by Bela P. Shah

NLC?s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute) is hosting an Afterschool Leadership Academy to develop municipal capacity for supporting afterschool programs on Oct. 17-18 in Denver. This one and a half day event will be sponsored with the support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

Local elected officials, city staff and state municipal league staff may apply to participate in this unique opportunity for peer learning and to hear from experts in the field of afterschool programming, policy and practice.

Approximately 25 local leaders and state league staff from across the nation will be competitively selected to participate in the leadership academy. NLC will recognize selected participants and will provide subsidies to help cover travel costs.

Benefits to Participants
The Afterschool Leadership Academy will provide in-depth training and networking opportunities for representatives of municipalities and state municipal leagues who have demonstrated a commitment to promoting afterschool programs. During the course of the event, participants will share experiences, discuss challenging questions and highlight promising models.

Participants in the academy will hear the firsthand experiences of municipal leaders working with NLC to create citywide systems to support afterschool opportunities. There will also be sessions on
cutting-edge research and a series of discussions in which experts and participants will address critical topics, such as:

? Community assessments and planning;

? Innovative funding strategies;

? Strategies to promote quality in afterschool settings; and

? Developing and maintaining public will.

In addition, a variety of in-depth resource materials will allow participants to return to their communities with the tools to put new ideas into action.

Application Process
Interested municipal leaders or state municipal league staff may apply to participate in the leadership academy by completing a two-page application, indicating what role they currently play in providing leadership on afterschool programming and what they are most interested in getting out of the academy.

Applications are due by September 6. The announcement of selected participants will be made no later than September 15.

Details: The two-page application is available at www.nlc.org/iyef. For more information on the leadership academy, contact Bela P. Shah at (202) 626-3057 or shah@nlc.org.