My journey into the field of education started in community college. I was originally a psych major, but I took one child development class and that was it. I changed my major and followed through to my bachelor’s degree in child and adolescent development.
I started working as a preschool teacher, then was a preschool director. The organization I worked for had a private elementary school; I was asked to direct that program and did so for three years. It was amazing, but I wanted to try something different.
That’s when I found Right At School. They didn’t operate in Northern California at the time I applied. I immediately fell in love with the spirit of Right At School and that one of its core values is to be locally-inspired. It was enticing that I could have a hand in bringing this organization to our community.
When I joined Right At School in 2019, after school care was a big need here. Parents would get used to having full day childcare in a private preschool, but when they’d move to a public elementary school, suddenly that care was not available. When I opened our first Right At School programs, we were able to fill that need for our community.
We’re inspiring a love of learning. Our curriculum makes learning fun for students, and I love going into our programs and seeing that first-hand.
Over the last two years, we’ve had a heavy focus on the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P) in California, which provides funding for after school and summer school enrichment programs for transitional kindergarten through sixth grade. Through our work, we’re fulfilling our mission to inspire a love of learning, support schools, and give parents peace of mind.
- We are supporting school districts and taking stress off of district leaders by providing locally-inspired programs that meet ELO-P requirements. When we partner with them, we try to take as much off of their plates as possible. We provide services to help drive communications to reach as many qualified families as possible so they can hit their enrollment targets. We take care of the enrollment process. We take care of the program staffing … and so much more.
- We’re giving families peace of mind, and thanks to the ELO-P funding, we can serve families from all walks of life. Working families that previously couldn’t afford after school care are now getting that care subsidized by this state program.
- We’re inspiring a love of learning. Our curriculum makes learning fun for students, and I love going into our programs and seeing that first-hand.
This is why Right At School is so successful in so many different areas — because we can adapt and change.
One of my responsibilities as a senior area manager is to identify the best ways to align Right At School with a district’s culture and strategic objectives. My first step is to listen. Then I can look at our offerings and tailor them to the district’s needs.
- For example, one district has a very large population of students and families who speak Mandarin. So, we hired staff from the local community who know the language and the culture, and who can deliver Right At School programs in a way that connects with the community.
- Another district established social-emotional learning (SEL) as a key strategic objective. In these schools, we highlight Right At School’s “I AM” program. This program helps foster positive identity, relationships, and behaviors through a focus on 10 monthly character and SEL traits across the school year (e.g., I AM welcoming, I AM caring, I AM brave).
- When students returned to school after the pandemic, many districts saw huge achievement gaps. So, we partnered with one district to implement a district-created tutoring curriculum as part of our after school enrichment program. In another district, we implemented a similar program focused on reading and literacy. And in another district, we trained our staff on the i-Ready assessment so they can provide continuity for students from the school day to after school.
This is why Right At School is so successful in so many different areas — because we can adapt and change. The leadership of Right At School gives us local leaders a lot of autonomy to make decisions and adjustments to meet the needs of our district partners. That’s woven into the fabric of our organization. Our staff not only represent the communities we serve, but build deep connections with students and families.
What I most love about my job is the people — our staff, leadership team, district partners, students, and parents. Interacting with and supporting all of the people in all of the different sectors of my work is what fills my bucket and keeps me going. It’s my favorite part of my job.
