Plan your staff meetings with Afterschool Style in Practice: 25 Skill-Building Meetings for Staff.

Committing to Staff

Support Your Greatest Resource

Improving quality is much easier with the right people in place. Yet high staff turnover remains a challenge in many programs.

Research shows* that people stay involved with afterschool when they can see they make a genuine difference in the lives of children and youth and can also see opportunities to advance their careers.

The Center for Afterschool Education promotes the concept of afterschool as an additional educational space, a valuable contributor to children’s learning and healthy development. As such, afterschool educators should be able to connect with career lattices that link with jobs and careers in:

• K-12 and higher education 
• Psychology 
• Social work 
• Youth development 
• The arts 
• Museum education 
• Outdoor education and recreation 
• Other related fields
  

Help reduce attrition and increase quality by committing to the development of your staff. Build their skills and expand their awareness through professional development, whether onsite and internal or off-site. Provide opportunities for staff to connect with the wider field of afterschool. For younger staff, encourage college coursework to deepen skills and professional growth.

*From the study “Understanding the Afterschool Workforce: Opportunities and Challenges for an Emerging Profession” by Christine Schmidt and Patty Cole by the National Afterschool Association. Funded by Cornerstones for Kids. http://www.naab.org

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