Issue Editors' Notes

Abstract

The development of the afterschool workforceAs a new staff member, you enter an afterschool program for the first time.You have been given an orientation to the program, but you have no formal education or prior experience working in afterschool settings.You see dozens of children of varying gender, ages, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds.Supervising staff and a program director with diverse backgrounds and experience are also present.Around the classroom, resources that might be used to help children of different ages learn and develop are present.But this program takes place in school building and a teacher during the school day "owns" most of the materials.Has a relationship between the program and school settings been established that would allow you to use any of these resources?Returning to the children, you see that some are engaged in an activity together that is guided by the program staff.Others are chatting in the corner on their own.Still others appear bored, keep to themselves, show various behavior problems, and/or have special needs.You notice an outline of the day's activities written on a whiteboard, but the organization or purpose of the day's agenda is not clear.You wonder what the program aims to accomplish.What are the children supposed to be learning?Then, without any further preparation, you are asked to begin working with the children.If this scenario seems daunting to you, then we understand how you feel.In fact, we believe that no member of the afterschool workforce should work with young people until they have been adequately prepared and properly supervised.That is our goal and the reason we assembled this volume of New Directions for Youth

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