New Mexico Out-Of-School Time Network

TO CULTIVATE ENRICHING EXPERIENCES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH BEYOND THE SCHOOL DAY.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: NMOST HOSTED ITS 13TH ANNUAL FALL INTO PLACE CONFERENCE ON OCTOBER 26-27, 2023, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NM PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT (NM PED) ON THE DCPV360 VIRTUAL PLATFORM. THE CONFERENCE WAS A GREAT SUCCESS WITH 310 REGISTRANTS REPRESENTING THE OST FIELD, EDUCATION, GOVERNMENT, COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, AND YOUTH. THE EVENT INCLUDED THREE (3) PRE-CONFERENCES FOR 21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS, ARP ESSER IIII AND NEW AFTERSCHOOL SITES FUNDED WITH HB2 FUNDS. POLICY LEADERS SPEAKING INCLUDED AMANDA DEBELL, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF TEACHING, LEARNING, AND INNOVATION FOR NM PED AND NM LT. GOV. HOWIE MORALES. NMOST ESTABLISHED THE FIRST OST LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE IN NEW MEXICO INSTITUTE TO PROVIDE HIGH-QUALITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR EMERGING OST LEADERS WORKING IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. IN 2023, WE IMPLEMENTED A SERIES OF FREE VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS AVAILABLE TO ALL, WHILE RECRUITING FOR THE FIRST IN-PERSON INSTITUTE IN 2024 SINCE THE PANDEMIC. NMOST ALSO HOSTED AN EVENING RECEPTION FOR CHAMPIONS OF AFTERSCHOOL AND SUMMER LEARNING AT THE NATIONAL INDIAN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NATIONAL STATE AFTERSCHOOL NETWORKS AND THE CHARLES STEWART MOTT FOUNDATION. OUR NEWSLETTERS, WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA IS OUR MAIN STRATEGY TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO RESOURCES, AVAILABLE TRAINING, AND WORKSHOPS STATEWIDE AND NATIONALLY FOR OST PROVIDERS ACROSS THE STATE.

DATA AND MAPPING, TA AND HUNGER PREVENTION: NMOST IS UTILIZING DATA AND MAPPING TO STRATEGICALLY PLAN, ADVOCATE, AND CREATE TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE FOR YOUTH FROM ALL BACKGROUNDS IN NEW MEXICO. NMOST CREATES AND UPDATE OST STORY MAPS TO DOCUMENT BASELINE AND EXPANSION OF 21ST CCLC PROGRAMS, ARP ESSER III AND HB2 FUNDED PROGRAM SITES AS WELL AS STATEWIDE PROGRAMS PROVIDERS LIKE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB, YMCA AND 4H. THE MAPPING DATABASE AND INFOGRAPHICS WITH REAL-TIME DATA OVERLAYS SHOWCASE STATE AND FEDERALLY FUNDED PROGRAM SITES AGAINST A BACKDROP OF INDICATORS (POVERTY, JUVENILE JUSTICE REFERRALS, CHILD ABUSE, AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT). THROUGH OUR MAPPING PROJECT, NMOST HAS CHANGED THE PERCEPTION OF OST, LEADING TO INCREASED FUNDING FOR AND ACCESS TO AFTERSCHOOL AND SUMMER PROGRAMS. SINCE CONTRACTING WITH NM PED TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT FOR CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT OF ARP ESSER III FUNDED PROGRAMS, THE NMOST TEAM CONNECTED WITH OVER 50 OST SITES, INCLUDING BOTH LEAS AND CBOS, THROUGH BI-MONTHLY CALLS, VIRTUAL TA SESSIONS, AND SITE VISITS. THROUGH OUR HUNGER PREVENTION INITIATIVES AND PARTNERSHIPS WITH STATEWIDE ORGANIZATIONS, NMOST HAS EXPANDED FOOD ACCESS THROUGH OST PROGRAMS BY INCREASING THE NUMBER OF SITES PARTICIPATING IN THE CHILD AND ADULT FOOD CARE PROGRAM (CACFP).

