Lately, the future of kids going back to school has been uncertain. Happily, when Beyond School Bells’ teamed up with Big Red Keno, a Think Make Create Lab rolled into Family Service Lincoln. The future was hopeful once again! Read more about how our next generation of young creators made the most of this mobile makerspace!
On Arbor Day weekend, April 24-26, youth and their communities across Nebraska participated in a statewide Tree-A-Thon to plant and celebrate trees.
BSB kicked off the Tree-A-Thon alongside Arbor Day Foundation, Natural Resource Districts, Audubon Nebraska, Nebraska Forest Service, and The University of Nebraska. As with any major initiative, this project constituted more than just tree-planting; BSB and its partners had a larger mission in mind.
Whether you’re contemplating, starting, improving, or sustaining a high quality afterschool or summer learning experience, the process takes work. Beyond School Bells has launched its new Toolkit to help. For those thinking about creating an Expanded Learning Opportunity (ELO), the toolkit provides planning guidelines and funding structures. To start a program, this resource contains hiring and leadership strategies. To improve an ELO, explore curricular ideas and career-readiness best practices. Finally, sustain your ELO with resources for partnerships, advocacy, and messaging.
Beyond School Bells was awarded a one-year grant to participate in the Million Girl Moonshot. This initiative intends to increase the number of underserved youth in high-quality afterschool and summer STEM programs. With this STEMNext grant, BSB will join ten other statewide afterschool networks to launch this decade-long national initiative.
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!
Five communities previously considered “Afterschool Deserts” without existing afterschool programs, were selected to participate in the ELO Design Challenge. These communities include Auburn Public Schools, Beatrice Public Schools, Boone Central Public Schools, Centura Public School, Grand Island Public Schools. Anna Wishart, Beyond School Bells’ Director of Partnerships, also pointed out that each location was unique in terms of location and demographic. Recent results contain MANY stories and stats of success.
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.
On February 10-11, Beyond School Bells hosted a meeting of 30 afterschool and summer program professionals from across Nebraska to discuss emerging trends and opportunities in our field. This annual meeting once again provided opportunities for Nebraska’s ELO leaders to come together and learn from one another and meet with their elected representatives at an informal breakfast event.
Growing the Good Life 