Author: School's Out Washington

Spotlight: Hilltop Children’s Center’s Commitment to Continuous Growth and Improvement

School’s Out Washington (SOWA) supports youth programs on their program quality improvement journey. One program that has shown commitment to quality improvement is Hilltop Children’s Center. A longtime partner through a contract with the City of Seattle, Hilltop is an early childhood center that offers afterschool programming and childcare for elementary-aged children. They are dedicated to helping young people thrive through strong relationships with trusted adults. Elli Licea, a Mentor Educator at Hilltop, has seen firsthand the value of SOWA’s support, and during her tenure, Hilltop has deepened their engagement. “The more I experienced the coaching and Learning Community Meetings, … [ ]

Spotlight: International Rescue Committee

Resettling one’s family in an unfamiliar country is not an easy feat. Having survived violence and persecution in their countries of origin, refugees face a plethora of new challenges when resettling in the United States—but their commitment to paving paths of success for their children is unwavering. Spokane County experienced an influx of refugee families between 2021 and 2023. Spokane Public Schools (SPS) was suddenly faced with the challenge of addressing the complex and unique needs of the large number of refugee students in the district. But there was hope in a new partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC)—an … [ ]

2025 Bridge Conference Highlights—Together We Rise

By School's Out Washington

We were proud to see our conference theme, Together We Rise, resonate through every keynote, workshop, and conversation as hundreds of changemakers from across Washington gathered to celebrate and lean into collective resilience, empowerment, and shared success.

RFQ: Program Quality Assessment – King County Youth Program External Assessor

Request for Qualifications: Program Quality Assessment – King County Youth Program External Assessor The mission of School’s Out Washington (SOWA) is to provide services and guidance for organizations to ensure all young people have safe places to learn and grow when not in school. School’s Out is dedicated to building community systems to support quality afterschool and youth development programs for Washington’s 5- to 18-year-olds through training, advocacy, and leadership. School’s Out Washington is currently seeking professionals to serve as contracted Program Quality Assessment (PQA) External Assessors utilizing the Social Emotional Learning PQA. These External Assessors visit youth programs and … [ ]

LCMs: A Time to Come Together

By Nat Neville

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 … [ ]