Wisconsin Out of School Time Alliance
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Wisconsin Out of School Time Alliance

The Wisconsin Out of School Time Alliance (WOSTA) is the state-affiliate of the national 50 State Afterschool Networks and brings together agencies, organizations and individuals from across Wisconsin who want to see that all Wisconsin children have access to high quality OST programs in their non-school hours to develop to their full potential and become productive, contributing members of their communities. Wisconsin Out of School Time Alliance is a partnership with Marshfield Clinic Health System’s Center for Community Health Advancement. 

All courses are offered in a virtual format. 

​Details


The Wisconsin Out of School Time Alliance is pleased to offer a full array of professional development opportunities specific to the needs of staff working in the after school and out-of-school time field to enrich the lives and health of our children and communities.

We are proud to offer these courses in partnership with Marshfield Clinic Health System, UW-Milwaukee and UW-Stevens Point with generous support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, Wisconsin Department of Administration, and Shine Early Learning.

​Alternative Pathway to School Age Child Care Licensing

The Wisconsin Out of School Time Alliance is very pleased to provide school age programs with specific professional development opportunities that prepare staff with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively work with school age children.  These courses are approved by the Department of Children and Families to meet educational requirement for school age program leads and group leaders.

With licensing approval, the Alternative Pathway to meet entry level requirements for the position of program lead combines the Introduction to the School-age Care Profession with Guiding Children’s Behavior in Afterschool Programs and School Age Curricular Framework. Additionally the Introduction to the School-age Care Profession is recognized to qualify staff for the position of group leader.​

The Alternative Pathway courses are available at a discount to members of the Wisconsin Out of School Time Alliance. For your free WOSTA membership and to receive your course discount codes sign up here​

 Introduction to the School-Age Care Profession

Introduction to the School-Age Care Profession is available on demand through University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. This on-demand class means that you can register at any time and begin your work immediately. 

This course provides entry-level knowledge and skills for individuals as they begin to or intend to care for school-age children in group or family childcare settings. This course will provide a foundation for the importance of Out-of-School time programs and explore the philosophy and goals for high quality programs. It examines and identifies the rules and regulations governing group and family childcare for school-age children and the responsibilities of the providers. 

This course will fulfill the first introductory non-credit course requirements for a school-age group leader (teacher) as specified in DCF Chapter 251 for group child care in Wisconsin's Administrative Code as it applies to school-age care. This course is part of an alternative pathway to becoming a group leader.

Registration fee: $75 – Registration reduced to $15 using the discount code provided with membership to the Wisconsin Out of School Time Alliance. Visit here to sign-up and view instructions.

Registration will open on July 1, 2024. 


Registration for the Introduction to the School-Age Care Profession course will take place through UW-Milwaukee. Please click on the registration link and you will be taken to the registration form. Any questions please contact WOSTA at wosta@marshfieldclinic.org

 Guiding Children's Behavior in OST Programs

This course explores our individual understanding of behavior guidance and how our experiences and philosophy influence how we guide the behavior of children.  The importance of relationship building with children as an essential component to behavior guidance will be explored.  This course will also share multiple strategies for dealing with challenging situations and the many techniques we have available to help children gain the skills to regulate and monitor their own behavior.

The training provides 15 hours of continuing education and is a Tier 3 training opportunity and supports the YoungStar Curriculum and Learning Environment criteria.


Fall 2024 Session: 

Live sessions Mondays and Thursdays, October 10, 14, 17, 21, & 24..​

Registration closes October 2, 2024. ​

Course opens for online work October 4, 2024.

Time of Course:

10:30 a.m.-Noon CST
OR
6:30-8 p.m. CST

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Winter 2025 Session:​

Live sessions Mondays and Thursdays, January 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, 2025

Registration closes January 1, 2025.

Course opens for online work January 3, 2025. 

Time of Course:
10:30 a.m.-Noon CST
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Spring 2025 Session:

​​Live sessions Mondays and Thursdays, March 6, 10, 13, 17, 20​, 2025.

Registration closes February 26, 2025

Course opens for online work February 28, 2025. 

Time of Course:

10:30 a.m.-Noon CST
OR
6:30-8 p.m. CST

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Summer 2025 Intensive Session:

​​​Live sessions​ daily, June 9 - 13, 2025.

​​Registration closes June 2, 2025.​

Course opens for online work June 4, 2025. 

Time of Course:
10:30 a.m.-Noon CST

Duration of Course:

  • 5 live synchronous sessions total - 90 minutes each
  • Independent work between each of the live sessions. 
  • Independent work is equal to 7.5 hours.

Registration fee: $25 – $15 with membership to Wisconsin Out of School Time Alliance



 School Age Curricular Framework

School-age Curricular Framework defines and explores curriculum within the context of after school programs and helps staff develop the resources necessary to create intentional learning experiences and activities to support both academic and social-emotional learning of school age children.  Participants will gain an understanding of key elements and developmental concepts that go into creating a framework for curriculum and develop strategies for activity and lesson planning.  Developmentally appropriate practice will be explored as well as the creation of desired outcomes and goals and the impact of climate and physical environment that fosters learning.

The training provides 15 hours of continuing education and is a Tier 3 training opportunity and supports the YoungStar Curriculum and Learning Environment criteria.

Summer 2024 Intensive Session:

Live sessions daily, August 19-23, 2024.

Registration closes August 12, 2024. 

Course opens for online work August 14, 2024.
 
Time of Course:
10:30 a.m.-Noon CST

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Winter 2024 Session:

Live Sessions Mondays and Thursdays, December 5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 2024.

Registration closes November 27, 2024.

Course opens for online work November 29, 2024.

