🌻NAA is Blooming with Spring News
Each summer, the catalog serves as a trusted planning guide for thousands of afterschool and youth development leaders exploring everything from curriculum and staffing supports to consulting services, technology platforms, wellness initiatives, and organizational resources. If your organization offers products, services, training, consulting, or other supports that could benefit the OST community, we’d love to consider including you in this year’s catalog.
Summer is more than sunshine and downtime. It’s a chance to pause, reflect, and recharge. Whether you’re leading a summer program or enjoying a slower pace, this season is the perfect time to pour a little into yourself, both personally and professionally. We’ve put together a Summer Bucket List just for OST professionals, with a mix of self-care, curiosity, learning, and low-key fun. Pick a few, try them all, or use this as inspiration to make your own version. You’ve earned it.
According to the CDC, over 40% of U.S. school-aged children and adolescents have at least one chronic health condition, including asthma, obesity, and behavior/learning challenges. Additionally, approximately 7.7 million U.S. children participate in out-of-school-time (OST) programs. From these figures, it’s reasonable to estimate that around 3 million youth with chronic conditions are participating in OST programs. The magnitude of this number represents the challenge for OST programs in ensuring safety through daily management and addressing potential emergencies, but also provides a huge opportunity to support youth in building skills and habits for lifelong health.Â
