National Afterschool Matters Initiative Practitioner Fellowship

Posted by on May 23, 2011

National Afterschool Matters Initiative
Practitioner Fellowship
2011-2012

It provided a professional environment for the first time where I was with like-minded individuals and provided an example of the kind of reflective community that could be created.  It was great to hear other people’s experiences.  I still draw from the Fellowship and think back to that time.  — Practitioner Fellow

The National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) at the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College and the National Writing Project (NWP), with generous funding support from the Robert Bowne Foundation, launched the National Afterschool Matters Initiative Practitioner Fellowship in September 2008.  The first two participating cities were Philadelphia through the Philadelphia Writing Project, and the San Francisco Bay area through the Bay Area Writing Project.  The Fellowship is now also established in Minneapolis, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Seattle.

Traditionally, the Practitioner Fellowship Program has been a professional development and leadership initiative for mid-level career out-of-school time professionals.  This past year, we tested a joint school and out-of-school time model in two cities while continuing the original model in Minneapolis.  The new model engages practitioners from out-of-school time and classroom teachers in an effort to find ways that schools and afterschool programs can better work together to serve their youth population. Participants in the Practitioner Fellowship are selected by application, and through a 13 month process engage in activities that inform program quality and improve practice through reflection and inquiry.

Those selected for the Practitioner Fellowship:
•    Become part of a community of practitioners. Fellows work collaboratively to study effective practices and investigate the structures in which effective practice happens – in the program/classroom, activity, curriculum, and individual levels using their own programs as the objects of study.
•    Learn strategies to engage in program reflection and inquiry. Fellows learn approaches and strategies that will help them become better at program/classroom observation and analysis.
•    Improve programs and practice. Fellows identify and investigate effective instructional strategies and bring these strategies back to their classrooms and/or out-of-school time programs.
•    Engage in leadership activities. Fellows present their work to peers and administrators, parents and community members.  They are encouraged to design and deliver workshops based on their work to share new expertise with others in the field.
•    Disseminate program/classroom improvement strategies.  Fellows create products including briefing papers, events, curriculum, as well as articles for professional journals.

Eligibility:

§ Eligible Fellows must be working part-time or full-time at a school or in an out-of-school time program in Philadelphia.
§ Eligible Fellows must be in commuting distance to University of Pennsylvania.
§ Eligible Fellows must demonstrate interest in reflecting upon their own teaching or work with youth, investigating, and writing about quality practices in afterschool and youth programming and schools.
§ Eligible Fellows must be available for the entire Fellowship schedule, including a group orientation in September 2011.  Meetings occur once a month, on Saturdays, over the course of the academic year. In addition, significant time is needed between meetings for research, reflection, reading, and writing.
§ Fellows are required to attend seminars and participate in the writing retreat, the Ethnography Forum, and a Research Roundtable.
§ Eligible Fellows must have a Bachelor’s Degree and a year or more of experience in the field.

Stipend:
Participants will be awarded a stipend of $800 at the completion of the program and upon completion of all assignments which can be provided in cash or can be used to provide 1 continuing education credit from the Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, which is equivalent to 3 semester hours that can be used at another institution of higher learning. In addition, $200 toward writing retreat expenses will be covered for each Fellow,

Schedule:
All meetings will occur at the office of The Philadelphia Writing Project, 4201 Spruce St., Building 1921, Philadelphia, PA 19104 on Saturday’s from 9:00-2:00 unless otherwise specified:

§ Orientation – 9/17/11
§ Fall Roundtable Featuring 2010-2011 Cohort – Wed, 10/5/11 (Location & Evening Time TBD)
§ October – 10/8/11
§ November – 11/12/11
§ December – 12/10/11
§ January – 1/21/12
§ February – 2/11/12
§ Ethnography Forum – 2/25/12
§ March – 3/10/12
§ Writing Retreat – 4/21/12 – 4/22/12 (Location and Time TBD)
§ Final Class – 5/5/12
§ Fall Roundtable – October 2012 – (Date TBD on Day of the Orientation).

Application Process:
Employer approval must be obtained (see Memorandum of Understanding).  Please complete the Practitioner Fellowship application and return, along with the MOU, no later than June 17, 2011 by e-mail, fax, or mail to:
United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Center for Youth Development
Attn: Afterschool Matters Practitioner Fellowship Program
1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Email: cyd@uwsepa.org
Phone: 215-665-2554
Fax: 215-665-2531