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New Mapping Efforts for NC CAP - stay tuned!

In June of 2007, the North CarolinaCenter for Afterschool Programs and Youthline America presented the afterschool mapping project at regional summits held in Asheville, Greensboro, Kinston, and ElizabethCity. Dozens of afterschool programs from both urban and rural locations across the state expressed interest in participating. By using GIS, afterschool providers, students and community members were able to join efforts and map afterschool programs in their communities.

NC CAP hopes to continue the mapping efforts, but in a different way. We plan to revamp the Mapping Initiative pages on this website to show a map of North Carolina where you can click on individual counties and gather information about existing afterschool programs, as well as data, statistics, and helpful resources specific to that county. We will keep you posted on progress, but in the mean time, please visit our Home page and click on Add Program to Afterschool Directory. This is a great way to make sure your program is represented in the mapping project, and will help us better serve the afterschool population in NC.

See the Useful Links and FAQs pages, as well as below, for more information on the previous mapping project.

Mapping Your Community!
A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Started

Step 1
Select a staff member who will be the point person for the project, and have that person contact NC CAP to get started. No technical experience is required!! This person will lead exercises in a provided curriculum, and arrange site visits by a GIS mentor in your community. When you sign on to the project, NC CAP will locate a GIS mentor in your community who is willing to volunteer by working with students in your program over the course of the project. Once we put you in contact with the mentor, we advise you begin by meeting with the mentor as well as inviting him to visit your program and talk to the students (e.g., about GIS, a glimpse of their day at work, career paths they could learn more about, and the mapping project). NC CAP will work with the mentor and the program during these first steps.

Estimated completion time: 1-2 weeks

Step 2
Begin implementing the curriculum (provided by NC CAP and Youthline) in your program. The first half of this curriculum requires NO technology – it is more about youth development and setting the tone of the project – such as why students should find out what is available in their community. It includes sample activities, icebreakers, games, role plays, arts activities, and field trip ideas.

Estimated completion time: 4-8 weeks

Step 3
Participating programs will begin incorporating GIS technology by first completing an online training session. No prior experience is required! This program can be completed by either the staff person or a youth who is willing to lead the project. If you are uncomfortable with the technology, then alternatively, your GIS community mentor could lead you or your students through the module as part of a “getting started” process.

Estimated completion time: 2 weeks to 1 month

Step 4
NC CAP will offer 2 days of live on-site training at SYNERGY, our statewide conference scheduled for March 3-5, 2008 at the Koury Center in Greensboro. The training will include sessions on GIS, youth development and mapping, and advocacy. GIS experts will focus on the technology by answering any questions or troubleshooting based on the online module, as well as equipping participants with tools and resources to bring GIS into their curriculum. Youthline America will address the development of life skills such as teamwork, leadership, problem solving and public speaking. Action for Children NC will train participants to equip youth with advocacy skills for presenting their findings to local elected officials, press, and business and community leaders. Each participant also receives copies of Action for Children’s Youth Advocacy Toolkit, along with NC CAP’s Advocacy Guide.

The 2-day track is designed to be a “train-the-trainer” model so that those who go through the session will then be able to train others in their counties to apply the technology and process in additional schools and afterschool programs.

Step 5
Participants will continue with the curriculum, and begin preparing for presentations of their findings to the community. In the past, youth participants have presented their findings at various events, including local city council meetings, afterschool program board meetings, NC CAP regional summits and at SYNERGY. For example, youth from North Carolina Central University’s James H. Ammons African American Male Leadership Academy presented the results of their projects at SYNERGY 2006 and explained how participants could incorporate GIS learning into their afterschool programs. They also discussed the benefits they have gained from being involved in the initiative. The youth agreed that their participation increased their interest in the area of science and technology, improved their public speaking abilities, and increased their awareness of the needs of the community.

Estimated completion time: 4 -12 weeks

Step 6
Participants will complete a project evaluation (provided by NC CAP).

Estimated completion time: 1 week

Fees:

GIS software…            $40
Curriculum….              No charge!
Online training…          $175
SYNERGY training…   $135
Evaluation Tool            No charge!

The grand total was $350.

Project Background
The North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs is coordinating a statewide effort for afterschool programs to map the state of afterschool availability in their communities based on GIS and GPS technologies. Participating programs implement an existing high quality mapping curriculum developed by Youthline America, a national nonprofit that helps young people to generate, analyze and utilize information for themselves, their peers and their communities. NC CAP compliments the Youthline American curriculum with a series of 6 sample GIS exercises tailored to mapping afterschool programs.

