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!
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Meet the BLT: Heather Williams
Heather Williams Strategic Initiatives Coordinator, California Department of Education, Expanded Learning Division, Sacramento, CA Who or what inspires you? I’m inspired by many things, but if I’m particularly seeking inspiration there are a few places I go look. One is reading. Whether fiction, non-fiction, books, articles, research, in the information age and particularly with the internet, we have so much reading material at our fingertips. It doesn’t take long before I can ...Read More
The Flawed Leader… Follow Up 6 Months Later
Social Power is defined as the degree of influence that an individual or organization has among their peers and within their society as a whole. 6 months ago, I shared in this blog my challenges with my own leadership and that of the organization I started and grew over the past 15 years. I poured out on the table the comments my staff made in relation to my leadership flaws, and the ways I needed to be better for my team. Since then I have openly spoken in three different states in front of lar...Read More
Meet the BLT: Amira Resnick
Amira Resnick Healthy Communities/Strategic Partnerships Manager, California, Alliance for a Healthier Generation, Los Angeles, CA Who or what inspires you? Last year I visited OST sites to share and demonstrate physical activity games that get youth and staff moving (literally and figuratively!) toward a healthier OST site. All I brought with me was a small tote bag of supplies and a big grin on my face. The kids warmed my heart with their eagerness to try a new game and release some energy, wh...Read More
Meet the BLT: Becky Shultz
Becky Shultz Director of Expanded Learning, WCSD – Reach For The Stars program, Whittier, CA Who or what inspires you? People who are looking for ways to be kind and help others inspire me. Why do you work in this field? I work in this field because it gives me the opportunity to give youth all of the things they don’t normally have access to. We have the privilege of being able to help produce globally responsible citizens who receive a well-rounded education. Can you name a person ...Read More
Coaching And Endless Possibilities
A quick story and important reminder about how important a good coach is, and what the possibilities are when you have a great coach. My son, who is in first grade, played rookie tackle football this fall. The season ended a few weeks ago, with his team winning the 1st-grade championship. It was a spectacular finish to the season—they got to play the game on the high school football field. Our town’s high school football team won the state championship last year, and so football is a pretty big ...Read More
Not Your Mother’s Meeting (PT 2)
Welcome back to Part 2 of Not Your Mother’s Meeting! If you missed Part 1, click here to catch up! Breakfast Club Blogger @jillgordon provides excellent inclusionary meeting ideas in order to create more participation and engagement for your staff. Enjoy! Make the Meeting Participatory Gain greater participation by posing three questions or next steps to the meeting participants. For small group discussions, try using small dry erase boards to generate ideas and questions. They are ext...Read More
A Relevant Repost! Tilling the Soil: Staff Turnover
Corn as high as an elephant’s eye? Why stop there? How is farming equivalent to staff turnover? The seeds are bought. The seller promised a yield surpassing anything ever seen before. Acre upon acre of corn growing much, much higher than an elephant’s eye. The new tractor had been purchased. Much better than the old tractor. And just for show, you bought new work gloves and some new boots. The rains had been good, the weather fair for growing. The table was set for record yields and...Read More
BOOST 2018 Workshop RFPs due 10/31
BOOST requests workshop proposals that support and highlight trends, innovative research, and promising practices to support quality out-of-school time programs. The deadline to submit a workshop proposal for BOOST 2018 is Tuesday, October 31, at 5 pm PST. Any proposals submitted after this date will go on a waiting list. To submit a proposal, visit the BOOST Conference website and click on the blue button to start the application process. Every year the BOOST Conference offers a variety of work...Read More
Right Nows: How Are You Coping In The Face Of Tragedy?
Last month was the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. I’ve been thinking about it, obviously, and my experience living in New York City during that time. In the last two months, Floridians have been recovering from Hurricane Irma, Puerto Rico is completely devastated from Irma, and Texans are trying to recover from Hurricane Harvey. Mexico is trying to deal with the aftermath of the strongest earthquake to hit that country in a century, as well as their own Hurricane Kat...Read More
The Role and Vision of a CEO from a CEO
I have a lot of breakfast meetings these days, the hardest kinds of meetings. Not the kind where I get excited about pitching a program to a new client or get to brainstorm curriculum and advocate for youth. Those meetings I love. No, lately my days are filled with meetings wherein I talk—or, more often, listen– to people expressing real fear and vulnerability about their present and future. Not just people: my staff. In February 2017, I gave speech to my staff on “the state of Arc&#...Read More
15 Messages of Encouragement to Site Supervisors
As the beginning of the school year is underway, safe spaces during the out-of-school time hours are open and serving children all around the nation. This piece is collaboratively written by our bloggers and includes wisdom, tips, and inspiration for all of our valued Site Supervisors of out-of-school time programs. You ALL matter, and we wish you a successful school year. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately about this quote from Faouzi Skali: “My friend, stop searching for the wh...Read More
5 Reasons Why You Should Attend the BOOST Conference in 2018
Join the largest, most recognized and comprehensive global convening for after school, expanded learning, and out-of-school time professionals May 1-4, 2018! Here are 5 reasons why you should attend the Best of Out-of-School Time Conference next year: Reason #1 – It’s FUN and ENGAGING What if your conference experience felt like an after school program? You’ve got it! Set in a retreat-like atmosphere, this annual, extraordinary event will rejuvenate your passion, boost your direction for quality...Read More