Time of Course:
10:30 a.m.-Noon CST
OR
6:30-8 p.m. CST

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Winter 2025 Session:

Live Sessions Mondays and Thursdays, February 6, 10, 13, 17, 20, 2025.

Registration closes January 29, 2025. 

Course opens for online work January 31, 2025. 

Time of Course:
10:30 a.m.-Noon CST

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Spring 2025 Session:

Live Sessions Mondays and Thursdays, April 3, 7, 10, 14, 17, 2025. 

Registration closes March 26, 2025.

Course opens for online work March 28, 2025.

Time of Course:
10:30 a.m.-Noon CST 
OR
6:30-8 p.m. CST

Duration of Course: 

  • 5 live synchronous sessions total - 90 minutes each.
  • Independent work between each of the live sessions.
  • Independent work is equal to 7.5 hours. 

​​​Registration fee: $25 – $15 with membership to Wisconsin Out of School Time Alliance



 Trauma-Informed Care Approach to OST Programs

Trauma is one of the key leverage points that can underlie serious behavioral health problems and contribute to problematic behaviors, life circumstances, and community consequences for many children. Early identification of trauma resulting from Adverse Childhood Experiences is critically important. School‐age afterschool programs, equipped with the knowledge of how to be trauma informed and responsive can play a vital role in not only identifying a need for trauma related intervention and also provide engaging experiences that build positive adaptive skills and social and emotional skills for kids who at the end of their school day may have exhausted their self‐regulation capacity.

Participants will understand the wide spectrum of adverse childhood experiences and the impact these have on the development and behavior of children in afterschool care as well as understand brain development in early childhood through adolescence and the impact of trauma.  Strategies and resources available to afterschool providers will be explored that can be immediately and effectively implemented within the context of the afterschool program.  How to create an afterschool environment and begin to examine individual capacity that builds supportive relationships with children and youth in order for them to acquire self‐regulation and sensory processing skills to manage their life situations will also be covered.

The training provides 15 hours of continuing education and is a Tier 3 training opportunity and supports the YoungStar Curriculum and Learning Environment criteria.

Fall 2024 Session:

Live Sessions Mondays, November 4, 11, 18, 25 and December 2, 2024.

Registration closes October 28, 2024.

Course opens for online work October 30, 2024. 

Time of Course:
10:30 – 12:00 p.m. CST

Duration of Course: 
  • 5 live synchronous sessions total - 90 minutes each.
  • Independent work between each of the live sessions. 
  • Independent work is equal to 7.5 hours.

Registration fee: $25

 

 Equity and Inclusion in OST Programs

This course is designed to help after school programs create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all children and their families. The course will explore our own biases and how they impact our interactions with children and their families and understand inequities from a systemic perspective. This course will open a dialogue and help us gain a growth mindset toward our work on inclusivity.

The training provides 12 hours of continuing education and is a Tier 3 training opportunity and supports the YoungStar Curriculum and Learning Environment criteria.

Spring 2025 Session:

Live Sessions Fridays February 21, 28, and March 7, 14, 2025. 

Registration closes February 12, 2025. 

Course opens for online work February 14, 2025. 

Time of Course:
10:30 a.m.-Noon CST

Duration of Course: 

  • 4 live synchronous sessions total - 90 minutes each.
  • Independent work between each of the live sessions.
  • Independent work is equal to 6 hours. 
Registration fee: $25


 Positive Youth Development for Youth Work Professionals

Positive Youth Development for Youth Work Professionals examines the foundations of Social Emotional Learning (SEL), the benefits of this specific skill development for youth and adults, and how to incorporate this learning into Out-of-School Time (OST) programs.

The 12-hour training is designed for independent learning, collaborative discussions, and live online sessions that provide participants with foundational information and best practices for implementing SEL into any OST setting.  This training was developed by the Wisconsin Out of School Alliance and is delivered by local trainers with experience and knowledge in school-age informal environments.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course participants will be able to:

  • Communicate the concept and importance of Social Emotional Learning to their staff, participants, and/or stakeholders.
  • Implement SEL tools within out of school time settings (1:1, small group, large group).
  • Infuse SEL tools into pre-service and in-service staff training.
  • Revise current program to embed SEL to maximize relationship and social emotional skill building, which in turn will minimize areas of conflict or chaos.
Winter 2025 Session:

Live Sessions Fridays, January 10, 17, 24, 31, 2025. 

Registration closes January 1, 2025. 

Course opens for online work January 3, 2025. 

Time of Course:
10:30 a.m.-Noon CST

Duration of Course:
  • 4 live synchronous sessions total - 90 minutes each
  • Independent work between each of the live sessions
  • Independent work is equal to 6 hours
Registration Fee $25 

 Designing and Assessing Child Outcomes

This course is designed to provide 12 hours of training experience to help program staff understand the importance and benefits of focusing on child outcomes, how to identify and develop relevant outcomes, how to translate outcomes into effective program activities and document and evaluate the attainment of outcomes that support the positive development of each child.  

The training provides 12 hours of continuing education and is a Tier 3 training opportunity and supports the YoungStar Curriculum and Learning Environment criteria.

Spring 2025 Session:

Live Sessions Fridays, April 4, 11, 25 and May 2, 2025.

Registration closes March 26, 2025. 

Course opens for online work March 28, 2025. 

Time of Course:
10:30 a.m.-Noon CST

Duration of Course: 

  • 4 live synchronous sessions total - 90 minutes each.
  • Independent work between each of the live sessions.
  • Independent work is equal to 6 hours. 

Registration fee: $25​


​​ ​

​Questions about the WOSTA​ Trainings?

Email wosta@marshfieldclinic.org​​​​​ or call 715-221-8409​.