Beyond School Bells, Nebraska Children and Families Foundation’s Middle Childhood team has had a busy, productive, and transformative year. This initiative has long promoted our mission to create a Nebraska where all children, youth, and families thrive – through quality afterschool and summer programs.
Find out what Beyond School Bells has in store this spring and summer, including a Tree-A-Thon and more!
When the coalition of 8 ELO communities launched in 2013, Jennifer Jones was there to help them develop and grow partnerships. Since then the communities have grown their partners, presence, and promotional strategies. Jennifer describes her experience working directly with those communities.
Outfitted with all kinds of STEM-rich materials, games, tools, pop-up tables and awning, BSB’s Think Make Create (TMC) Labs ® are 7-by-12-foot mobile makerspaces that become instant platforms for hands on learning for kids attending afterschool and summer programs.
Just like its name, Beyond School Bells goes beyond simply supporting quality afterschool programs. Throughout the past 17 years, this program’s driving force has been to facilitate state and local policies and practices to engage youth in hands-on learning experiences, support their families, and create safer and stronger communities across Nebraska.
Lincoln Public Schools has consistently reported Nebraska’s high graduation rates throughout the past decade.
So, why do we have such a wide achievement gap?
Prevention begins with connection. In place of problems, community leaders start solving issues by stopping them. Kids and youth need to feel connected to each other, their community, and their passions to stay out of trouble and remain motivated. And…
An Expanded Learning Opportunity—or ELO—is a high-quality afterschool or summer educational experience that takes place outside the context of the regular school day. These hands-on, experiential, enriching chances to learn that build on, but don’t duplicate, what students are learning during the…
