Our Historical Timeline
OregonASK was founded in 2005 with a grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation and match contributions from Oregon Employment Division- Child Care Division. As the Statewide Afterschool Network, OregonASK is a collaboration of public and private organizations and community members, seeking to address common issues and concerns across all afterschool and summer services.
OregonASK has grown to over 35 partner organizations. We have created the first database of afterschool programs in Oregon; developed Quality Standards, Competencies and Outcomes; provided support to Oregon’s afterschool and summer programs; compiled reports to gain a better understanding of the issues surrounding afterschool in Oregon; plus a myriad of other projects and initiatives to advance the quality, accessibility and sustainability of afterschool and summer programs in the state.
Please view some of our historical highlights below
Partnership
We help programs find new local, state, and national partners, aligning our work to all those who have overlapping goals and increasing the efficiency and impact of our work.
Policy
We work directly with providers, public administrators, and elected officials to create policies supporting the work of afterschool programs, professionals, and youth in Oregon.
Professional Development
To advance the overall quality of afterschool and summer programs in Oregon, we provide direct training opportunities to hundreds of professionals each year.
OregonASK founded with 19 organizations
Governor’s Summit in May 2006
Established Communication Systems
Released first Oregon Quality Standards
First state-level "Lights On Afterschool"
Held the first state-level "Lights On Afterschool" event in Salem during the fall and co-hosted with OSAC for afterschool providers in a daylong conference. This conference would become our first annual Oregon Afterschool Conference, engaging 110 afterschool providers from around Oregon.
Hosted the inaugural Afterschool Day at the Capital in April 2007.
Developed "The Landscape of After School" CD-ROM
With the Oregon Commission on Children and Families and the State Child Care Division, developed The Landscape of After School CD-ROM
Worked with Department of Education to support 21st CCLC Programs
Hired Americorps VISTAs to develop regional networks with Meyer Memorial Trust support
Steering Committee expands to 23 organizations
Completed a survey of its partner organizations on technical assistance to determine who provides what kinds of support are available to the field
Provided 12 trainings to 130 School-Age providers with 4-H
During the spring, we partnered with State/Regional Libraries, Oregon Park and Recreation Association and 4-H Afterschool to provide 12 trainings for 130 school-age providers and youth professionals to gain an understanding of the four core competencies of Positive Youth Development
Expanded Staff Team
Created the Strategic Policy Leadership Team
Created a six-minute video with an ‘Afterschool: Keeps Kids Safe’ theme
Obtained grant from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund
First Quality Standards
Gathered input from the field to shape the Oregon core competencies for afterschool professionals to be incorporated in addition to standards in 2009
Held 2nd Day at the Capitol during the Spring
Awarded grant for Supporting Student Success (S3): The Promise of Expanded Learning Opportunities
OregonASK became the NAA affiliate in July 2009
Launched the Oregon Afterschool Hall of Fame in October
Developed a new category of Exempt Tracked school age programs within the Child Care Division
Worked with the Commission for Child Care to hold community forums, gather feedback, and propose a new category of Exempt Tracked school age programs within the Child Care Division. Proposal became part of new rules in 2010.
School-Age Regulation Task Force created
Adopted the Oregon quality standards for afterschool programs statewide
Created the first database of information on 800+ programs throughout Oregon
OregonASK led the Schol Age Regulation Task Force
At the request of the Oregon Commission on Child Care, led the School Age Regulation Task Force which gave 11 recommendations to OCCC in October
Hosted Afterschool Conference in October
Hosted Afterschool Conference in October in coordination with Oregon Recreation and Park Association
Linked new standards to existing professional development system
Linked the new standards and competencies with the existing professional development system for childhood care and education
Helped the Center for Career Development in Childhood Care and Education to create a School Age Credential
Presented at OSBA conference
Released the Supporting Student Success Report: Promise of Expanded Learning
Joined the Oregon University System STEM in Out-of School Time Committee
Joined the Oregon University System STEM in Out-of School Time Committee to support the Oregon Pre-Engineering and Applied Sciences Initiative
Partnered with State Library to secure LSTA funding to provide afterschool resource curriculum materials and training
Hosted Annual Day at the Capitol in April
Conducted Eastern Oregon travel training for rural programs unable to attend regular conference opportunities
Revised logic model and secured Mott continuation funding
Secured VISTAs to support sustainability of 21st CCLCs in ten school districts
Secured Gates Foundation grant that would fund data and report on Afterschool Workforce
Hosted NAA Affiliates meeting in Oregon in July
Updated grant resources handbook for program providers
Developed communications plan for existing professional development opportunities
Hosted Oregon Afterschool Conference
Elevated STEM in Afterschool with national speaker, Anita Krishnamurthi, Director of STEM Policy, Afterschool Alliance. Held the conference in coordination with Oregon 21CCLC conference in Salem at Chemeketa Community College.
