UPCOMING AYPF EVENTS
AYPF EVENT DETAILS
Forum – Opportunities for Youth in Transition from Foster Care: State Perspectives (Friday, January 30, 2015)
During this forum, panelists will share how policies and programs in their states have addressed these challenges and opportunities. Michael Leach, Director of Independent Living for Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services will discuss the state’s network of resource centers and services for youth in transition from foster care. Cecilia Tran, Policy Analyst with the John Burton Foundation will provide an overview of California’s Transitional Housing program for youth in foster care. Finally, Ann Rossi, Analyst with the Michigan Department of Human Services will discuss how DHS works with institutions of higher education in Michigan to create better access to postsecondary education for youth in transition from foster care.
Forum – Opportunities for Youth in Transition from Foster Care: Youth Perspectives (Friday, February 20, 2015)
Following up on the January 30 Foster Care forum on state perspectives on creating opportunity for foster care youth, this forum will include an overview presentation on a recent issue brief on the topic by authors Erin Russ and Garet Fryar, panelists will share their experience with the foster care system and describe how their program has supported youth in their goals of attaining higher education. Mary Lee, National Transitional Living Coordinator for Youth Villages; Sheemeca Berkley, Great Expectations Advisor for Northern Virginia Community College; and a youth from each program will share their knowledge and expertise about the intricacies and difficulties in navigating and coordinating support systems.
AYPF OPEN POSITION: PROGRAM ASSOCIATE
The Program Associate will assist in the development of learning events and products, including forums, study tours, webinars, discussion groups, and publications, and the dissemination of policy and practice guidance to multiple audiences. Program Associates work on a range of education and youth policy issues depending on current grant projects, such as promoting comprehensive community-wide services and supports for vulnerable youth; aligning K-12 education, postsecondary education, workforce, and youth systems; personalizing student learning; and creating multiple pathways to college and career success.
The Program Associate will also assist in organizing learning events for national and state policymakers. This will entail conducting research on effective and innovative programs and policies, identifying potential topics and speakers for the events, interfacing with the speakers to help design the content of the events, helping to organize the events (with the support of the AYPF operations team), and conducting follow-up activities. The Program Associate will write a range of reports, summaries, and documents for dissemination to various audiences. The position requires travel several times a year. Senior staff will supervise the Program Associate.
The deadline for applications is January 23, 2015. For further details and to apply on our website, please visit our employment page.
AYPF PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES
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Please visit our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/amyouthpolicyforum for video clips of events, interviews and more. |
AYPF Issue Brief: Creating Access to Opportunities for Youth in Transition from Foster Care In this issue brief, AYPF has highlighted best practices and policies and made recommendations to support youth in transition from foster care in three critical areas of need: sustainable social capital, permanency supports, and access to postsecondary opportunities.
Forum For Thought Blog The Forum for Thought blog is operated by the American Youth Policy Forum and highlights diverse points of view and information from the intersection of policy, practice and research. Some recent posts include:
- Deputy Director Jennifer Brown Lerner provides lessons learned from AYPF’s competency-based education study tour to New Hampshire with Digital Promise.
- Forum For Thought kicks off the new year with three education policy trends to watch in 2015.
Click here to view all AYPF publications
Click here to find all briefs and reports
RECOMMENDED READING AND RESOURCES
Check these out – recommended reading from the AYPF staff:
Center on Education Policy at The George Washington University Expanded Learning Time: A Summary of Findings from Case Studies in Four States This report describes the strategies being used by case study sites to increase or expand learning time and the challenges, successes, and impacts associated with this implementation process. CEP interviewed 49 education leaders at the state, district, and school-level to collect data for the study.
NASBE-SCOPE Performance Assessments: How State Policy Can Advance Assessments for 21st Century Learning Stanford University Professor and SCOPE Faculty Director Linda Darling-Hammond and NASBE Deeper Learning Project Director Ace Parsi argue that focusing on assessments is essential for facilitating meaningful learning that leads to state educational success and helps policymakers address some of the thorniest issues around them: purpose, sustainability, reliability, accountability, policy alignment, equity, professional practice, and implementation. The paper includes key considerations for state policymakers as they assess whether their states are getting the maximum benefits from the adoption of performance assessment strategies.
Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest A Practitioner’s Guide To Implementing Early Warning Systems This guide provides information on establishing and training a team to use an early warning system for off-track middle school or high school students, identifying accurate indicators, designing and using reports, mapping appropriate interventions to individual student needs, and evaluating student progress and intervention effectiveness. It describes the core ideas, recommendations, and experiences of districts and schools implementing early warning systems and provides examples of practices in use across the country.
University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research Looking Forward to High School and College: Middle Grade Indicators of Readiness in Chicago Public Schools This report follows approximately 20,000 Chicago Public Schools students as they transition from elementary to high school. It is designed to help answer questions about which markers should be used to gauge whether students are ready to succeed in high school and beyond. It also considers the performance levels students need to reach in middle school to have a reasonable chance of succeeding in high school.
The Rural Opportunities Consortium of Idaho Federal Education Policy In Rural America This paper focuses on federal policies affecting rural schools. It describes the relevant demographics of rural America, takes inventory of current federal policies affecting rural districts and discusses general results and areas of convergence and divergence. It also draws conclusions about the unique characteristics of and opportunities for education in rural America and offers a set of recommendations for federal policy action.
Council of Chief State School Officers Evolving Coherent Systems of Accountability for Next Generation Learning: A Decision Framework This new resource seeks to guide states interested in pursuing innovative assessment and accountability models while remaining committed to equity, transparency, and high expectations for all students. The resource draws on CCSSO’s 2011 accountability principles and offers state policymakers a series of guiding questions – including sample options, potential trade-offs, and state examples – for state consideration.
