The theme for Prime Time’s Afterschool Symposium is: "Lighting the Way: 25 Years of Afterschool Excellence." Our theme represents an opportunity to focus on honoring the legacy, dedication, innovation, impact, inspiration and progress of the out-of-school time (OST) field while charting a course for the future.
Together, we will celebrate the remarkable progress made over the past quarter-century and spark new ideas to ensure that afterschool and summer programs continue to serve as beacons of creativity, providing access to positive youth development practice and growth opportunities for generations to come.
We invite dynamic, practice-ready sessions that illuminate what’s working now and what’s next for afterschool, expanded learning and the OST space. Proposals should center youth experience and measurable impact, offering strategies participants can apply immediately.
Out-of-school time (OST) programs support children and youth before school, after school, over the summer, on weekends and during seasonal breaks.
Content Priorities
Workshop topics should relate to one of the following categories or subcategories:
Legacy and Impact
Focus: Celebrate and reflect on the roots, resilience, results and evolution of the OST field.
- Milestones and policy shifts
- How the needs of youth have evolved over the last 25 years
- From babysitting to holistic development
- Youth outcomes and impact over the last 25 years
- Other related sub-category
The Power of Partnerships
Focus: Highlight the collaborative efforts that make afterschool programming possible and sustainable.
- Workforce and career pathway collaborations
- Community-rooted programs and networks
- School-afterschool alignment
- Family engagement strategies
- Volunteer engagement and mentoring
- Other related sub-category
Wellness, Mental Health and Healing-Centered Practice
Focus: Whole-child strategies that support regulation, resilience and community care for youth and staff.
- Trauma-informed and healing-centered engagement
- Mindfulness, movement and stress reduction
- Grief, crisis response and referral pathways
- Neurodiversity-affirming practices
- Staff wellbeing and burnout prevention
- Family wellness partnerships
- Other related sub-category
Innovation and Bright Ideas
Focus: Spotlight the cutting-edge ideas and fresh approaches that are lighting new paths in how youth learn during OST.
- STEAM and tech integration
- Environment and outdoor science
- Low-cost maker and engineering challenges
- Sports and fitness integration
- Youth-led program models
- Curriculum design and project-based learning
- Music, theater, dance and media and visual arts
- Other related sub-category
The Next 25 Years
Focus: Envisioning what’s ahead for the OST field and how we can boldly lead into the future.
- Youth voice in leadership and advocacy
- Reimagining workforce development
- AI integration Sustainability and scaling models
- Youth as co-designers of afterschool
- Other related sub-category
Presentation Selection Criteria
Presentation slots during the symposium are limited and will be selected based on the following criteria:
- Potential to attract, engage and stimulate participants
- Content that appeals to professionals in the OST field
- Clarity of content, presentation techniques and learning objectives
- Relevance and appeal to a diverse audience
- Lively and interactive format that will facilitate networking among participants
- Presenters’ experience and qualifications
Workshop Guidelines
Sessions are intended to be professional development opportunities with learning outcomes and must not incorporate sales presentations or product placement.
All workshops are approximately 60 minutes long and run concurrently with other sessions.
If your proposal is selected, Prime Time will send you a link to upload your presentation materials on our website for participants to access during and after the symposium.
Cost
The symposium registration fee is waived for presenters.
Application Deadline: Friday, January 30, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. EST
Proposal Guidelines and Submission Instructions
Proposals should address one of the topic areas listed in the Content Priorities.