Presented at Hot Topic at OSBA Conference during Spring 2011
Conducted listening sessions and surveys to identify the parent perspectives and workforce needs.
Informed white paper/report that was released in 2013
Created and conducted surveys, and held forums with providers and stakeholders from around Oregon.
The survey and forums discussed Oregon Policies - on what is working and how these policies can be improved through better guidance or revisions.
Developed revisions to Oregon Afterschool and Program Standards, Competencies and other tools through Spring and Summer 2012
Revisions released at fall conference
Improved Quality Standards and Core Competencies with stakeholders and partners
Collaborate with stakeholders and partners (e.g.: ODE, DHS, ORPA, 4-H, CCD, etc.) to engage programs and professionals across recreation, youth development, education and childcare to endorse, promote and support Quality Standards and Core Competencies
Officially Developed an OASK Policy Platform
Identified policy goals, policy framework and messaging as components of a Policy Implementation Plan.
Hosted a Mayoral Summit
Awarded a National League of Cities’ grants to host a Mayoral Summit on out-of-school time in July 2012. This was one of our first connections directly with local municipal leaders. We hosted a great collection of mayors in this one day event that showcased afterschool in Oregon.
Oregon Registry
Educated afterschool professionals on the advantages and opportunities within the Oregon Registry, deepening relationships and knowledge with Oregon’s only out-of-school professional development system.
Worked with partners on the promotion of the state-recognized School Age Credential
Established communication system among local youth development networks, OregonASK, and partners
Emphasizing Summer
Piloted the first year of SL3: Summer Learning, Summer Libraries, Summer Lunch with 4 school districts in rural and suburban communities across Oregon.
Joined National Girls Collaborative
Formed the first Oregon Girls Collaborative separate from the NW chapter during the summer. Founding Leadership Team members included NCWIT, Girls Inc, and Oregon Institute of Technology.
School Age work plan developed with Office of Child Care
STEM Systems: Secured funding from Noyce Foundation for STEM projects.
As one of less than 15 states, were in the second cohort of states receiving funds to support statewide STEM Systems work.
Created Administration Guide and Quality Indicators Reference Guide, to supplement the Oregon Quality Standards for Afterschool and Summer Program.
Hosted the Second year of Sustainability VISTAs with 11 21st CCLC grantees.
Created and disseminated a series of white papers to communicate afterschool issues and policy goals to diverse stakeholders, including summary documents of recent Workforce and Parent Perspective reports.
Steering Committee grows to 35 organizations
Health and Wellness Afterschool Tool Kit developed
Presented at the OSTA 54th Annual Conference
Conducted state-wide survey of informal STEM learning in afterschool and summer programs from Spring to Fall 2014
Hosted the Oregon Girls Collaborative Project (OGCP) Kick Off Conference
Nearly 100 participants from across Oregon heard from Oregon partners elevating exemplary practices in supporting girls in STEM. The event included networking, panel discussions, and presentations from local STEM ‘experts’
Hosted the Oregon Afterschool Conference
Dr Johnny Lake hosted a wonderful keynote, elevating youth voice through equitable practices
Received grant from the National Conference of State Legislatures to work on summer learning.
Began partnership with QRIS (Quality Rating Improvement Systems) and trained two Quality Improvement Specialists
Also began contract with YMCA of Columbia-Willamette to enroll 30 of their sites in QRIS
Worked with the Office of Early Learning to create a school-age workplan
Training & Professional Development
Hired a full-time Curriculum Development Coordinator/Master Trainer and full-time Quality Improvement Coordinator/Master Trainer.
OregonASKs master trainers on staff were able to Offer 44 hours of dedicated training to school-age afterschool providers.
STEM Systems
- Updates and reformats to afterschool STEM curriculum (S.INQ).
- Distribution of S.INQ to Woodburn Afterschool Club and YMCA sites.
Facilitated the STEM Bridges: School to Afterschool Project with three districts.
First year of a STEM VISTA that would support training, pilots and data collection of STEM programming across Oregon.
Performed Quality Observations for 21CLCC sites based on the Oregon Quality Standards for Afterschool and Summer Programs
Secured Digital Badge grant, and partnered with Concentric Sky to host a digital badge workgroup and issue digital badges to 7 afterschool and summer programs. Afterschool Alliance
Trained cohort of DoS observers
This cadre of DoS observers would allow Oregon to provide evaluation support to afterschool and summer programs offering STEM content.
SL3 grew to 22 sites
In partnership with the Center for Intercultural Innovation, hosted an equity summit in October.