The final product is a graphic depiction of need as afterschool programs are viewed against backgrounds of youth population, poverty, unemployment, parental education, juvenile crime, single parent, and other statistics relevant to the impact of afterschool programs.

Networking
Networking opportunities for participants are available through training events and focus groups at regional summits; an online discussion board for students, afterschool staff, and GIS mentors; and a mapping listserv. Youthline America will connect NC students to afterschool participants across the country through a hotline and online connections.

Have questions?

If you are still not sure where to begin or have questions about the curriculum, timeline, or anything! Call or email NC CAP or Youthline America!

Contact Information:

Jamie KnowlesNC Center for Afterschool Programs
Public School Forum of NC
3739 National Drive, Suite 100Raleigh
, NC 27612
Phone: (919) 781-6833 ext. 115
Fax: (919) 781-6527
Email: jknowles@ncforum.org
www.nccap.net

We look forward to working with you on this initiative!

Click here to download the Youthline Mapping Curriculum.

NC CAP Invites Programs to Map Communities,

Engage Students as Afterschool Advocates

During the Regional Afterschool Summits in June, NC CAP unveiled an afterschool mapping partnership with Youthline America, a mapping agency working to build a national youth network for youth and run by youth. With guidance from trained adults, youth from participating afterschool programs will go out into their communities and discover businesses, institutions and afterschool programs. By mapping their communities, young people become aware of both the resources and needs in and outside of their communities. Along the way, they gain many skills, including leadership, teamwork, interview skills, computer skills and more.

As students build a map and assessment of their communities, they will also learn to become community advocates. NC CAP will work with participating programs to equip their students to approach their local elected officials and community leaders about the need for high quality afterschool programs and enriching activities in their communities.

Participating programs may follow the Youthline mapping curriculum, which uses dynamic experiential learning activities. Educators will receive short, step-by-step activity plans, with dozens of activities to choose from, allowing educators to select the activities that work best for their own group in their own setting. Activity plans will include all the information and supplemental materials necessary to guide students through the process. In addition to the curriculum itself, educators will also receive ongoing support from Youthline online, on the phone and in person.

To get access to materials and to receive email updates, join the Yahoo! Mapping group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/YANCCAPMAPPING.

Action for Children Partners with NC CAP for Mapping Project
Releases Young Advocates Toolkit

Action for Children North Carolina released its first-ever Young Advocates Toolkit for middle school through college-aged youth this week. NC CAP Mapping Project participants will receive free copies. Action for Children will also be hosting a workshop on youth advocacy at NC CAP’s upcoming statewide SYNERGY summit, scheduled for March 3-5, 2008, at the Koury Center in Greensboro.

"Rarely are young people provided with the tools, skills and experiences necessary to establish their own advocacy agendas. It is our hope that this toolkit will empower youth and young adults to become civically involved in their communities—at the national, state and local levels," said Brandy Bynum, director of community outreach at Action for Children North Carolina.

The Young Advocates Toolkit: A Guide To Being A Champion for Children provides youth with practical “how to” advocacy skills to effect public policy and fosters self-advocacy and leadership. The kit will include information on: child well-being research and data, how to be a champion for children, sample questions to ask candidates running for office, how to write to legislators and editors of print media (with sample letters), how to plan visits to legislators, tips on phoning elected officials, how to speak at public hearings, voting requirements including a voter registration card, a brief introduction to federal advocacy, an understanding of the legislative process, a glossary of terms and a list of organizations and ways youth can get involved in advocacy.

Free copies of the toolkit are available to coordinators and liaisons who work to keep youth involved in advocacy and civic engagement. If you are interested in getting copies of the Youth Advocacy Toolkit, please write to brandy@ncchild.org with your contact information. Visit The Action for Children NC webpage at www.ncchild.org.

Click here to download the Toolkit!

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Former participating afterschool programs include:

Douglas Byrd High School (Cumberland Co.)

NC Central After School - 21st Century (Durham Co.)

Chewning Middle School (Durham Co.)

Boys and Girls Club at Smith Homes (Guilford Co.)

YWCA and Guilford Co. Schools (Guilford Co.)

21st Century Program (Brunswick Co.)

Haywood County Afterschool (Haywood Co.)

Alexander Graham Middle School (Mecklenburg Co.)

Laurinburg Housing Authority Learning Center (Scotland Co.)

For more information, or to participate, contact Jamie Knowles at jknowles@ncforum.org and visit Youthline at http://www.youthlineamerica.org/