NSLA Program Planning and Training Packages
Unlock the potential of your team with expert guidance from Brodrick Clarke, NSLA’s head of youth development and our roster of expert Field Consultants to elevate your programs through dynamic, hands-on training sessions designed to enhance Active Engagement, Assertiveness, Belonging, and Reflection.
NSLA Program Planning and Training
Thoughtful planning is the foundation of any great summer learning program. NSLA’s Training Packages are tailored to your needs and equip program leaders and frontline staff with the tools, strategies, and insights to design and deliver high-quality summer experiences that keep kids engaged, learning, and thriving.
Destination Summer Learning
This session introduces participants to the Destination Summer Learning planning guide, NSLA’s new comprehensive roadmap for building enriching summer programs. With support from NSLA’s expert Field Consultant team, participants will chart their own personalized planning pathways using proven methods, real-world examples, and stories from award winning programs.
Order the guide today!
Data-Driven Planning
In this session, participants will learn how to interpret and apply program data to drive continuous improvement. Learn to identify trends, assess quality, and build actionable plans that strengthen your program and outcomes for youth.
Leading from the Point of Service
This session empowers point-of-service staff—those who work directly with youth—to become active leaders in quality improvement. Learn how to cultivate and sustain their engagement, and unlock the full potential of your team’s insights and experience.
Whether you’re just starting out or refining an established program, NSLA’s Training Packages provide the expert guidance and resources you need to create a summer of impact.
Interested in bringing this training to your team?
Program Management Training Package
Effective program management is essential to building a strong organizational culture, supporting frontline staff, and ensuring lasting impact for youth. NSLA’s Program Management Training Package offers specialized training for supervisors, coaches, and network leaders to drive continuous quality improvement and embed positive youth development at every level.
Advancing Youth Development (AYD) for Supervisors
Empower your leadership team with a youth-centered approach. This one-day training introduces supervisors to youth development through a managerial lens, helping them align daily operations with best practices in positive youth development. Ideal for those who support frontline staff, this session strengthens leadership and helps organizations infuse youth-focused values into their culture and program design.
Leading for Quality
Strong networks require strong leaders. This session is designed for network leads and system-level changemakers, focusing on the key competencies needed to move quality improvement efforts forward. Participants will explore the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that drive systems change and support high-quality programming across sites.
The Role of the Coach in the Quality Movement
Coaches play a vital role in sustaining program excellence. This session explores what makes coaching effective—from behaviors and mindsets to the attitudes that foster trust and growth. Learn how to become a supportive, reflective, and empowering coach who fuels a culture of continuous improvement.
These sessions are ideal for program managers, site leaders, and systems-level staff who want to strengthen their leadership and build a culture rooted in quality and youth development.Interested in bringing this training to your team?
Interested in bringing this training to your team?
Systems Building Training Package
Creating equitable, high-quality summer learning opportunities at scale requires a strong, coordinated system. NSLA’s Systems Building Training Package helps communities assess, align, and strengthen their summer learning ecosystems—ensuring that all young people have access to the programs they need to thrive.
Summer Landscape Assessment
NSLA partners with communities to map the full picture of local summer learning opportunities—who is being served, where programs are located, what activities are offered, and whether meals are provided. This data-driven assessment identifies gaps, redundancies, and opportunities to better align services and reach more youth.
Community Indicators of Effective Summer Learning Systems (CIESLS) Self-Assessment
Using NSLA’s research-based framework, communities assess their summer systems across six key domains. This collaborative self-assessment helps identify strengths and areas for growth, guiding improvements in coordination, quality, and equity.
Community Report
Based on the Summer Landscape Assessment and CIESLS Self-Assessment results, NSLA creates a public-facing report that highlights findings and provides actionable recommendations. This report serves as a valuable tool for engaging stakeholders, securing funding, and informing policy and practice.
Strategic Planning
NSLA leads participants through a strategic planning process to translate insights into action. Using system indicators and best practices from successful communities, participants will develop a tailored action plan to build and sustain a strong summer learning system.
Positive Youth Development Training Package
Advancing Youth Development: One-Day Overview
This foundational session introduces participants to the core principles and structure of the youth development approach. Designed to build organizational capacity and deepen understanding of the PYD framework, this training emphasizes the importance of defining and supporting positive youth outcomes in everyday practice.
Advancing Youth Development (AYD) 30-Hour Training
- Support youth in identifying their strengths and goals
- Connect youth to resources and opportunities
- Build trust-based, developmental relationships
- Create environments that foster youth leadership and growth
Combating Adultism
This eye-opening workshop explores the often-overlooked bias of adultism—societal attitudes and behaviors that disempower youth. Participants will learn to recognize five common forms of adultism, understand how they affect young people daily, and practice alternative behaviors that foster respect, voice, and shared power with youth.Whether you’re just starting your youth development journey or looking to deepen your practice, this training package provides the knowledge and skills to build authentic, youth-centered programs.