Welcome to the BOOST Breakfast Club Blog! This is a collective space where bloggers write weekly about a variety of topics relevant to the out-of-school time field. This interactive platform encourages readers to leave comments and supports on-going dialogue with leaders in the field. We welcome bloggers from around the world who want to share their personal thoughts and voice….including what they ate for breakfast! Interested in becoming a blogger? Email breakfastclub@boostcollaborative.org
BOOST Breakfast Club Blog
Out-of-School Time Staff – What do you get to do?
Hello Breakfast Club readers & leaders! As we approach August and get closer to launching the 2017/2018 school year, I wanted to share a speech I was asked to do for a CAL SAC leadership event in June, in Los Angeles. I am hoping this helps motivate and inspire you and your staff to appreciate all you GET to do. They come to us filled with hormones, under-resourced, confused, academically behi...Read More
Program Design, Development, and Quality / Staff Leadership and Management / Storytellers / Sustainability
Part 2: The Great ASES Augmentation of 2017 – A Children’s Story
In 2015, Sir Mark Leno from the village of San Francisco introduced a bill to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour. By now, the full resources of CA3 were focused on the issue, but that still amounted to very little in comparison to the magnitude of the quest. The Partnership for Children and Youth, a longtime member of CA3 led by Lady Jennifer of Peck, was called upon to lead the campaign an...Read More
Program Design, Development, and Quality / Staff Leadership and Management / Storytellers / Sustainability
Part 1: The Great ASES Augmentation of 2017 – A Children’s Story
Gather around, children, and I’ll tell you a story. What kind of story, you ask? Is it a scary story? Is it a funny story? A magical story? No. It’s better than that. It’s the best kind of story there is. It’s a story about policy change. ASES to be exact. Our story begins way back in the year 2006. Do any of you remember that year? Some of you may have been quite young. A traveling minstrel named...Read More
Demystifying the LCAP for Expanded Learning: FUNDING Explanation
The California Department of Education asks school districts to produce Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs) as evidence of appropriately using Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) dollars. Every district must submit this plan in order to spend these dollars. Here’s my question: Is your Expanded Learning program written into your district’s LCAP? I know some of you out there are ...Read More
Turn Your Survey Hell into Survey Heaven in Three Easy Steps
Nearly all after-school and summer programs have their kids take surveys, and nearly all programs suffer through the process. Surveys so rarely live up to their promise, and it gets harder and harder to convince staff and youth to complete this annual chore. In my experience as a professional evaluator, surveys almost always have three big flaws that limit their usefulness. Fix these flaws to turn...Read More
Front Line Staff / Partnerships and Building Relationships / Program Design, Development, and Quality / Staff Leadership and Management
STEM and Wellness: Colliding Galaxies
My fellow BOOST Breakfast Club blogger, Erika Petrelli of The Leadership Program recently wrote an article that explored the “beauty of galaxies colliding.” My inner Galileo loves the thought of swirling stars and as partnership director for a national children’s health nonprofit, social justice movements working together to accelerate and grow is even more thrilling. For galaxies to collide and m...Read More
The Music of Life: An Ode to the World
I was thinking recently about how two of my favorite sounds in the world are completely different. The first is the sound of birds singing and chirping—particularly the spring birds in the early morning. The second is the sound of an Indy race car as it speeds around the track. I love both of these sounds so much. Yet one is so gentle and the other is so strong. It seems like they should be in opp...Read More
Our Kids Are Stressed Out – 5 Ways to Empower Youth To Find Their CALMM
Focus, Pay Attention, Sit Still, Listen, Follow Directions… Just a few phrases youth are bombarded with on a daily basis whether it’s coming from their parents, teachers or other adults in their lives. As adults it can seem as if our words go in one ear and out the other and that children lack attention, motivation and behavior. Our kids Are Stressed Out – Empowering Youth the find their CALMM…is ...Read More
People Aren’t Flies: How Youth Can Listen Without Needing to Be Heard
We have all experienced a time when we believed we had a genuine connection with a person, only to find out that they had a specific agenda in mind. We have all experienced someone that has tried to proselytize or preach at us, to use us to get ahead, or to gain access to our friends or family members. For many people, what starts out as a genuine connection dissolves almost instantly as soon as t...Read More
Front Line Staff / Partnerships and Building Relationships / Program Design, Development, and Quality / Staff Leadership and Management / Sustainability
5 Reasons Why You Should Attend the BOOST Conference in 2018
Join the largest, most recognized and comprehensive global convening for after school, expanded learning, and out-of-school time professionals May 1-4, 2018! Here are 5 reasons why you should attend the Best of Out-of-School Time Conference next year: Reason #1 – It’s FUN and ENGAGING What if your conference experience felt like an after school program? You’ve got it! Set in a retreat-like atmosph...Read More
Front Line Staff / Program Design, Development, and Quality / Staff Leadership and Management / Uncategorized
10+ Fun Activities to Energize Your Summer Programming and Staff Meetings
Summer is here and let’s be honest, not every day is going to be an ideal summer day. You know, those days when poor air quality keeps you indoors, parents are late for pick up and technology doesn’t cooperate, leaving you scrambling for a backup plan. Don’t sweat it! With a few physical activity games in your back pocket, you’ll be able to keep staff and kids engaged, energized and smiling all su...Read More
Front Line Staff / Program Design, Development, and Quality / Staff Leadership and Management / Sustainability
Summer Matters! Who Will You Invite? (CA Specific)
Today I had a peach for breakfast which means summer time! My kids are 4 days from summer break. They are excited to sleep in for a week and NOT think about deadlines, papers, projects, tests. But, they’ll start to get bored. Luckily for them, they’ll be moving right into their next set of adventures and learning opportunities. From rock climbing to animal camp to spy club – they’ll be stretch...Read More