Complete the Lewis Prize for Music’s CYD Community Response Survey by March 19

graphic for The Lewis Prize for Music's CYD Community Response Survey

The Lewis Prize for Music is conducting a CYD community response  survey  to collect information about the larger field’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing injustices of systemic racism that the pandemic has only laid more bare. The Lewis Prize for Music wants to elevate nationally the critical work that CYD organizations are doing to create a more just society. All information shared in the survey will be reported back to the field in a summative fashion and activated toward the goal of increasing resources for the CYD field at large. Please only complete the survey once per organization.

Questions? Contact info@thelewisprize.org.

Complete the Survey by March 19

 

Brief Examines Local Peer Learning Networks

In 2019, the CYD National Partnership’s Field Building Action Team conducted interviews across the nation to understand the growth of peer learning networks—focused fully or in part on CYD—that are emerging across the country. The results were compiled in a brief written for the CYD National Partnership by Ellen Hirzy in January 2020:

Peer learning networks promote the sharing of knowledge, experiences, ideas, and promising practices among professionals. Whether formal or informal, they give people a chance to know others who are engaged in similar work with similar challenges. Close interaction with peers can be difficult to find in the nonprofit world, especially for those working in smaller organizations with limited resources. The mutual encouragement and professional growth that happens over time through a peer network can make a profound difference in individuals and their organizations, and ultimately in the youth they serve.

Looking at the broader picture, as peer networks proliferate, collectively they will help to advance the creative youth development field as a whole, including the growth of cross-sector collaboration. This paper describes the benefits of CYD peer learning networks, their structure and function, challenges they face, and attributes that contribute to success. Designed as a reference tool for practitioners, funders, and key stakeholders, it is based on interviews the CYD National Partnership conducted with 11 emergent and sustaining networks around the country. Short profiles of several networks illustrate the diversity and potential of peer learning as a catalyst to creative youth development.

Read the Brief

Afterschool Alliance Researching How COVID-19 is Affecting Programs This Fall

Afterschool Alliance has released Wave 2 of their Afterschool in the Time of COVID-19 survey findings, and are now collecting data for Wave 3.

By taking their short survey, you are lifting up challenges programs face as the pandemic continues, and, more importantly, your answers will raise awareness of the short- and long-term effects of COVID-19 on the afterschool field. Findings from these surveys are shared with federal policy makers and featured in publications such as Education Week and Youth Today.

Questions? Contact Nikki Yamashiro.

Complete their Wave 3 survey by 11:59 pm (PDT) on October 26.

Mapping Skill to Will: Approaches to Funding Creative Youth Development in the United States

In 2018, the Creative Youth Development (CYD) National Partnership, through grant funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, worked in concert with the broader field to drive collective action in three strategic priorities to advance creative youth development:

    • Visibility & Impact: Documenting and Communicating Outcomes and Impact
    • Funding: Building Pathways to Funding
    • Field Building: Professional Development, Networking & Technical Assistance

The research that has been conducted involves an analysis of current and potential CYD funders, the experience and attitudes of those funders through a developed Skill/Will Map, and a deep-dive set of case stories illuminating partnerships between funders and CYD programs. Continue reading “Mapping Skill to Will: Approaches to Funding Creative Youth Development in the United States”

Building Pathways to Funding: A Strategy Towards Expanding Funding for the CYD Field

CYD funder “Skill” vs “Will” matrix

In 2018, the Creative Youth Development (CYD) National Partnership, through grant funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, worked in concert with the broader field to drive collective action in three strategic priorities to advance creative youth development:

    • Visibility & Impact: Documenting and Communicating Outcomes and Impact
    • Funding: Building Pathways to Funding
    • Field Building: Professional Development, Networking & Technical Assistance

The research that has been conducted involves an analysis of current and potential CYD funders, the experience and attitudes of those funders through a developed Skill/Will Map, and a deep-dive set of case stories illuminating partnerships between funders and CYD programs. Continue reading “Building Pathways to Funding: A Strategy Towards Expanding Funding for the CYD Field”

ArtPlace America and Creative Generation Announce New Research Initiative

Cheyenne River Youth Project’s RedCan Jam 2019. Photo: Justin Chotikul

The following post originally appeared on the ArtPlace blog on July 16, 2020.

By Jamie Hand, Director of Research Strategies, ArtPlace

Together, ArtPlace America and Creative Generation are pleased to announce a new research initiative focused on arts, culture, and youth development.

