Trainings for ExpandED Schools Partner Sites
ExpandED Schools provides engaging, effective professional development for schools and community organizations on the following topics:
- Program Quality Development
- Staff Fundamentals
- Social-Emotional Learning
- STEM
- Literacy
These training are intended for after-school program staff members — from front-line workers to supervisors of multiple ExpandED Schools programs serving elementary, middle, and high schools. These workshops are offered at no charge to staff serving in our ExpandED Schools Partner Sites as a benefit of your involvement.
If your program is not currently an ExpandED Schools Partner Site, you can still access our training for your staff for a nominal per-person fee. Register below.
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Fall 2021 Training
Videoconference: Family Engagement
Engaging families is a practice critical to the success of the students in your program! In this workshop, participants will learn strategies for meaningfully engaging families at their program site. Featured strategies will include creating a welcoming environment, building relationships with families, communicating with families through a family newsletter, and hosting family learning nights. Participants should expect to participate in a rich learning community, and to leave with a variety of resources for increasing family engagement at their sites.
- Wednesday, October 6, 2021 10:00am-12:00pm
Facilitator: Kaychell English
Videoconference: Introduction to YouthServices.net
In this webinar, participants will learn about the YouthServices.net database management system used to collect enrollment/attendance data for internal/external review and research purposes. Attendees will learn to utilize the system functions, manage and interpret the data to make programmatic decisions, and discover ways to accurately reflect program schedules. This training will ultimately prepare users with the necessary skills to navigate efficiently through the system and manage their program data effectively.
Facilitator: Mark Herreros
Videoconference: Relationship Building with Youth
The number, consistency, and intensity of positive relationships in young people’s lives are linked with a range of positive academic, social, and emotional outcomes. This workshop will evaluate the factors that lead to and best practices for nurturing sustainable, positive relationships with students and explore how communication directly affects student behavior. Using the Search Institute’s Developmental Relationships framework, participants will explore strategies for building, sustaining, and repairing relationships. Attendees will also explore the skills and strategies that can help you better communicate and get through to your students. We will present tools and techniques to positively redirect negative behavior and will provide opportunities to practice reframing our language to be more impactful and effective.
Facilitator: Alex De La Cruz and Tiffany Perry
Videoconference: Identifying and Supporting Multilingual Learners (K-8)
Who are the Multilingual Learners and how can you support them? This workshop will teach you how English Language Learners are identified in NYC and how you can support them. Come learn how diverse their background is and some important concepts of second language acquisition. This workshop is designed for educators who serve English Language Learners and want to be better prepared to support their unique learning needs.
Facilitator: Adriana Oliveira
Videoconference: Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Programs 101
In part one of this series, participants will be introduced to key elements of culturally responsive pedagogy while reflecting on the impact of their own cultural lenses.
Facilitator: Tarilyn Little
Videoconference: Working with Students with Special Needs
What do you do when you find out a child in your program has an IEP or a paraprofessional during the school day? Activities in this workshop will cover brain differences, Individualized Education Plans (IEP’s), and the types of disability classifications. We’ll also practice making accommodations together so you can best support a child with special needs in your program.
Facilitator: Tiffany Perry and Anyela Duarte
Videoconference: Ages and Stages of Youth Development (K-5)
In order to effectively support and work with young people in after-school spaces, we must understand their needs. During this session, participants will explore factors that affect how youth develop, discuss physical, cognitive, emotional, and psychological changes and needs at different stages, and identify practices for supporting positive youth development in their programs.
Facilitator: Tarilyn Little
Videoconference: Introduction to Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Frameworks (K-12)
What is an SEL framework and how can we incorporate SEL into afterschool? In this session, we reflect on our understanding of social and emotional learning, and build connections to emotional competencies and social skills. We will take a deep dive into the CASEL framework to better understand the five core social and emotional competencies. And lastly, we will build individualized plans to integrate SEL practices into your after school activities.
Facilitator: Monia Salam
Videoconference: Anti-Racism in Afterschool
In this workshop, we will explore the various ways that racism manifests in educational spaces and the impact on childhood wellness. We will also explore considerations for creating an antiracist afterschool space through the environment, policies, practices, and curriculum.
Facilitator: Tarilyn Little
Videoconference: STEM Support for Site Directors and Education Specialists
Wondering what you can do to support your staff charged with leading STEM activities? Feel like you already offer programmatic support to staff, but want to incorporate some STEM-specific coaching? Join us for this STEM support workshop! We’ll cover how to find STEM resources that can support your staff in implementing highly-engaging STEM activities. We’ll also talk about how to work with staff to prepare for successful STEM lessons, including planning time and logistical needs. Finally, we’ll focus on one of your most powerful tools as a supervisor: observation and coaching. How can you bring a STEM lens to the feedback and coaching you offer your staff?
