Written by Mariana Lopez Quintanilla, BACR Industry Director
Boost (Best Out Of School Time Conference) brings over 3000 expanded learning professionals from CA and the rest of the country to learn and build community. This year was exceptional for BACR because we had over 75 attendees who took the opportunity to learn and get to know each other. We brought the Bay Area to Boost! Many people noticed that BACR was well-represented, and that felt good! We also have a well-received workshop to share our expertise working with Transitional and Kindergarten kids. Shout out to Na'Dra and Heather for getting accepted this year as presenters! Did you know we started serving 4-6-year-olds only two years ago, and many programs will start next year? But this is how we roll - BACR is always at the front of what needs to get done!
Boost allows EXL professionals to learn about emerging practices, connect with new resources, spark their continued improvement mindset, and keep the learning hats on.
This year, we were also very fortunate to have Jonas and Don joining our BACR exclusive Mix and Mingle event. (
Thanks, Shayna and the wonderful MCs for making this event so memorable) Don took us down memory lane when BACR only had a few programs. We are now in 9 school districts, 130 schools, and proudly serving 15,000 students a day. We also highlighted the years we have been working at BACR, and it was inspiring to see how we range from 3 to 25 years of dedicated work. Jonas enjoyed meeting new faces and spending quality time with us. (spoil alert: he also had important meetings with Don and other important folks - but not as important as us).
I wish we could bring more people to Boost to learn and connect but rest assured that the learning is returning with us in all we do. From new ideas to new curricula and some of the trainers we met, we all bring Boost back to our programs in one way or another. Now, let's put what we learn into practice and make our program even better!