STEM EDUCATION: NMOST STRIVE TO REACH MORE YOUTH WITH STEM LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES, ESPECIALLY GIRLS AND UNDER-REPRESENTED YOUTH IN NEW MEXICO. NMOST ALSO WORKS TO EQUIP OST PROGRAMS WITH TOOLS AND RESOURCES TO MEET OUR GOAL OF EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW MEXICO YOUTH TO LEARN ABOUT AND EXPERIENCE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION. THROUGH OUR STEM NEXT MILLION GIRLS MOONSHOT INITIATIVE WE SUPPORT AND INSPIRE MORE YOUNG WOMEN TO PURSUE A STEM EDUCATION AND CAREER THROUGH THE ADVANCING YOUNG WOMEN IN STEM SCHOLARSHIP AND RELATED EVENTS. SINCE 2018, NMOST HAS AWARDED 57 SCHOLARSHIPS TOTALING 42,500 TO YOUNG WOMEN PURSUING OR COMMITTED TO PURSUING A STEM DEGREE AND/OR STEM CAREER HELPING TO CLOSE THE GENDER GAP AND FILL THE PIPELINE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF HIGH-PAYING CAREERS. NMOST INITIATED THE NM STEM GENDER EQUITY COALITION WITH INDUSTRY PARTNERS AND OST PROVIDERS TO CREATE A SPACE TO SHARE AND DISCUSS LESSONS LEARNED, ACTIONABLE TOOLS AND STRATEGIES TO RECRUIT, EMPOWER AND RETAIN GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN IN STEM. NMOST DEVELOPED THE "12 PROMISING PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR ENGAGING GIRLS IN STEM THROUGH OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME" IN CONCERT WITH THE COALITION AND AN ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR OST PROVIDERS TO EVALUATE THEIR OWN CIRCUMSTANCES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE 12 CATEGORIES.

COMMUNICATION: NMOST ENGAGED OST PROVIDERS, 21ST CCLC CENTERS, COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, LEAS AND PARTNERS THROUGH NEWSLETTERS, OUR WEBSITE, LISTENING SESSIONS AND EVENTS LEADING TO QUALITY OST PROGRAMMING, INCREASED CONNECTION AND SHARING BEST PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED. OUR BIGGEST SUCCESS IN 2023 WAS THE CULMINATION OF YEARS OF ADVOCACY AND POLICYMAKER EDUCATION WITH THE INCLUSION OF 20M IN HB2 FOR AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS, SUMMER LEARNING, AND TUTORING. THE FUNDING CREATED MORE THAN 200 NEW AND EXPANDED AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM SITES THROUGHOUT THE STATE. OUR MONTHLY STEM NEWSLETTER, INFORMATION CAMPAIGNS, WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA IS OUR MAIN STRATEGY TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE LARGER NETWORK OF 1900 SUBSCRIBERS. YOUTH VOICE AND REPRESENTATION IS INCLUDED IN ALL OUR EVENTS, ADVOCACY DAYS, AND VIA ALL OUR COMMUNICATIONS. NMOST SUCCESSFULLY PUBLISHED OP-EDS IN ALL REGIONAL NEWSPAPERS AND WAS INVITED TO SPEAK AT THE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS CONFERENCE AND THE NM PED CHARTER SCHOOL CONFERENCE. OVERALL, THE INTEREST IN OST AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACT ON STUDENTS' WELLBEING AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS IS GROWING AT A RAPID PACE AND IS NOW A CONVERSATION AT THE SCHOOL, DISTRICT, AND STATE LEVELS. OUR STAFF ARE MEMBERS OF THE ALBUQUERQUE MAYOR'S KIDS CABINET, THE GOVERNOR'S JUVENILE JUSTICE BOARD AND THE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS COUNCIL.