Facilitator: Fran Agnone and Antoineta Meekins
Videoconference: Ages and Stages of Youth Development (6-8)
In order to effectively support and work with young people in after-school spaces, we must understand their needs. During this session, participants will explore factors that affect how youth develop, discuss physical, cognitive, emotional, and psychological changes and needs at different stages, and identify practices for supporting positive youth development in their programs.
Facilitator: Tarilyn Little
Videoconference: Teaching with Kahoot (2-8)
Who said that learning couldn’t be fun? This workshop will teach you how to use Kahoot to create online games that increase engagement and learning. Participants will learn how to create games aligned with learning goals. You will also learn how those games can improve student learning and boost literacy skills. This workshop is designed for educators who want to be better prepared to use technology in in-person classes and meet the needs of students in remote or hybrid learning environments.
Facilitator: Adriana Oliveira
Videoconference: Planning for the Future: Guiding Students and Families through applying to High School (6-8)
During this session, we will share how to guide students and families through the High School application process. Together, we will navigate myschools.nyc and learn about how its different features can support students and families build their high school choice list. We will share a breakdown of different high schools across NYC and step by step to applying to these schools. Furthermore, we will discuss strategies to support multilingual families through this process.
Facilitator: Monia Salam
Videoconference: Conflict Resolution and De-escalation
The ability to intervene in and resolve conflict effectively is critical to maintaining after-school spaces that are physically, mentally, and emotionally safe and empowering for youth participants. In this session, Youth Development Workers will explore the sources and stages of conflict cycles when working with youth, strategies for intervening in the cycle before it escalates, and steps for de-escalation when a young person has reached a state of crisis. Youth Development Workers will also practice engaging youth in coaching conversations to foster problem-solving and self-regulation skills.
Facilitator: Tarilyn Little
Videoconference: Engineering Design Challenges
Looking for fun, hands-on STEM lessons that support middle schoolers in planning, building, and testing their own designs? Join ExpandED Schools for an exciting workshop exploring design-based learning, the engineering design process, and strategies to get kids moving, thinking and building during STEM activities in afterschool. Participants will leave with over 60 design challenge lesson plans that connect school-day science content with youth development practices, useful strategies to improve the quality of STEM instruction, and handy materials lists that make sourcing STEM supplies less challenging. Ready, set, engineer! Note: These design challenge activities are intended for middle school students. However, some may be modified to serve a broader audience.
Facilitator: Fran Agnone and Antoineta Meekins
Videoconference: Creating a Virtual CS Experience for Remote Learners
Are you wondering how to engage remote learners in Computer Science programming? In this session, participants will be introduced to Computer Science fundamentals and 21st-century skills by participating in computational thinking activities. Participants will use Scratch, a free visual programming language. Attendees will also be introduced to the Creative Computing curriculum and learn best practices in technology management.
Facilitator: Steve Roberts
Videoconference: Trauma-Informed and Healing-Centered Practice
Trauma can have different meanings for different people. What one person may see as a minor event may be a major trigger for another. After all, we only have our own set of experiences to draw upon to make judgments. In this workshop, we will discuss the impact of stress and trauma on children and youth, as well as practices for creating safe, supportive and healing-centered programs. We will also cover stress-management and regulation strategies for youth workers.
Facilitator: Tarilyn Little
Videoconference: CS 101: Introduction to Computer Science
CS:101 is the perfect starting point for introducing computation at your program site. This workshop offers attendees examples of computer science and computational thinking activities and resources to engage students. Attendees will also be introduced to the Creative Computing curriculum and learn best practices in technology management.
Facilitator: Steve Roberts
Videoconference: Engineering Design Challenges 102
Looking to spice up your STEM lessons to support middle schoolers in planning, building, and testing their own designs? Join ExpandED Schools for a fun workshop exploring design-based learning and strategies to get kids to own their learning during STEM activities in afterschool. This course is best designed for educators who have some STEM teaching experience and who are looking for new strategies to engage youth. Participants will leave with over 60 design challenge lesson plans that connect school-day science content with youth development practices, useful strategies to improve the quality of STEM instruction, and handy materials lists that make sourcing STEM supplies less challenging. Let’s get building! Note: These design challenge activities are intended for middle school students. However, some may be modified to serve a broader audience.
Facilitator: Fran Agnone and Antoineta Meekins
Videoconference: Planning and Delivering Online Instruction
Are you confident about planning and delivering online instruction? This workshop will teach you the basics about remote teaching. It will explore distance education history, available online tools, online engagement and other elements to consider when switching to online instruction. This workshop is designed for educators who want to be better prepared to use technology in remote or hybrid learning environments.
Facilitator: Adriana Oliveira
