National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning Wins Twice

AfterWords, the e-newsletter of the National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning, which is funded by the US Department of Education and based at SEDL, is now an award winner. AfterWords received the Association of Educational Publisher's (AEP) Distinguished Achievement Award in the E-newsletter, Adult Learning category.

Laura Shankland, SEDL communications associate and AfterWords editor, and Shaila Abdullah, SEDL media design associate, accepted the award Friday, June 6, at the AEP awards banquet.

Catherine Jordan, director of the National Partnership, said, "We're so excited that AfterWords was recognized by AEP for its informative content and accessible, friendly design. We know the newsletter has been well-received by afterschool programs around the country, so this is the icing on the cake to receive the AEP's prestigious award."

For more than 40 years, the AEP Awards have recognized significant and excellent achievement in educational products and education marketing. AEP received about 1,000 entries this year in the Distinguished Achievement Award and Beacon Award competitions. The Wall Street Journal and WestEd were finalists in the E-newsletter, Adult Learning category along with the National Partnership.

The National Partnership began publishing AfterWords in January 2007 to educate readers about professional development and other strategies that help create high-quality afterschool programs and to provide a forum for afterschool staff to share success stories. Besides Shankland and Abdullah, SEDL program assistant Wendy Jones and SEDL communications associate Debbie Ritenour contribute regularly to AfterWords.

The recent AEP award hasn't been the only win for the National Partnership. In February, partner WGBH Educational Foundation won a highly acclaimed CINE Golden Eagle Award for video production on the Toolkit for Afterschool Learning.

The Golden Eagle Awards recognize excellence in documentary and informational film and video production and have been awarded annually since 1957. Recipients of CINE Golden Eagles include Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Barbara Kopple, Charles Guggenheim, Ken Burns, Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Robert Zemeckis, Mike Nichols, Robert Altman, Spike Lee, Mel Brooks and many others distinguished for their work with film and video.

The three winning videos from the Toolkit were "Rehearsing The Tempest," "Integrating Science Across the Curriculum," and "Investigating Science Through Inquiry." Cynthia McKeown, video producer at WGBH, worked with associate producer Jayne Sportelli, editors Karen Silverstein and Mary-Kate Shea, and executive producer Amy Tonkonogy worked to create all the videos for the site. McKeown says, "It is an honor to be recognized by CINE with a Golden Eagle Award, and it is also very gratifying to know that the Partnership's important work in promoting promising practices in afterschool is being honored as well."

Congratulations to all involved on these award-winning products.

Next Article: Credits