September 14, 2023

Whenever I attend conferences and have the pleasure of speaking one-on-one with attendees, I always hear a variation of the same couple of phrases: “How am I just now hearing about Y4Y?!” or “My boss tells me to take your courses, but I didn’t know about all the resources you provide!” Y4Y really is a treasure trove of resources and information. So, with Y4Y moving to Y4Yarchives.org soon, here’s a reminder of the different ways you can take these treasures and make your program sparkle like gold!

Polish It Up

Sometimes an old and seemingly out-of-fashion ring you found at a random antique store simply needs a good polish to be as good as new again! The same can be said about your program. Everything — and everyone — needs a thorough polish every now and then, and the cool thing is that there’s more than one way to do that! From full courses to Click & Go’s and Quality Program Quickstarter (QPQ) modules, the ways that you and your staff can polish up your program are endless. Also, don’t forget that for the first time ever, many of our courses, QPQs, and tools are now available in Spanish through the Y4Y Spanish Sub-Portal! We’d be here all week if I told you about every single learning opportunity, but here are some tried-and-true’s, with a few of my personal favorites thrown in:

Courses

• Math Without Fear course: Help your students (and maybe yourself) reduce math anxiety and build confidence and interest in math.
• Family Engagement course: Learn ways to engage and support students’ families.
• Including Students With Disabilities course: Create an inclusive environment where every student feels welcome and engaged.

QPQ’s

• Marketing and Outreach QPQ: Create messages and activities to recruit students and to let stakeholders know about your program’s efforts and impacts.
• Sustainability QPQ: Find out about steps you can take today to ensure your program’s still there tomorrow.

Click & Go’s

• Self-Care Matters Click & Go: If you’re feeling stressed, go listen to the short mini-lesson video right now! There are tools and podcasts for later.
• Multitiered Systems of Support Click & Go: Get strategic about providing the right support at the right time.
• Building Financial Literacy Click & Go: Relevance is built into this crash course on helping students make good decisions about money.

No matter which route you choose, you’re sure to find the information to make your program shine!

Magnifying Your Program’s Abilities

Have you ever seen a diamond under a magnifying glass and noticed how the light bounces off the facets in every direction? I like to think of Y4Y’s famous downloadable and customizable tools as the magnifying glass that can make your program dazzle! Y4Y puts a multitude of tools at your fingertips, but it can be a bit overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. Thankfully, we have it all broken down for you — from starter sets to training packages, you’ll be on the right path in no time:

• The curated tools in our Starter Set were chosen by a team of experts and make the perfect rounded well-rounded one-stop-shop.
• If your staff needs training, or if they’d like a refresher on a certain topic, there are Train Your Staff packages that cover 23 different topics, like Citizen Science, Financial Literacy, and more. Each package includes a Training to Go PowerPoint and a tools list for that topic!
• Our Best Practices Kits cover out-of-school time training, inclusion, and an entire kit specifically for new program directors.
• Don’t forget our Learning Recovery Tool Kit, which includes tools in math, STEAM, literacy, and social and emotional learning, and was specifically designed to help you tackle learning loss.

Passing the Heirloom Down

Remember, your program is a priceless jewel, and the Y4Y treasure trove is here to make sure that heirloom can be passed down for others to admire and enjoy for years to come. So go forth and sparkle!