Over the course of the 2010-2011 school year, the Pro-Youth/HEART Training Department has provided a tremendous variety of training opportunities for HEART employees and staff of other after-school program providers throughout Tulare County and Region VII.

From September 2010 to August 2011, we have provided over 52 hours of training to 140 new Program Leaders. The new Program Leader training process continues to grow and evolve with direction from the newly formed Training Task Team.

The annual HEART Winter Conference held on January 5th 2011 provided 30 separate 2 hour workshops for 462 After-School professionals representing 30 different After-School programs in Region VII.

This year the Pro-Youth/HEART Summer Training program was held at the College of the Sequoias from July 5th through July 28th. This year we had a total of 416 after school program staff attend summer training, with the opportunity to select from 85 different workshops offered over the four week course. Workshops were provided two times per day for a total of 420 total classes and over 500 training hours registered. In conjunction, Pro-Youth/HEART hosted a Health and Educational Resource Fair on July 27, 2011, with 56 vendor and community service organizations in attendance. The training provided to the after-school program community is essential in developing quality staff to achieve successful programs for after-school children.

Staff Development
The HEART training program is consistently evolving as the experience of communities and children expand the needs of the program. The lessons of the past few years have resulted in special emphasis on classroom management and lesson-planning. In addition, our experience indicates that enrichment activities that incorporate experiential education strategies engage students, expand learning modalities and complement academic performance. To stay current with the ever evolving needs of students and communities and Program Staff, HEART has developed a Training Task Team. The Training Task Team consists of 5 Site Directors who meet weekly to assess program training and development needs, design, schedule and deliver skills-related training and identify and develop training specialists through a ToT (Training-of-Trainer) skills development process.

Academics
HEART identifies and selects research-based programs that meet State Content Standards: KidzLit, KidzMath, Partner Math, KidzScience, Lexia Learning, Compass Learning Odyssey English & Math intervention, Soar to Success and Renaissance Learning (STAR) assessments.

Enrichment
HEART promotes physical fitness, proper nutrition, STEM, bullying prevention, performing arts, cultural & community involvement activities that are fun and engaging and reinforce learning and behavior improvement. HEART incorporates a variety of research based enrichment programs such as SPARKs Physical Education, KidzScience, Olweus Bullying Prevention, Too Good for Drugs, Mini Society, 5-A-DayPowerPlay and Reader's Theater.

New Program Leaders
New Program Leaders receive 26 hours of classroom instruction and an average of 60 to 80 hours of job shadowing during their first 5 to 6 weeks of employment with HEART. During the classroom instruction sessions new Program Leaders attend modules such as: Youth Development, KidzLit, KidzMath, Professionalism, Classroom Management, Attendance Tracking, Homework & Behavior Tracking, Experiential Education and Lesson Planning. The Program Leader job shadowing experience ranges from observation of classroom activities in a variety of settings to creating lesson plans and leading activities in a controlled environment with another experienced staff observing and providing feedback.

HEART Winter Training Conference
Each year during winter break, HEART hosts an annual Winter Training Conference. In 2011 HEART extended an invitation to the Tulare County Office of Education to join in the planning and open the Winter Training Conference to all OST staff from throughout Region 7 and beyond. This year's event had well over 600 registered participants, a 30% increase over last year's attendance. Over 40 workshops were provided by a variety of local and regional experts. All presenters volunteered their services free of charge and there was no cost to programs to attend the Conference.

HEART Summer Training Institute
Every summer since 1999, HEART and College of the Sequoias designs and implements a four week, four-unit course through the Child Development Department. The course is reviewed by the curriculum committee and focuses on key elements of the after-school program. In addition, the course emphasizes classroom management, teaching techniques, learning styles, homework assistance and the design and implementation of project learning activities.

On-Going Training and Support
During the HEART school year, each Site Director, school principal, and Academic Coaches observe and guide Program Leader lessons and activities. Program Leaders who need assistance are provided additional support to effectively engage children and help them improve their academic skills and behavior. A Program Leader commented, "I like having the opportunity to learn how to plan a lesson, while keeping children in mind as the ultimate beneficiaries." HEART's Staff Training and Professional Development provides new Program Leaders with more than 150 hours of skills development based on the assessment of needs identified by each school district and the experience of HEART over the past twelve years.