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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Self-Care Summer: Ideas from 15 Friends in 6 States

If you are diving into this article, your summer program or camp is probably in full swing. Let’s be honest though, along with the fun and flexibility of summer comes stressful situations and strong emotions. Taking time for yourself – a “Me Moment” – is an important strategy to appreciate periods of calm and regulate challenging feelings when they arise. This is even more critical if you are an educator or caregiver supporting others on a regular basis. To bring this idea to life, I...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

Honoring Mary Jo Ginty, 2021 OSTI Award Winner

On Thursday, April 29, Mary Jo Ginty was honored with the 2021 OSTI Award at the BOOST Conference. Mary Jo was a beloved friend, leader, mentor, and colleague, and we were proud to welcome many of her friends and family members to join us virtually at the BOOST Conference and celebrate her immeasurable contributions to the after school, expanded learning, and in and out-of-school time field. Created in 2007, the global OSTI Awards honors expanded learning, after school, and in and out-of-school ...Read More

The Year without Hugs

2020 began with a shock for me. I learned that Mary Jo Ginty had died in her sleep December 29, 2019. A month later, I was among the friends and family who gathered in Long Beach to celebrate her life. I was grateful to be in a room with others who loved her. We shared our grief, our treasured memories, and a lot of hugs. My friend Michael Funk shared a story about how Mary Jo was not a hugger. She doled out hugs frugally. You had to earn them. I never got one, but I know she loved me as much as...Read More

Sending Holiday Cheer

BOOST appreciates you through the year, so we wanted to send some holiday cheer! We can’t wait to keep learning and laughing with you in 2021! Here’s to brighter days ahead. xo, TEAMBOOST Click to download the PDF

Seeing Clearly in the Fog: Reflections on the Core Value of Connection

The other morning I went to the beach and was startled by the fog. From the boardwalk where I jogged, I could barely see the waves surface upon the sand. People emerged before me from the damp greyness only as I got close, and even the high-rise buildings off to the side disappeared as I gazed up. There was mystery in the distance, and what laid ahead remained hidden. And so, I focused on my breath, my pace, my thoughts, the people before me, and the here and now feeling of it all. While our wor...Read More

Their Lives Changed Overnight… How Youth Responded

Almost overnight, the lives of high school students all over the country, along with their teachers, mentors, and group facilitators, were completely disrupted. At a time where spring break, prom, and graduation was on the mind of many students, suddenly they found themselves wondering if they would return to school at all, or whether the abrupt ‘goodbyes’ were the last memory they would carry with them. Later in the spring, when racial tensions increased nationwide, students found themselves ag...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

Power of the Break – Reflections on the pandemic

Last winter I flew across the country to attend a health equity training with colleagues and, as I sometimes do when I travel, I carried a stone in my pocket that symbolizes for me balance, regulation, and interconnection – a reminder of seeking to join my head and heart space. The stone fit perfectly in the palm of my hand and felt smooth and solid there. After two full days of intense learning, reflecting, storytelling, and connecting, I debriefed and discussed with colleagues over dinne...Read More

Leading with Heart

I come from a family of immigrants, a fact that I will always take pride in. When my mom first immigrated to the US from the Philippines in 1978, she came as a nurse and settled in Chicago before ending up in Los Angeles. She spent over 30 years in the healthcare field as an RN here in LA at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and absolutely loved her job — it was her calling — until she retired a few years ago. It was her cousin, my Uncle Vic’s calling too. He followed the same pattern, ending up on th...Read More

Ubuntu: A person is a person through other people

There are many times in my life that I can think back to and attribute success solely to what I have done by myself, for myself, or for someone else, but accomplished just by me, alone. These are excellent moments for self-reflection and acknowledgment of individual accomplishment, and although individuals create many great things by themselves, we do not, for the most part, live as hermits, isolated from the rest of humanity. We live in families and in societies comprised of cities and towns, a...Read More

Supporting Young Creatives in a Time of Global Crisis

We have all shared this experience of navigating the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Tough decisions were made to close schools and community facilities. Parents and educators are learning to operate in a new virtual space. Layoffs have been made. There is new federal and state legislation to help communities cope. Through this all, our communities have seen tremendous creation from young artists, theatre-makers, musicians, and dancers. Spoken word performances on social media and virtu...Read More