Georgia School Age Care Association

Georgia School Age
Care Association

Education & Professionals Programs

For over two decades, GSACA has been improving the quality of out of school time statewide by providing professional development, technical and financial assistance and networking opportunities to directors and staff, school administrators, community leaders and more.

Our professional development efforts are primarily targeted through community based trainings, intensive technical assistance offered in the field directly to program staff for quality improvement and accreditation support, mini-grants and the development and support of school age credential programs.

As the field comes to agreement on what quality looks like, and as increasingly sophisticated research confirms the link between high quality programs and improvements in youth outcomes, we have an important opportunity to provide practitioners with concrete tools and supports to improve their programs.

Nicole Yohalem, Program Director
The Forum for Youth Investment

Technical Assistance

(in development)

Mini-Grants

(in development)

Training

For over two decades, GSACA has been the leader in providing interactive, research based training statewide to directors and staff, school administrators, community leaders and others committed to providing high quality after school programs for children and youth in Georgia.

All of our training is available upon request. Training events can be requested at any time and can be provided in a broad range of settings, to a range of attendees depending on resource availability and ideal participation size. Many of our curricula are State approved and can therefore provide the necessary annual staff training required to meet Georgia licensure rules.

Following is a sample of a few of our trainings:

Introduction to Quality – A Beginner’s Look at Across-the-Board Program Improvement for School Age Care Programs – This training addresses the six areas of quality as outlined by the National AfterSchool Association and all seven competency areas outlined in the Professional Development Competencies set forth by The Georgia Child Care Training Approval System. (Provides the full annual 10 required hours of state mandated staff training.) *
The 3:00 Project – How to Implement a Quality After School Program for Middle School Youth. Interactive training curriculum to support the physical, social, emotional intellectual and spiritual development of the early adolescent. +
“Recipes for Success” – Nutrition and Physical Fitness developed by the California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program and available in both the standard training format as well as Train-The-Trainer
Designing your School-Age-Space
Homework Assistance in the School Age Care Program +
Laying the Foundation - Scheduling and Theme Planning +
Beg, Borrow & Bargain: Accessing Materials to Support Activities in School Age Care Programs

* Trainings approved by the Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL).
+ Trainings approved by the Department of Human Resources (DHR).

For a full listing of GSACA’s trainings as well as the specific State approved trainings, please click here.

If you have training needs you wish to have us help you with, please take a moment to complete our Training Needs Survey which will help us respond to your request as well as gauge the need for future curricula development!

Click here for GSACA Training Needs Questionnaire Description and Survey.

In addition to the training offered directly by GSACA staff, GSACA frequently supports community level professional development by hosting, and co-sponsoring statewide conferences and trainings or by offering nationally recognized trainings around specific topics.

During 2006, GSACA contracted with the California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program (CANFIT) to provide training in Nutrition and Physical Activity for school age programs. CANFIT is Their “Recipes for Success” Train-the-Trainer” curriculum was shared with ----professionals from ----- programs from several regions of the State.

Also, the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST), a nationally recognized expert in out-of-school time policy including quality standards and workforce development is routinely used by GSACA for training of our accreditation track and other programs. The NIOST “TeamsWork! On the Road to Program Improvement” training is their signature team building curriculum which GSACA uses to support our accreditation support projects. Thanks to the generous support of the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, GSACA is pleased to again be able to offer this training in 2007 for select programs from our new accreditation track/program improvement sites.

All of GSACA’s professional development is based on current trends in the field, best practice and feedback from programs. Please take a moment to complete our training need survey to help us better meet your future needs!

Click here for GSACA Training Needs Questionnaire Description and Survey.

Research and Policy Development

(in development)

Advocacy

(in development)