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 views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Enjoy the brain food.

The BOOST Breakfast Club Blog is Brain Food for In and Out-of-School Time Leaders!

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Where Oh Where Is The “Honeymoon Period”? 4 Grounding Tips to Start Off The School Year

Fall is here, and another school year is upon us. This is my fourth year at my particular before and after school site, and I like to think in general I have a good idea of what’s going on. I’ve ironed out our daily routine, I know our kids well enough to have supports built in to overcome our most common challenges, and I’ve given the “welcome back to school” speech so many times that some of my older kiddos could probably quote it back to me. But, each year, regardless of my preparedness, I al...Read More

Sharing The Vision And Shaping The Future: A Message To The Next Generation Of Leaders

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the passage of California’s first comprehensive afterschool legislation. Since then, the investment in California’s most vulnerable children and young people has grown to $630 million a year and redefined what quality expanded learning means and looks like. Those of us who were privileged to lead the way through uncharted terrain worked in complex organizational environments in cities, counties, school districts and nonprofit organizations. We explored new...Read More

The GUILTY Pleasure and How to Kick It

Guilt. You’ve used it. You’ve felt it. You’ve given it. There are many things that I have learned in my lifestyle as a youth worker, but one that stands out is how I have used guilt as a tool to succeed and also to fail. As a young supervisor, I learned to lead by guilt. It was disguised under the umbrella of relationship building, but it was still good ol’ guilt. Perhaps it was my up bringing or society or my mentors, regardless, I knew using guilt was a tactic definitel...Read More

We Shouldn’t Fear Our Leaders: 3 Reminders for the Next Generation

The changes are becoming apparent. The transition is here. Individuals who once ran programs at a site level are now in positions of leadership at a state level. This is the moment that we have waited for with much anticipation and excitement. This is the conversation that we have had late into the night at several BOOST conferences. So it is in this moment that I remind myself that leadership at its core is about character. I’m reminded of a quote from President Abraham Lincoln, “Ne...Read More