Breakfast Club Blog
The BOOST Breakfast Club Blog is a curated space where bloggers from around the world contribute content on a continual basis about a variety of topics relevant to in and out-of-school time. The BOOST Breakfast Club blog is at the heart of an ongoing dialogue where expanded learning and education professionals share their personal thoughts and stories from the in and out-of-school time field. They also tell us what they ate for breakfast!
The BOOST Breakfast Club Blog is Brain Food for In and Out-of-School Time Leaders!
Interested in becoming a blogger? Email breakfastclub@boostcollaborative.org
Click here to Register for a free account or click here to Login to your existing account.
4 Quick Thoughts on Leadership
“Whatever you are, be a good one.” –Abraham Lincoln I love people who push themselves to perform at the highest level possible. Because I’m a child of the 80’s, where we proudly rocked mullets and tight rolled our jeans, I think about Michael Jordan. The game was over and you’d find him in the gym shooting 500 free throws. He had an internal drive to do better. He wanted to be the best he could be. Because I can actually hear your staff and students banging on your ... Read More
It All Adds Up: Hiring, Training, and Evaluating for the Things You Really Care About
I was fortunate enough to lead a pre-conference session at this year’s BOOST conference with my good friend Scott Arizala who is the Bono of the camping world. This guy is a bonafied rockstar. He trains and speaks at camps across the country and is a national keynoter and thought leader in the camping community. We co-led a session titled: “Retaining and Sustaining in Times of Crisis.” Along with the attendees we had a solid 6 hours to dream and scheme and plan and vent and cre... Read More
Adolescent Girls and the Media: A Look Beyond the Mirror
Let’s face it- growing up female can be tough, but growing up female in this day and age can be REALLY tough. There are a LOT (and I mean a lot) of unique challenges that adolescent girls face and one of them happens to be the “M” word. What is the “M” word, you ask? Here’s a hint: something that has the ability to impact girls’ perception of themselves and their body image? Any guesses? Well, chances are you probably said media. If you did (and I’... Read More
Summer Style
School’s almost out, and across the country kids are getting ready for summer camp. Back in the day, everyone brought a big trunk, loaded with bug spray and books, bandannas and band aids and of course, secret stashes of candy. There was lots of anticipation about which counselors would be there, which kids would be in your cabin, and what activities you were going to sign up for. Believe it or not, these camps still exist. Sadly, they’re mostly not available to our after school kids... Read More
Breakthroughs @ BOOST
It wasn’t until the ride back from Palm Springs that I began to absorb my most recent BOOST experience. BOOST, for me, has been the metaphor for the movement of afterschool. BOOST has become a type of gauge of the movement. Whether it’s the number of participants, the quality of workshops, the keynote, I have always been able to use BOOST as a diagnostic for the movement. This was the first year that I went alone with no team, no training to prepare for, or no real “role”... Read More
Reach out to the Gifted in Your After School Programs – Provide the Spark for All to Learn
More than a majority of professional literature and conferences are geared to disadvantaged, underserved, underperforming, and English learner students. We talk about Closing the Achievement Gap. This has been the case for more than a decade. Do we often forget to look at the strengths of students and gear some of our activities to their strengths? Do we actively seek out gifted and above-average learners in our after school population and stretch their thinking? In closing the achievement gap, ... Read More
After School Funding – How Can You Help?
Well, it’s that time of year when budget negotiations begin to heat up in Sacramento, and once again, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) is recommending that voters be given the opportunity to amend or repeal Proposition 49. The problem with Prop 49, they say, is its inflexibility. The initiative, which was passed by a 56% majority in November of 2002, guarantees an annual $550 million General Fund appropriation to operate the After School Education and Safety (ASES) program. The... Read More
Marketing Your Program Through Positive Youth Development
Just because you built it, doesn’t mean they will come. Afterschool is no field of dreams. Even with a wonderful curriculum, enthusiastic staff, abundance of supplies and unwavering support from the regular school staff, your program cannot be labeled a success if nobody attends it. Recruitment issues exist at all grade levels. If you serve younger children (K-4th grade), parents usually ensure that the children attend the program, and the children are less likely to rebel at this age. Att... Read More
If I’d Only Known…
Have you ever had an “if only I’d known…” episode? This happened to me when I learned some simple ways I could have helped a hearing-impaired student join my YMCA afterschool program with much less stress and fuss—had I only known. Basically, this is what happened: In the fall of 1999, a father came to my office to register his son and his stepson for our afterschool program. He was newly married, had just moved to the area and had some difficulty completing all the neces... Read More
We ARE the hope we’ve been waiting for!
A career? After School? What?! Yes folks, believe it or not, the career pathways in youth work are out there! It is not an esoteric profession that only a few elite have access to. It is much attainable for anyone that is willing to work, network and advocate for youth. However, there is a sub-culture among the youth work movement that has been lost in the bureaucratic educational methods of the past and is unable to create a new definition of the craft. This discernment of the ‘work’... Read More
Best Practices in Afterschool: A Call for Mentorship
Due to the nature of my job, I visit a lot of afterschool programs throughout the country. A common element I’ve noticed at any program, whether they are in schools, community buildings, or churches, is the smell. It is the same no matter where I go. There’s always a hint of disinfectant, perhaps some body odor if it’s a middle school program, crayons, paint, chalkboards, whiteboard markers, or computer labs (I don’t know what that smell is, but there is definitely someth... Read More
ABC’s of professional, purposeful, and powerful programming practices
These ABC’s are philosophical foundations. They are new and powerful paradigms. Paradigms are like mental models that we all have about the way things should be done in afterschool programs. These ABC’s might challenge the paradigms or mental models that you might carry in your own mind. We challenge you to consider these shifts and the way you may think about how afterschool programs should be. Autonomy Autonomy is the ability to act independently, to be self-governing. Autonomy is ... Read More