This partnership will explore the intersections of creative youth development, creative placemaking, and community development through community based, youth- and practitioner-led research. By the end of the year, a series of new web-based tools and resources will be created by and for practitioners operating in this space. Continue reading “ArtPlace America and Creative Generation Announce New Research Initiative”

AFTA’s 7 CYD Landscape Analysis Papers Now Available

AFTA cover art for landscape analysis paperAs part of Americans for the Arts’ work on their Creative Youth Development Toolkit, they commissioned field experts to produce a set of seven landscape analyses about key topics within youth development. These papers identify trends in creative youth development, share recommendations for CYD practitioners, and suggest areas for future exploration. All of them are now available online:

Education Commission of the States Releases CYD Policy Brief

Education Commission of the States logoThe Education Commission of the States’ recently released policy brief, Creative Youth Development: Transforming the Learning Environment, which received input from the Creative Youth Development National Partnership, provides an overview of CYD and its connections to student success, examples of successful programs, and considerations for state policymakers.

CYD programs may be particularly beneficial for underserved youth, providing them with opportunities to amplify inherent strengths and talents, build positive relationships, and express themselves in safe and healthy spaces. Increased flexibilities under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) offer states the opportunity to explore the use of innovative strategies to provide students with a well-rounded education that includes the arts. CYD strategies may serve to narrow the achievement gap and increase equity in education systems. Additionally, states may use CYD programs in conjunction with other educational initiatives, including those related to school improvement, alternative education, deeper learning, social-emotional learning and 21st century skills.

Read the complete policy brief.

How CYD Aligns with Allied Youth Sectors

In the process of developing the Creative Youth Development National Action Blueprint, the CYD National Partnership commissioned research by the Forum for Youth Investment that maps opportunities for alignment between CYD and allied youth sectors, such as education and juvenile justice. The table they developed identifies the various points of alignment among CYD and adjacent sectors also working toward positive outcomes for youth, states levers for connection, and lists driving frameworks guiding philanthropy, policy & practice in the various systems and settings.

CYD Alignment with Allied Youth Sectors

Graphic showing CYD Alignment with Allied Youth Sectors

 

For additional discussion of working cross-sector, see this piece by Cynthia Campoy-Brophy.

There are Not Enough CYD Programs

Many youth participants in CYD programs attest that their involvement changed the trajectory of their lives. Additionally, numerous young people state that participation in a CYD program effectively saved their lives. However, there are not enough CYD programs to meet the needs and interests of young people in our communities. While creative youth development is on the rise, not every community has CYD opportunities for young people. And some outstanding programs have waiting lists of young people who never have a chance to participate because demand exceeds the number of openings.

The Afterschool Alliance documents unmet demand for afterschool programs in its report America After 3PM: Afterschool Programs in Demand (2014).

Key findings include:

  • “Although sizeable gains have been made in afterschool program quality and participation, the unmet demand for afterschool programs continues to rise.”
  • “Despite the growing call for afterschool programs, $4 billion in local grant requests have been denied due to insufficient federal funds and an increasing number of requests over the last 10 years.”
  • “Parents of 18.5 million children (38 percent) not currently participating in afterschool programs say they would enroll their children if a program were available to them.”

Clearly there is unmet demand among youth and families for high quality afterschool programs. So how do we know that there is unmet demand for CYD programs, specifically?

The Search Institute has conducted substantial research in the area of young people’s deep interests and passions, or their sparks, with compelling results about young people’s interest in creative pursuits.

Creative arts was the number one interest area cited by U.S. teens aged 12-17 among the top 10 sparks categories. In fact, creative arts was cited by 54% of teens, more than twice as often as the number two category, athletics, which was named by 25% of teens surveyed (Benson, 2008).

“…creative life…art, music, drama, dance, movement is the largest category in which sparks fall for America’s kids…that’s the area in which the most kids say, ‘I’m my best self.’ It’s the arena in which most kids will say “ is where life is the fullest and most hopeful.” (Benson, 2011)

Young people are clearly interested in opportunities for creative skill building, inquiry, and expression, which is at the heart of CYD. So policymakers, funders, youth developers, community leaders and others who value supporting young people in identifying and cultivating their sparks, or personal passions, should support increasing access to and investment in CYD. High-quality creative youth development programs are essential pathways for young people to thrive.