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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Walking the Walk

“A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.” – Oprah Winfrey “Leadership is communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they come to see it in themselves.” –Stephen Covey, The 8th habit The two quotes above speak so powerfully to the importance of having a mentor alongside you in your life’s journey. I’ve been fortunate to have had a few mentors beside me in my journey and as I consider our work in after sch...Read More

Why I Cringe At The Word ‘Daycare’

Every weekday morning, I pick my 14-month-old daughter out of her crib, hold her tight and let her play with her mobile (that’s really just a wind chime). She closely examines the reflective stones and Bee figures, pulls on it, and then lets it wildly swing back-and-forth. This simple moment allows us a gentle minute to connect, feel each other’s energy and inject love into each other’s being. I think of it as the way I fill up my tank (…and hers) before the long day ahead. I’ve done...Read More

Are You Listening? Leading with Care

They’re not listening to me! It’s a common complaint, especially when working with kids (though it’s said about adults, too!). I’m always fascinated by it. When the person is asking for help with the “problem,” I first ask, “Are you telling them what to do?” The response varies from “Well, yeah!” to “What do you mean by that?” What do I mean? I recently had the opportunity to return to a site for a few weeks—from beginning to end of the school day—and it has me thinking about what it means to le...Read More

Looking forward to the end of 2020, preparing for what comes next

Personally, I feel drained by this year’s unpredictability and chaos. I have struggled to balance being present, preparing for what happens next, and not getting lost in too many “what ifs.” Professionally, it’s not much different. With so many urgent daily needs to take care of, it can be hard to make space to think about what will be needed in 2021 and beyond. So recently I did an experiment: I scheduled 1 hour in my day to pause and reflect on the needs of students and families, as well as th...Read More

An empty basketball court…

Prior to this spring, I had all of these ideas rolling around in my head about this next blog post. Would it be about standardized testing (a normal spring occurrence) or preparing your English Learner (EL) for summer? Would it be a post about connecting EL families to school and making them feel welcome? Then, around mid-March, we all began talking about something else… Did you see that they closed Italy? Did you see that there are COVID-19 cases in Washington State? Did you see they held that ...Read More

Coping When COVID-19 Comes Home

In February, I started following the news coverage of the wide-spreading coronavirus. Blown away by images of people in China, wearing surgical masks, I did not think this could happen to us, here, in America. I was in denial. And I let denial shield me from my fear of this fatal virus traveling to the US and impacting our lives. As much as I wanted to live in denial, deep in my subconscious, I knew it was only a matter of time before the universe said, “Tag, you’re it.” Now th...Read More

Hugs are Free Today but Tomorrow they’re a Dollar

Over the last few years, I have become known as “the lady who loves hugs.” When I visit any of our campuses, the kids come running ready for a hug, while others sit back and wait for me to approach them. Regardless if they run or wait, almost every single kid extends out their arms awaiting the embrace. For 13 years, I have wholeheartedly embraced the belief that we must hug our kids. I know that there are all sorts of arguments out there for why we should not show physical affection...Read More

Teaching Artists: Consistency – Care – Commitment

At the end of one of BuildaBridge’s Discovery Out-of-School time classes, this exchange happened between Ty (student) & Seth (Teaching Artist). Ty: “You guys make some sacrifices.” Seth: “Oh, so you mean you appreciate what we do?” Ty: ” Yes…actually I’m just gonna come out and say it. I love this place, and I love you guys. The art and the music.” I would gather our Teaching Artists do not see time they choose to spend enthusiastically &...Read More

10 Tips for Making Feedback Part of Your DNA

I was in a meeting recently and was offered a suggestion: To invite my staff to play back what they heard during discussions in order to reduce the chance for misunderstandings. I appreciated this feedback because it was practical and addressed an area of growth for me. It was especially meaningful since the feedback was from someone whom I supervise. I know that it’s not always easy to offer up constructive feedback to a supervisor. Feedback within an organization: Practice makes better I...Read More