Program Ideas that Really Add up

Looking for ways to creatively infuse math activities into your afterschool programming? Click on the Mixing in Math (MiM) website, http://mixinginmath.terc.edu .

Within the site you will find over 150 math-related activities and variations along with training materials for staff-all available for free downloading and ready for you to add into existing program components, such as gym games and snack time.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, MiM is a collaboration among TERC and afterschool programs affiliated with the YMCA, Girls Inc., BELL, and the St. Louis Science Centers. MiM, currently in its third year, is poised to reach 50,000 to 100,000 children nationwide, most of them low-income, along with tens of thousands of afterschool educators.

"This project has already made a substantial impact, as afterschool programs build math into all aspects of their programming," says Marlene Kliman. Mixing in Math Project Director ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , 617-873-9654). "Afterschool staff report that the great majority of children are quickly gaining enthusiasm for math, along with skills and confidence."

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Legislative Update for August

Congress is in its extended August recess and will return after Labor Day facing a daunting agenda. The war in Iraq will dominate much of the debate, with children’s health insurance, defense authorization, the farm bill, higher education, and several other bills also due to come up. Congress must tackle all the appropriations bills, including that for Labor-HHS-Education. While the House has passed its version, the Senate bill has only been reported out of Committee.
As noted previously, the House bill treats afterschool funding more favorably. It provides a $125 million increase for 21st Century Community Learning Centers, compared with an $18 million increase in the Senate bill. It also provides a $75 million increase for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, which received no increase in the Senate bill. Members of Congress need to hear from their constituents about the importance of increased spending on afterschool.

Even though no spending bills have been completed, Congressional leaders are hoping to avoid having to resort to lumping all bills that have not been passed into an omnibus bill. They are more likely to put several bills into a “minibus”, where they could combine an always-controversial bill such as Labor-HHS with a more popular, must-do bill such as spending on veterans. President Bush has pledged to veto bills such as Labor-HHS, which contains a higher level of spending than his budget proposed.

The other legislation important to afterschool is the reconsideration of the No Child Left Behind Act (actually the reauthorization of the Elementary-Secondary Education Act). 21stCCLC will be reauthorized in this bill, which also will make changes to the Supplemental Education Services provisions. Congressman George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, has stated that he intends to not only consider a bill in Committee during September, but also see it pass the House. This is an ambitious plan. While Senate plans have not been so public, there is talk that the HELP Committee is also working toward considering a bill this fall.

OregonASK Curriculum and Resource Fairs

OregonASK is on the road!  Join us for training, networking and the opportunity to browse through some great afterschool resources!  We just completed our first event at the Merdian Park Hospital Education Center in Tualitin on June 2^nd.  Participants had a chance to network and enjoy sessions on Best Practices and Curriculum building.  Our next Curriculum and Resource Fairs will be this August and September. 

We will be going to:

Medford: August 19th
Klamath Falls: August 20th
Salem: September 9th

Stay tuned for registration and details on this page!