Frontiersman Q&A: Mat-Su Health Foundation program officer selected to join national afterschool and expanded learning initiative

WASILLA — Amy Gorn, a Mat-Su Health Foundation program officer, was recently selected by the Riley Institute at Furman University to take part in the White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellowship down in Greensville, South Carolina. This 10-month, national program will be an educational journey for Gorn and when she returns, she’s bring back her own educational tool kit, filled with a better understanding of policy-making for afterschool and expanded learning across the Mat-Su Valley.

“It is so important for young people to have access to high-quality academic enrichment opportunities during afterschool hours and in the summer – and we need policy leaders who can make that happen…” former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley stated in a recent press release.

Gorn is one of 16 people selected for this year’s WRP fellowship, according to the press release. She will head to the Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina in October to start the program where she will learn to develop and implement statewide policies aiming to boost the quality of education for after school and expanded learning,

Following the announcement, Gorn and MSHF CEO, Elizabeth Ripley provided a Q&A interview for the Frontiersman.

Gorn:

Q: Ultimately, what are you hoping to gain from this experience?

A: I am hoping to learn how to effectively generate wide and diverse support for our community’s youth, resulting in meaningful impacts at local and possible statewide levels. The focus of this experience is public policy around afterschool opportunities, which can mean legislation, but can also engage many sectors with the afterschool field.

Q: Will you be gone for 10 months or will you return sooner?

A: The structure of this fellowship means I will leave Alaska in October for a week long intensive study at Furman University’s Richard W. Riley Institute of Government, Politics, and Public Leadership in Greenville, S.C. I will come back to Alaska following this residential workshop to participate in a series of online sessions and small group conference calls. This works well being a working mother of my 6-year old daughter.

Q: What sort of after school ideas do you have for the Valley?

A: Quality and consistent afterschool programming has many benefits, not only for the children and youth engaged, but also for working families. There is interest and energy in Mat-Su to coordinate and increase afterschool programming to support positive youth development and prevent substance abuse.

Q: What about expanded learning ideas?

A: Our youth learn through relationship-building, skill-building and life experiences. Experiences such as volunteering, leadership and mentorship enhance connections to material learned in school or academic settings. Having broad-based support and investment to make available and affordable diverse learning encounters for children and youth connects them to the world, creates empathy and ignites their future passions and talents.

Q: What need to you see most present in our community when it comes to accessing education?

A: Students better connect to education when their essential wellbeing, social and emotional needs are met. Factors such as dysfunction, instability, toxic stress and pressures from social media all disrupt the safety and ability to access education. Our schools and the community are increasingly stepping up to address these factors, prevent them from even occurring where possible, and offer supports for a positive education foundation.

Q: How do we make more opportunities for children with less advantages and resources than their classmates?

A: An area that we can always focus on is summer learning. All children experience learning loss during summer months, however the effects are more so when there are fewer accessible resources. There is research detailing that more than half the achievement gap between lower and higher income youth can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities. Quality summer programming prevents the summer slide. Therefore, we need to examine what systemic barriers prevent access to the resources that do exist, like racism and poverty.

Q: How important are the current efforts in the Borough to make sure all schools are trauma informed (sensitive) to you?

A: The efforts in Mat-Su for schools to be trauma-sensitive are vital. Becoming trauma-informed and creating trauma-sensitive environments for our students is some of the most important work for supporting young people at such a formative time of development. These efforts support the whole person which builds skills and resilience while achieving better academic outcomes.

Q: How will the MSHF utilize what you are set to learn?

A: MSHF is strengthening our support and attention in prevention. The learning from this fellowship will strengthen Mat-Su afterschool programs and social connections through strong policy and partnerships in community and with grantees.

Q: Future goals and plans?

A: I look forward to the momentum of Mat-Su partners to create a comprehensive and coordinated system of prevention for our families, and the focus of this fellowship to support structures needed to make positive social gains for children and youth.

Q: Any further comments?

A: I am appreciative of the opportunity and for the support to engage in this fellowship on behalf of Mat-Su, and Alaska. I look forward to working and learning during the next ten months with afterschool professionals across the country as I’ll surely learn about best practices, strategies and innovations on behalf of our amazing youth.

Ripley:

Q: How do you feel about Amy being selected?

A: All of us at the Mat-Su Health Foundation are extremely proud that Amy has been selected to participate in the White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellowship. As the Program Officer for our Healthy Families area of focus, Amy is already doing outstanding work, and we’re confident this opportunity will help her contribute even more to the foundation’s mission to improve the health and wellness of Alaskans living in the Mat-Su.

Q: About the selection process, how does it work?

A: The Fellowship solicits nominations from the 50-state wide afterschool network leads and then applications from those nominated. Amy was nominated by the Alaska Afterschool Network. There is a national advisory council comprised of afterschool experts from around the country, which is tasked with the difficult job of selecting 15 or 16 participants from those nominated.

Q: What do you hope will come of Amy's upcoming education?

A: Amy is already a very high-performing member of the MSHF team. This fellowship opportunity will expand her knowledge of how policy change can positively impact the work of the foundation. It will allow her to engage with others from across the nation who are passionate about the value of afterschool programming and to bring what she learns back to the Mat-Su Borough.

Q: What plans does the MSHF have for Amy in the future?

A: Amy will continue working at the foundation throughout the fellowship. During the 10-month program, which begins in October, she will study afterschool/expanded learning policy and then develop and implement a state-level policy project in partnership with the Alaska Afterschool Network and the national Afterschool Alliance.

Q: Any further comments?

A: More and more of the work of the foundation is focused on prevention. When we focus upstream, everyone benefits – the community has a healthier population, and at lower cost. Afterschool programs are an evidence-based prevention strategy; they strengthen communities, positively impact student achievement, decrease youth engagement in risky behavior, and build the protective factors that overcome trauma.