Read full post
From Meeting to Impact: How a Funder Offered a New Path for STEM Education
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
What happens when a foundation offers a one-year, $25,000 grant to a network of STEM educators and leaders? It shouldn’t be surprising that the answer is: innovation. Read full post
From the Mouths of Sixth Graders
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
When we sent notes to more than 150 Bronx sixth graders welcoming them to middle school, we hoped the collective words of advice and reflections – submitted by people from all over the country and even around the world – would be well received. As it turned out, several of the teachers at the school used the notes as part of a lesson on letter writing. And much to our surprise, a giant envelope recently arrived here in the ExpandED Schools office filled with students’ responses – about one hundred hand-written letters addressed to the people who had first written to them. Read full post
Cultivating Passion to Create Pathways
Thursday, October 13, 2016
ExpandED Schools recently launched a new initiative in partnership with NYC Men Teach and the Expanded Success Initiative (ESI). Utilizing expanded learning programs in three boroughs as labs for learning best practices related to classroom management and instruction, the ExpandED Schools Pathways Fellowship is a 10-month program designed to bring in, support, train and guide passionate men of color (Fellows) who are looking for pathways into teaching or youth development careers. Read full post
Grant From the New York Life Foundation Will Support SEL in ExpandED Schools
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Thanks to a three-year, $1 million grant from the New York Life Foundation, we are launching an initiative to support social-emotional learning (SEL) programs across the expanded school day, recognizing the importance of collaboration between schools and their community partners in helping students reach their highest potential. Read full post
Design2Learn: Tapping STEM Educators' Imaginations
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Design2Learn officially kicked off in August, when science teachers and after-school educators attended a week-long Summer Institute held at the New York Hall of Science. Putting on their “student hats” for the first portion of the week, educators experienced a variety of design challenges first hand – from catapults to water filters – and learned by doing, as their students will. Upon completing a crane made of simple machines, one participant reported, “I feel like a mini-engineer!” The training emphasized the New York Hall of Science’s Design-Make-Play philosophy, and educators could certainly be seen at play. A highlight for those of us on the sidelines was watching twenty adults attempt to balance a giant seesaw (or lever, as it is known in science-speak) in the Hall’s science playground. Read full post
Ourselves as Young Readers: Staff Round-Up | LiteracyConnections
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Ready Readers recently held a literacy institute for more than 75 after-school program directors, education specialists, teachers and community. One of the day's activities was having participants recreate themselves as young readers using art materials.This activity was so fun, we decided to ask our own ExpandED Schools staff to describe themselves as young readers. Enjoy these reflections!
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More Than Just Fun: Learning Through Play | SELConnections
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Are play and recreation a vital component of the educational experience? Neuroscience says so. A recent article in The Atlantic entitled “Learning Through Play” reports on the return of recreation time in the school day in response to the growing body of evidence that play is crucial to learning, and notes the work being done to improve the quality of structured play in educational settings. Read full post
The Key to Keeping Kids Active? Get Creative! | Dear Rashida
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Dear Rashida,
Even though fall starts this week, the weather is still warm and summer vacation play still fresh in the minds of our students. How can my program incorporate a healthy amount of physical fitness opportunities, especially with our limited recreation space? Read full post
Register Today! Announcing Upcoming Fall Professional Development Opportunities
Friday, September 16, 2016
With the start of school and out-of-school-time programs, ExpandED Schools is excited to announce that our Centralized Professional Development fall opportunities are now open for registration! Read full post
