On the morning of March 14, 2025, the School’s Out Washington (SOWA) training room buzzed with a deep sense of community and the hum of simultaneous conversations as representatives from nearly all 55 of SOWA’s Best Starts for Kids grantee agencies came together for their second annual Best Starts for Kids Learning Community Meeting (LCM). LCMs are an opportunity for members of a Quality Cohort—a group of youth program providers who come together to engage in a continuous improvement process—to strengthen their programs and youth program quality work through peer learning.
After setting the tone for the event with an overview of what was to come, everyone practiced a mindful moment together before moving into the first activity: Mingle to the Music. Mingle to the Music is a common SOWA community builder where people move around a space while music plays, then find a partner to connect with when the music stops. Attendees participated in five rounds of the activity, meeting each round with a handful of peers in duos and trios. In their various pairings, grantees connected about topics coming up in their programs right now—whether that be exciting new activities, challenges they’re facing, questions they could use thought partnership on, or anything else that was on their mind to discuss or share.
“Mingle to the Music has been a great way to connect with community partners, exchange ideas, and explore potential future collaborations,” shared Tiffany Victory, program coordinator at Atlantic Street Center. “Engaging in conversations about programming and youth gives me a strong sense of belonging and community.”
The second half of the LCM changed formats from pairs to groups, during which members of the Best Starts for Kids Teal Cohort—one of Best Starts for Kids’ three quality pathway cohorts that self identified as having engaged in multiple rounds of the quality improvement procecess—facilitated breakout discussion groups on topics they felt would resonate with peers from other cohorts. Topics included planning for summer, social-emotional learning in programming, partnership, resilience and the political climate, disability accommodations, and culturally-inclusive programming. The Teal cohort’s chosen topics were well received by attendees, with many participants wishing they could attend multiple sessions.
“Having the chance to facilitate at the LCMs always feels special,” shared Eris Eaton, program manager at Arts Corps, one of the organizations in the Teal Cohort. Eris facilitated this year’s discussion group on planning for summer. “Getting to speak with everyone about our plans and share resources, providing that space for people—I think that’s what SOWA is all about.”
The LCM ended with folks from each discussion group sharing about what they discussed so everyone could learn from each group’s insights. Grantees left the SOWA office with new insights to ponder and smiles on their faces.
