This is Part 2 of the recap of the fabulous Expanded Learning Webinar from October 9. In that webinar, Dr. Michele Bowers, former LA County Superintendent of the Year and past CAAASA president hosted a webinar along with Dr. Helen Wang, CEO and Co-Founder of 6crickets. The two were joined by an all-star panel of pioneers in the expanded learning field including:
• Cherie Gann from Mt. Diablo (Contra Costa County)
• Michele Reid from Visalia USD (Tulare County County)
• Dr. Jerry Block from Simi Valley USD (Ventura County)
• Esther Garcia from Rowland USD (LA)
• Ofelia Fitzpatrick from Rialto USD (San Bernardino County)
• John Norton from Bonsall USD (San Diego County)
We’ve included some highlights from the webinar but if you’d like to view it in its entirety, please request the full recording and presentation slides here. The key takeaway, as shared by John Norton, is that good things are happening for our kids.
Part 2: Tapping into community partners and taming logistics
ELO-P provided a wonderful opportunity to support students who would not otherwise have access to quality enrichment programming. However, developing an expanded learning program is a tremendous undertaking that can quickly turn into a logistical nightmare, especially if you are lacking in staff.
Like many district leaders at the start of their expanded learning journey, Cherie Gann and Dr. Block did everything on paper including registration, enrollment, and attendance, stating, “it was an absolute nightmare”. By utilizing a system that manages all these logistical aspects on one platform, “saved us a lot of clerical work but also gives us that information instantly” as noted by Cheri.
Once the management side of the programs is handled, district leaders can focus on developing quality, engaging programs at their school and getting students involved. Michele Reid felt the logistical burden of starting an expanded learning program at Visalia USD, so she turned to technology to support her district’s efforts. The result? As of Fall 2024, Michele’s team has grown Visalia’s expanded learning program to over 24,000 total enrollments! They are now supporting 33% of their TK-6 students; this is a 23x growth from Winter 2022 enrollments when their ELO-P first started!
Dr. Block shared that, “We don’t have a lot of infrastructure in place within our district. [ELO-P] is being run by our assistant director of early and expanded learning, a bilingual community liaison, and the tech support from 6crickets.” He went on to say that, having those partnerships is, “absolutely critical because we don’t have the internal staffing to run this by ourselves”. If district staff members are bogged down by managing logistics, then effort and attention is being taken away from students and programming. So where do our community partners come into play?
Michele Reid shared that “for the past 25-30 years we worked with a legacy partner that handled all of our after school activities on their own. With ELOP joining the picture we now have a wider range of partner options. Our legacy partners are still there…on top of that we have other partners that come in to provide exciting club options for families.”
John Norton noted the impact of quality community partners and programs, “we’re offering amazing opportunities for our students and they’re excited to come back to school, which has been a great cultural shift from what we saw in the pandemic.”
Michele summed it up best with, “Having insights and good partnerships is truly key to being able to develop such wonderful afterschool programs.”
Without proper management, expanded learning programs cannot grow and flourish. Focusing on registration, enrollment, attendance, reporting, and collecting feedback takes time to do correctly, and that is time that could be spent on our kids! So how do we tame these logistics? Learn what to outsource.
Mr. Norton noted, “we want to outsource logistics, but not our district agenda.” In seeking assistance in managing the logistical side of ELO-P, districts and their staff can focus on quality programming, student success, and achieving the unique goals of their district.
It is important to work with a partner who supports you where you need it, but you retain control.
How are you tackling the complex logistics of expanded learning? Do you have any tips and best practices to share? We’d love to learn from you and share broadly, too. Please don’t hesitate to email info@6crickets.com.
This webinar was sponsored by 6crickets, an expanded learning management platform. 6crickets’ mission is to bring the best expanded learning to every student in every school.
Yours in Education,
6crickets Team
