Tips for Managers for Using this Presentation

1. Tips for Managers for Using this Presentation • Do your own learning first • Take the online Basics course. • Read through the entire CFPQA to familiarize yourself with it. • Have several copies of the CFPQA available for staff to thumb through and explore. • Try these activities along with the presentation: • Have staff sort the playing cards into three piles (low, medium, and high) as a mini self assessment. • Have staff score between one and three items based on their experiences at their own programs • Have some staff role play a scene from a program and other staff take objective notes on what they see. • Create example scenarios and notes and have staff use them to score a few items of the PQA.

2. Camp Fire PQA Program Self Assessment Crash Course

3. DO NOT Proceed unless…. You plan to be completely honest in your self assessment. Otherwise, you are wasting your time.

4. What is the Youth PQA? • A validated instrument designed to assess the quality of youth programs and identify staff training needs. • A set of items which measure youth access to key developmental experiences. • A tool which produces scores that can be used for comparison and assessment of progress over time.

5. Pyramid of Program Quality Plan Make choices Engagement Reflect Leadership Collaboration Interaction Experience belonging Staff preparation Reframing conflict Encouragement Welcoming atmosphere Supportive Environment Skill building Appropriate challenge Respect for family &culture Active engagement Psychological and emotional safety Safe Environment Active engagement Program space and furniture Emergency procedures Healthy food and drinks Physically safe environment Youth Centered Policies and Practices High Expectations for Youth and Staff Access

6. Camp Fire USA Program Quality Assessment Form A: Program Offering Items I. Safe Environment II. Supportive Environment III. Youth Interaction IV. Engagement Camp Fire USA Program Standards I. Safe Environment II. Supportive Environment III. Youth Interaction IV. Engagement V. Youth Centered Policies and Practices VI. High Expectations for Youth and Staff VII. Access Form B: Organizational Items V. Youth Centered Policies and Practices VI. High Expectations for Youth and Staff VII. Access

7. Sample item “Domain” “Scale” “Item or Item Row” The CFPQA consists of: 2 forms (Form A and Form B); 7 domains (4 in A, 3 in B) 38 scales (18 in A, 20 in B) Form A has 72 items and Form B has 92 items.

8. Camp Fire Program Quality Assessment Field Test CFUSA asks each Council to: • conduct a program self assessment of up to five program sites • complete oneCFPQA Form A for each of the sites assessed • complete oneCFPQA Form B for each type of program in which you completed a CFPQA Form A (afterschool program, camp, club, etc.). 

9. CFUSA Program Self Assessment Step-by-Step • Select your team • Attend training • Collect Data (Form A) or Gather Documentation (Form B) • Have Scoring Meetings • Enter and Report Data • Make an Improvement Plan Three aspects of a constructive program self assessment process: • working as a team • basing scores on observational evidence • focusing on conversations about quality

10. 1. Select your team. • Program administrator • At least two others involved in the program • Direct-delivery staff • Volunteers • Council members • Parents • Each program looks different, do what works for you!

11. 2. Attend training. Team members • Trained to participate in self assessment process • CFPQA Basics online OR • 1-hour CFPQA Intro OR • Program administrator can talk staff through the process using the CFPQA Crash Course PowerPoint presentation and the CFPQA Playing Cards. • Staff can practice using the activities in the CFPQI Training Guide • Stickies activity is provided on labels in the box set and the answers are in the Training Guide • You can make copies if you would like more people to be able to do this activity!

12. 3. Collect data. • CFUSA asks each Council to conduct a program self assessment of up to five program sites and complete oneCFPQA Form A for each of the five sites assessed. • Team members collect data by observing programs. Plan enough time to observe a program activity in its entirety plus transition times to and from the activity. • Team members collect objective, anecdotal records of the programs they observe.

13. 3: Collect data(Weak Anecdotes) • There was some reflection. • Youth got to choose where the furniture went. What makes these anecdotes weak? How would you re-word these anecdotes to make them more effective?

14. 3: Collect data(Stronger Anecdotes) • With 10 minutes left, staff distributed index cards and asked youth to “write one thing you liked about today’s session and one thing you would have changed.” She then collected the cards. • As youth and staff were setting up folding chairs for movie night, staff said. “How do you think we should set these up so people can see and still get to the bathroom?”

15. Note Taking Guidelines

16. 3. Collect data.Your Program Three aspects of a constructive self assessment process: • working as a team • basing scores on observational evidence • focusing on conversations about quality

17. 4. Have scoring meeting(s).Form A • Complete oneCFPQA Form A for each of the program sites observed. Use the CFPQA Help Deskto assist with challenging scores. • Plan a meeting with the self assessment team • Everyone who observed or was observed • Bring anecdotal notes • Agree upon a score for each indicator using the anecdotal notes from the observations.

18. 4. Have scoring meeting(s).Form B • CFUSA asks each Council to complete oneCFPQA Form B for each type of program in which you completed a CFPQA Form A (afterschool program, camp, club, etc.).  • Plan a meeting with the self assessment team • Program Administrator • On-Site Directors of assessed programs • Direct-Delivery staff • The team conducts a group interview, providing documentation or evidence for each indicator. • Visit the CFPQA Help Desk to communicate questions.

19. 5: Enter and Report Data • Enter your scores on Online Scores Reporter • Your login information and instructions to use the online system will come soon.

20. 6: Create an Improvement Plan • Set Goals • Measure Success • Set Steps Toward Reaching Goals • Ask for Support

21. The staff of the Center for Youth Program Quality will be available to offer assistance as needed as you complete the CFPQA self assessment. • For more information: http://www.cypq.org/CampFireUSA • Please do not hesitate to contact Amanda Sutter should you have any questions or need support: amanda@cypq.org 734-961-6900 ext.217