Oregon

OregonASK

OregonASK is a collaboration of public and private organizations and community members which seek to address common issues and concerns across all out-of-school time services – child care, recreation, education and youth development. The mission of OregonASK is to support, expand and advocate for quality out-of-school time programs and activities for children, youth, and families throughout Oregon.

Current Projects and Initiatives: 
OregonASK has four major initiatives:
 
  • Program Quality and Support - OregonASK offers technical assistance, training and professional development to Oregon’s expanded learning opportunities (ELOs) through the Oregon Afterschool Conference, a full day of professional development for front-line staff and program managers; the Oregon Afterschool and Summer Program Standards, Competences, and Outcomes, which are used to promote and improve the quality of ELOs throughout the state; by helping school age programs enroll in the Quality Rating Improvement System; and by offering accessible trainings on curriculum content and behavior management to front line staff.
  • Summer Learning: The SL3 Project - OregonASK’s Summer Learning, Summer Library, Summer Lunch Project, a collaboration with the National Summer Learning Association, Oregon State Library, the National Summer Food Program, and community partners, works with high-need schools to keep their libraries open throughout the summer, offering students book checkout, free books through SKEF Bazillion Books for Kids, and expanded learning opportunities.

  • Health, Safety, and Nutrition - OregonASK, with experts from the Oregon Dairy Council, Pacific University, and the Woodburn School District, has developed and piloted an elementary Health and Wellness curriculum tailored to suit the needs of ELOs. 

  • STEM - In collaboration with statewide partners, OregonASK convenes the Oregon Girls Collaborative Project: community leaders, education professionals, and industry partners working to cultivate strong practices for engaging young girls in STEM fields. OregonASK has also embarked on digital badge exploration and pilots for 12 organizations. 

  •  For two years OregonASK has worked in collaboration with the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) to keep the doors of local school libraries open throughout the summer.  

  • OregonASK and its partners have collaborated to create a Health and Wellness Toolkit and Afterschool Curriculum. These tools support afterschool programs in providing health and wellness education, activities and opportunities to their students. 

Learn More About OregonASK