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, the more I wanted to be involved,” said Eli. They now “understand social and emotional work and have been able to provide the youth we serve with the tools they need,” Elli mentioned.
Engagement in Learning Community Meetings (LCMs) can be transformative for providers working to strengthen the impact of their programs. Despite this, getting busy organizations to participate has been hard. Samone Coleman, Program Quality Coach and Manager at SOWA, facilitates these and spearheaded efforts to strengthen engagement in LCMs.
“I think the learning community meetings are the most successful when they’re in person and they happen at a program site location,” said Samone.
Further, she said that LCMs were continuously responsive to provider feedback, reflecting real-time interests from the field. Recently, LCMs have focused on lesson planning, addressing disruptive behaviors, and navigating difficult conversations with youth.
“The topics have been spot on,” Elli said. “We talk about things that are new and fresh.”
Samone’s decision to shift LCMs to rotate hosting sites was valuable. Last fall, Hilltop hosted a quarterly LCM, transforming a tour into a scavenger hunt that showcased their creativity.
“It was really meaningful for us [to host] because we just acquired this new space we transformed,” Elli said. “It was nice to bring everyone into our space and share our journey and struggles.”
For Jaimie Wiggin, another Hilltop staff member, SOWA’s approach to quality improvement is intentional. “It never felt prescriptive. [SOWA] approached things with curiosity by asking why we made certain choices instead of telling us what to change,” said Jaimie. “That really helped me grow.”
Ultimately, Hilltop’s engagement with SOWA has been rooted in relationships. They have built authentic trust in their coaches and peers. “It’s the people,” Elli said. “That’s what made all the difference.”