Secured contract with the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation to enroll 5 sites in QRIS
Hosted a School Age Credential Cohort to assist afterschool program staff in acquiring the OCCD School Age Credential
Provided external evaluation of 3 21CCLC programs
Embarked on the 2015 Oregon Road to Quality Roadshow, and provided professional development training and OGCP forums around the state.
Hosted the Summer Learning Summit in support of HB2650 in February
Hired part-time Summer Learning Coordinator to manage SL3
Hosted the Afterschool and Summer Learning Day at the Capitol
Oregon published the first STEM Strategic Plan Report which OregonASK participated in development
Goals and strategies named out-of-school as a key component to ensure Oregon’s rich ecosystem of support for Oregon youth.
Facilitated OGCP mini-grant process and awarded grants to 5 programs.
Created STEM Mentoring Committee to develop STEM Mentoring Toolkit
Developed S.INQ Up curriculum as addition to SINQ. S.INQ Up is geared toward middle school youth with specific units on career exploration.
Updates and reformats to Wellness and Nutrition Curriculum
Comprehensive re-write of Afterwords training to create TALE: Training for Afterschool Literacy Education.
TALE Training of Trainers hosted in June
Secured second Digital Badge grant to host web literacy clubs, in partnership with Umatilla School District.
Facilitated the first summer of Zero Robotics in Oregon.
In partnership with MIT and NASA, Oregon recruited and had facilitators trained to oversee Zero Robotics with middle school students. This project included a Field Day kick off event and final convening to watch live broadcast of student code from the International Space Station.
Secured a Wellness and Nutrition VISTA
Hosted the Oregon Afterschool Conference
Keynote Corey Newhouse lead Umatilla students through exercises in expression as we were Making it Real in November.
Partnered with Innovate Oregon to host Innovation Summit at Stoller Vineyard
During this summit, student innovators from Oregon were featured, as well as panelists from foundation and business alike sharing with educators and administrators. Guest speaker Michael Funk gave a poignant keynote addressing the immense need that exists for youth to have transformative experiences that inspire innovation, collaboration and the mastery of skills.
Secured a Wellness and Nutrition VISTA
Communications Continued: Began work with Willamette University MBA students to update OregonASK image and language for broader outreach.
Creation of Policy Coordinator role, and participation in White Riley Fellowship
Hosted STEM Beyond the Bell event at OMSI
Unveiled data collected from afterschool programs in Oregon as baseline for Informal STEM in Oregon.
Attended TOTs for Invention X and SciGirls
Steering Committee grows to 70 members
Gathered over 150 participants from across the country, hosted the national STEM Institute, Cultivating the STEM Continuum.
We highlighted local partners and facilitated dozens of sessions on building better systems to create equitable STEM learning.
Developed a 5-year Business Plan, in collaboration with Willamette University MBA students
Evaluating Quality: Conducted external evaluation of 3 21CCLC programs.
Revised and released updates to the Oregon Quality Standards for Afterschool and Summer Programs and the Core Competencies
Hosted the Oregon Afterschool Conference in October
Trained 351 people from 65 organizations around Oregon. Host second School Age Credentialing Cohort
Trained 351 people from 65 organizations around Oregon. Hosted second School Age Credentialing Cohort
Revised and released updates to the Oregon Quality Standards for Afterschool and Summer Programs and the Core Competencies
Partnered with Kids Included Together to offer free training on inclusion for afterschool programs in Oregon
Revised and released updates to the Oregon Quality Standards for Afterschool and Summer Programs and the Core Competencies
With funding from NAA, hosted the Southern Oregon Program Management cohort, using Beyond the Bell Program management toolkit
Revised and released updates to the Oregon Quality Standards for Afterschool and Summer Programs and the Core Competencies
Attended TOTs for Cornell School of Ornithology Birdsleuth and California Academy of Sciences Science Action Club.
Revised and released updates to the Oregon Quality Standards for Afterschool and Summer Programs and the Core Competencies
Participated on the House Education Summer Learning Workgroup, convened by Rep. Barbara Smith Warner
Hosted 2016 Day at the Capitol
Facilitated the fifth summer of SL3
Became a member of the State STEM Strategic Planning Council
STEM: OGCP facilitated webinar series on Equity, Inclusion, and Outreach
Published the STEM Mentor’s Toolkit and piloted at 4 afterschool sites
Coordinated data collection in Oregon for the 2016 Afterschool & STEM System-Building Evaluation 11 state study
OregonASK was awarded a STEM Challenge grant from STEM Next Founation.
This grant would fund work supporting STEM training, regional forums, and systems level work.
