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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Staff Leadership and Management

The Challenge of Creating a Culture

breakfastclubguest No Comments

Almost every day, I am a teacher, a student, or a leader. Sometimes I play one role at a time. Sometimes I play all three at once. One could say I dance in between them. I’m sure that all of us who work with youth move between these roles and watch our peers and our students do the same. The question I keep coming back to, no matter what role I am in, is how do I create a culture that I can be proud of and inspired to be a part of? And what I mean by culture in this context is the feeling ...Read More

Lessons From The Backseat Lessons From The Backseat
Meet the BOOST Leadership Team / Partnerships and Building Relationships / Program Design, Development, and Quality / Staff Leadership and Management

Lessons From The Backseat

Justin McGlamery No Comments

I love to drive. Cars, motorcycles, ideas, discussions-you name it. I, like so many, enjoy and thrive off of the ability to be in control of where I am going and how I am getting there. As a facilitator of learning, I am also very comfortable in the driver’s seat. I know the desired goals and objectives for each learning experience I am in charge of, either designing or implementing or both. And, like many others in the field of education, the thrill of seeing the outcomes of these experie...Read More

Brokering Youth Interests, Opportunities, And Relationships Brokering Youth Interests, Opportunities, And Relationships
Partnerships and Building Relationships / Program Design, Development, and Quality / Staff Leadership and Management

Brokering Youth Interests, Opportunities, And Relationships

Matthew Farber, Ed.D. No Comments

Learning happens in both formal settings like school, and informal spaces such as museums, libraries, afterschool clubs, and online affinity spaces. At museums and libraries, youth can engage in following passions on a wide range of interest-driven topics, from makerspaces to retro-videogaming. In afterschool clubs, youth may learn 3D printing, computer coding, digital photography, or debate skills. In online affinity spaces, youth can explore other interests not always available locally. Online...Read More

On-Site Staff / Program Design, Development, and Quality

What is Bullying?

Tiana Brown No Comments

I believe that the word “bully” evokes different emotions and attitudes in each person because of the extensive variations of its effects on children. After reading several varying definitions of “bullying,” I have chosen the stopbullying.gov definition because of its inclusive description of “bullying.” “Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to...Read More

On-Site Staff / Program Design, Development, and Quality / Staff Leadership and Management / Uncategorized

Use Micro-Moments To Set Inclusive Tone

Jenna Bacolor No Comments

“Welcome.” “I’m so glad you’re here!” “Hey, I like the dog on your shirt.” “It’s great to see you today.” What are your favorite ways to establish an inclusive and welcoming tone from the moment a child or teen walks into your program? It only takes a few seconds, yet making a point to greet each young person as they enter helps them start feeling comfortable from the start. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)’s new SEL 3 Signature Practices Playbook talks abou...Read More

Program Design, Development, and Quality / Staff Leadership and Management

You Shouldn’t Play With Your Food, But You Should Play With Your Data!

Corey Newhouse No Comments

I’ve worked with many expanded learning programs in many settings over the years, making me one of the luckier researchers out there. Too often, though, I see program staff dedicating a lot of time and effort to collecting data, and almost none to learning from it. What a bummer. One reason why data goes in, but doesn’t come back out, is because teams have too few experiences with exploratory, low stakes, playful explorations of their data. Instead, data is used in a last-minute rush to get the ...Read More

On-Site Staff / Partnerships and Building Relationships / Program Design, Development, and Quality

Modeling Social-Emotional Skills To Support Kids’ Growth

Tamara Fyke No Comments

Over the past year, I have talked with dozens of educators and community leaders about their goals for social-emotional learning (SEL), which I define as identifying what is going on in our heads and in our hearts so we can use our hands to build up, rather than tear down. What I hear most often is the need to build adults’ capacity for SEL. Having worked in education and community programs for two decades, I have seen the pendulum swing from the focus on SEL (previously referred to as character...Read More

On-Site Staff / Program Design, Development, and Quality / Staff Leadership and Management

Portable & Packable Park Month Snacks

Daniel W. Hatcher 1 Comment

As I explored in my last article, Self-Care Ideas: Give 1/Get 8, it’s important for educators to prioritize their own physical and social-emotional health as they support children and families. Finding a strategy that works for you can be a challenge. For me, I find balance and a chance to recharge by spending time in nature and trying new healthy recipes. If you’re searching for inspiration to support physical self-care, below are 6 ideas to try this summer. With Park and Recreation Month just ...Read More

On-Site Staff / Program Design, Development, and Quality / Staff Leadership and Management

Interview With CEO Edward Franklin At The BOOST Conference: Real Talk On Social Emotional Learning

Tiana Brown No Comments

I peered out into a large crowd of people sitting at tables eating lunch. I walked around for a few minutes trying to find a place to sit. Randomly, I pulled out a chair at a table with a few people chatting and eating. Hungry and eager to listen to the keynote speaker, I looked around to see when lunch was arriving at our table. Shortly after sitting down, the gentleman to my right greeted me with a friendly hello and immediately we sparked up a conversation. We talked about work, where each ot...Read More

On-Site Staff / Opinion / Partnerships and Building Relationships / Program Design, Development, and Quality

2 Terrific Tips on Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) For Adults

Zach Wilson No Comments

This blog is about SEL for adults, exploring why and how we must practice SEL in our collective work, both in and out of school. I believe there is no such thing as a coincidence. I asked my close colleague, who sits just across from me in the office, what I should write about in this next blog.  Understanding my ongoing, organic theme about creating conditions for youth voice and choice, he suggested I write about the competencies within us that allow for this to happen. I was intrigued but had...Read More

On-Site Staff / Partnerships and Building Relationships / Program Design, Development, and Quality

Mindfulness Practices For Afterschool Program Staff, Students And Parents

Stu Semigran No Comments

Why take the time to pause and introduce mindfulness as a practice that enriches the lives of our students, parents, and program staff? How might mindfulness also benefit us as educators? Soon after the presidential election in November 2016, many Latino and Muslim students and families in our partnering Los Angeles schools were experiencing a lot of anxiety and fear. In addition to obtaining information about community resources, the students, parents, and staff in our afterschool programs were...Read More

On-Site Staff / Program Design, Development, and Quality / Staff Leadership and Management

Are We Modeling Social Emotional Skills?

Daren Howard No Comments

Social-emotional learning requires the same kind of intentionality as academic learning and as adults, we have to model the social-emotional skills we hope to build in our students. Here is a painfully ironic example: Joshua Trump is an 11-year-old who was one of President Trump and first lady Melania Trump’s guests at the State of the Union. He is not related to the President but has been bullied over the last few years because of his name. “He said he hates himself, and he hates his last name,...Read More

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