In this section:

After School Leaders

Community Opportunities

Job Bank

^{Tips and Activities}

Links

College and Career Readiness

Parent Resources

Welcome Parents!

You have taken the first step in identifying quality after-school programs in your area. The Afterschool zone provides you with resources and information on after-school services, programs, and activities that engage students and allow more learning to take place in the day.

After-school programs offer:

Academic support

Science and technology education

Enrichment programs

Character education

Community service

*Activities and programs are customized by each center and may vary accordingly.

What to look for in an after-school program?

http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/myCommunityLook.cfm

Talking with Kids About Tragedy and Death

Talking to Children about Violence

Helping Children Cope with Tragedy- Tips for Teachers & Parents

Managing Strong Emotional Reactions to Traumatic Events

Tips for Selecting a Quality After-School Program from HCDE's CASE for Kids

CASE for Kids offers these guidelines for selecting a quality after-school provider:

1. The program should have a formal sign in and out procedure to assure students are safe.

2. Review the program schedule to ensure students are offered a balance between academic and enrichment activities.

3. Ask how the program screens and trains staff. The better trained and qualified the staff, the better learning environment for your child.

4. Does the program utilize volunteers, community partners or field experts? Your child will thrive in activities led by community partners with a passion for what they do.

5. Learn how the program shares information with you about your children and their activities. Decades of research shows that students flourish when parents remain active in their child’s education.

Your involvement is important!

Ten Tips for Parents to Get Involved at School

Your involvement as a parent is important because of who you are, not what you know.

Home is the best place to start being an involved parent, ask about your child(ren)’s day.

Look for parenting support groups or parenting classes that can be helpful to you in engaging in your child’s education.

Know your child(ren)’s teacher and attend parent –teacher conferences.

Communicate with your child(ren)’s teacher about grades and expectations.

Find out what your child(ren) is/are learning. Sit with your child while he or she does homework.

Ask about after-school programs and how they can help your child(ren) learn a new skill or explore an interest like music or sports.

Look for after-school activities that can enhance your child(ren)’s academic success.

Attend school activities and if possible make time to volunteer.

Remember that you don’t have to know all the answers when it comes to school. It’s more important that you get the answers about your child(ren)’s education.

Five Steps to Positive Parenting

With so much conflicting information about parenting, how do you know what's best and what works? Triple P - Positive Parenting Program has 30 years' research to back it up. These are the five proven steps to a better family life.

1. Create a safe, interesting environment

Children need to play, explore and investigate their world, so remove potential dangers from your home, teach basic safety and provide lots of interesting things to keep children busy.

2. Have a positive learning environment

When your child comes to you for help or to talk, they're ready to learn. Give them positive attention, even if only for a minute or so.

3. Use assertive discipline

Children do best in a predictable, stable environment, so set clear rules and boundaries and follow through with appropriate consequences. Encourage behaviour you like with lots of praise.

4. Have realistic expectations

Nobody's perfect - children or adults - so don't expect your child to do more than they're capable of. And remember, all parents struggle from time to time.

5. Take care of yourself as a parent

It's all about balance. You've got to look after your own needs too, so make sure you're getting some support, time with friends, fun and maybe even a little time to yourself!

Click here for printable PDF of the Five Steps to Positive Parenting.

Find out more: www.triplep-parenting.net

Free Resources to Families!

Pinterest Parent Workshop Board

Educational Resources and Links

From www.attendanceworks.org:

Attendance Works - Elementary (English)

Attendance Works - Elementary (Spanish)

Attendance Works - Secondary (English)

Attendance Works - Secondary (Spanish)

From www.ismychildready.org:

"Is My Child Ready?" campaign - helps parents understand and use STAAR as an indicator of post-secondary readiness, and to empower parents with key facts and questions to ask their schools. To get three questions to ask your school about your child's STAAR test results, visit www.ismychildready.org today.