Secured funding from the National League of Cities to host 7 regional municipal summits
Curriculum: Developed year-long aviation curriculum for Airway Science for Kids
Secured contract with the Port of Portland to develop curriculum
Developed Summer Meals Activity Toolkit
Assembled the Health and Wellness Advisory Committee
Conducted a survey of health and wellness practices in afterschool programs
Hosted first My Brother’s Keeper VISTA in partnership with the City of Portland, Office of Equity.
Secured funding from the Ford Family Foundation to support rural attendance at our annual conference
Findings from the Overdeck Foundation supported creation, facilitation, and summative report for ESSA and STEM work.
A Sustainable Pathway for All was published based on stakeholder feedback.
Published Smart Summers Report
Offered nearly 250 hours of professional development training to afterschool staff
Training brochure expanded to include more than 50 topics and curricula
Secured three more years of funding from the Mott Foundation
Partner committee expanded to 83 organizations
Hired a part-time Social Media Coordinator
Participated in the Zimmerman Network Sustainability Initiative and the Glen Price Group STEM Sustainability Cohort
Attended the Indiana University Fundraising School’s Principles and Techniques of Fundraising Course
Secured contract with Washington County Cooperative Library Services for two-year Fostering Readers project
Secured contracts with numerous afterschool programs and organizations
These organizations include:
- Woodburn After School Club
- The Eugene School District
- Central School District
- The Lincoln County Youth Development Coalition/Oregon Coast STEM Hub
- Airway Science for Kids
- The Gilbert House Children’s Museum
- YMCA of Columbia Willamette
- Association for the Education of Young Children
- The Mighty Endeavor at Veteran’s Legacies.
Updated database to Salesforce
Started development of strategic data storage to integrate outreach, contract work, trainings, events, and overall data analysis.
Conducted initial Access and Equity survey of metro-area afterschool programs
Hosted 2017 Day at the Capitol
Conducted external evaluation for 5 21CCLC sites
Hosted the 8th annual Oregon Afterschool Conference
Partnered with Portland Council PTA on Family STEM Nights
Piloted Service to Careers at 4 sites, in partnership with National Youth Leadership council
Participated in NAA’s STEM Micro Credentialing Pilot project
Implemented pilot project with Mozilla Web Clubs
Created and distributed health and wellness policy papers
Secured a second year of funding from Overdeck Foundation to continue ESSA work.
We hosted focus groups and stakeholder conversations, and raised awareness on policy issues
Hired a full-time Equity and Workforce Coordinator
We hosted focus groups and stakeholder conversations, and raised awareness on policy issues
Developed a communication plan for our Quest for Quality Campaign
2018 Annual Day at the Capitol, which included a regional roundtable discussion
Provided external evaluation for 5 21CCLC programs
Secured large contract with the City of McMinnville to conduct comprehensive evaluation on their afterschool program (KOB)
Contracted with Veteran’s Legacies, ORTOP, and other for curriculum development and professional development training
Coordinated surveys and observations with 15 summer program sites, as part of the 2018 Afterschool & STEM Systems Building Evaluation
Launched the Access & Equity Survey, funded by the Mott Foundation Opportunity Grant
Offered a seven-part Program Management Training Series
Partnered with NAA and Click2Science on STEM Credentialing 2.0
Hosted the 9th annual Oregon Afterschool Conference
Offered 52 professional development trainings (134.5 hours of training time)
Created PBIS in Afterschool handbook
Collaborated with IBM to support CyberDay4Girls
Selected to participate in the three-year Leap into Science project
Implemented a second year of Service to Careers and Web Literacy Clubs
Hired a full-time Health and Wellness Coordinator
This is Afterschool Video Campaign
This campaign began sharing individual program highlights as examples of the key components of quality afterschool programming. Components of quality were derived from work with OregonASK Partner Committee and stakeholder sessions defining what makes all the various types of expanded learning opportunities similar in maintaining quality experiences.
Over 400 at OAC 2019 with keynote Dr Kendra Coates talking about the importance of utilizing growth mindset.
In April, we held a Spring Mind the Gap Conference in conference with Oregon AEYC
Continued supporting Leap into Science training and kit distribution in coordination with National Girls Collaborative and The Franklin Institute.
Jan. 2020 - Day at the Capitol during legislative days in January 2020.
Released Access & Equity in Afterschool Report
Released with press conference held at the Oregon capitol, including comments by Rep Barbara Smith Warner and Oregon PTA President Kristi Dilley.
Convened Two Weeks Ready virtual community conversations with hundreds of partners and providers from around the state.
Conversations were analyzed as part of the contracted work with Oregon Office of Child Care to support Oregon’s Two Weeks Ready emergency preparedness campaign. Final report compiled in 2021.