Category: Youth
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An Open Letter to Pandemic Educators
For educators in a pandemic, our greatest priority is not academic progress, but social and emotional well-being. You have likely spent the last year under intense pressure trying to do anything you can to make a difference. Have your efforts closed the achievement gap? Should they be expected to? No, of course not. In everything you do, you have shown kids that they belong, that someone cares for them, that they are worth all your effort, and that you want them to be safe. That is the primary mandate of the educator. Only then will academic progress follow.
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On the Frontlines of Pandemic Education
While many schools cannot provide in-person classes, afterschool programs are delivering in-person enrichment on school campuses – and all is not quiet on the education front. The coronavirus pandemic continues to have devastating effects across the world and has become a divisive political issue in the United States. This virus has laid bare our society’s injustices, including inequity in public education. Distance learning has potential, and I hope we figure it out.
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A Short Story of Optimism and Generosity
I recently had the opportunity to spend time with some students from our after school program on a field trip and they truly impressed me with their generosity. We were walking to our bus in San Francisco’s financial district – where we had just finished our visit to one of our corporate partners.
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How to Help Youth Activists Change the World
This article originally appeared in Youth Today on Wednesday, March 20, 2019. I love working with kids and supporting the people who work with kids. If you are reading this, you probably do too. I’ve devoted my career to serving children and youth, and I’ve never really questioned the direction of my career — until […]
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Are We Modeling Social Emotional Skills?
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.
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Five Ways to Improve School Safety with Social-Emotional Learning
By viewing school safety issues with a social-emotional learning lens, we can work together to build a positive and safe school climate and culture that better supports learning. When students feel safe, comfortable, and understood, they begin class ready to learn. Social emotional learning starts with adult learning In our work with districts emphasizing promising […]
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Why you should celebrate Lights On Afterschool
I’ve been in the after school and summer learning field for more than 15 years. I started with internships and line staff positions. I eventually became a Site Coordinator and continued to advance in the Expanded Learning field. I’ve been an advocate and a technical assistance provider, and now I’m privileged to be fundraising for an advocacy and capacity building organization focused on Expanded Learning. In each of these roles I’ve observed the opportunity provided by public moments. Like the Expanded Learning time equivalent of Back to School Night, “Lights on Afterschool” provides a powerful public moment for after school programs.
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Design Thinking Resources for Expanded Learning Educators
I presented a workshop at the BOOST Conference on May 3, 2018 on Design Thinking. It was a fun crowd and the content was very well received. I’ve fielded a few requests for support and more resources since then, so I thought I would share some helpful resources here. Feel free to contact me for training or coaching.
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The Cost of Summer
An inside look into the operating budgets of high-quality summer learning programs in California. I authored and designed this report in 2016. The full print friendly report and infographic are free to download and related resources can be found at summermatters.net.
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The State of Summer Learning in Oakland
In 2016, the Oakland Summer Learning Network commissioned the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA), with the support of the Packard Foundation, to conduct a landscape assessment of summer learning programs in the city. This report summarizes key data points from that assessment.
Daren Howard 