📅 The First Week Sets The Tone For The Whole Year To help you start strong, Hailee, Mizzen’s Community Engagement + Experiences Manager, curated a playlist of her favorite connection-building activities for grades K–12. Whether you’re welcoming a new group or reconnecting after summer break, these ready-to-use activities help youth build relationships before jumping into lessons and programming. Explore The Collection Inside, you’ll find activities for grades K–12 with a mix of no-prep and facilitated options, making…

Lights On Afterschool 101 – Wednesday, September 9, at 2 p.m. ET Lights On Afterschool is back for its 27th year, celebrating afterschool programs, students, and staff! Taking place this year on October 22, 2026, this nationwide event brings together more than 8,000 programs to showcase the important role afterschool plays in supporting youth, families, and communities. Like afterschool programs, Lights On Afterschool celebrations come in all shapes and sizes and don’t have to be huge to be…

🦸‍♀️ Bringing Together Youth Leaders, Advocates, and Changemakers for Learning, Connection, and Empowerment Welcome to the Youth Power Summit, an annual event hosted by the Institute where young people from all across New Jersey come together to imagine and build the world they deserve. Whether it’s mental health, immigration, housing or lowering the voting age, young people like you will spend the day learning the skills necessary to advocate and organize for issues that matter most to…

We Are Grateful to Have the Best People in Our Network of Afterschool Professionals Things people are saying about NJSACC “Wonderful experience and ways of looking at interactions. Ideas and insights were abundant” “I have learned so much during my time with you, I think I could do the job. My summer camp has benefited from my training with you. We have community time in the morning from 9:00am – 9:30am and I do games…

Exciting News! Registration for NAA27 is Now Open! This year is especially meaningful as we celebrate 40 years of the National AfterSchool Association — four decades of advancing the afterschool profession, strengthening programs, and supporting the leaders who make this work possible every day. Our anniversary theme, Built to Last. Ready to Rise., honors the foundation we’ve built together while looking toward the future of afterschool. It’s a celebration of the resilience, innovation, and commitment that have defined…

💰 Program Sites Can Win Up to $5,000 in this National AI Challenge from the Panasonic Foundation + STEM Next Do the young people in your afterschool program have ideas for using artificial intelligence to solve problems in their community or around the world? The AI Innovation Challenge, created by STEM Next Opportunity Fund in partnership with the Panasonic Foundation, gives high school youth the opportunity to explore those ideas while competing for prize funding…

💬 NJSACC’s CEO, Joins the Advocates for Children of New Jersey Let’s Talk Kids Podcast NJSACC’s CEO, joins the Advocates for Children of New Jersey Let’s Talk Kids Podcast, discussing Quality Afterschool & Out-of-School Time Programs Ebony Grace, CEO of NJSACC, speaks with  Mary Coogan, ACNJ’s President and CEO, exploring what makes afterschool and OST learning so special and impactful for the next generation of children.  Full Episode from YouTube More from ACNJ Partial Episode from YouTube

NJSACC’s 2026-2027 Professional Development Opportunities NJSACC offers a variety of engaging virtual and in-person professional development and technical assistance opportunities for all staff working in school-age child care, afterschool, and out-of-school-time (OST) programs. Guided by the New Jersey Quality Standards for Afterschool (NJQSA), training topics include leading activities, behavior and inclusion, team building, leadership development, program planning/management, STEM, Social Emotional Learning (SEL), working with families, and so much more! Check out the professional development opportunities…

🥂 Join Us in Celebrating the Moments That Shaped Our Year 🥂 Throughout the past year, NJSACC has had the privilege of working alongside dedicated afterschool and out-of-school time professionals who continue to make an extraordinary difference in the lives of New Jersey’s youth. Every conference, training, partnership, coaching session, and conversation reflected a shared commitment to creating stronger programs, supporting one another, and investing in the future of our communities. As you explore this…