Our Mission
BOOST builds the capacity of youth and youth serving organizations, individual out-of-school time staff, and the field as a whole. BOOST's goal is to increase availability and access to high-quality services for youth in out-of-school time. BOOST empowers afterschool and summer program providers to be more eddective and efficient, inspiring innovation and improvement; resulting in positive transformation for thousands of youth in Alachua County.
What We Do:
1. Resource - A central hub to create and disseminate information on out-of-school time programming, youth development, and evidence-based best practices in out-of-school time learning with youth.
2. Advocacy - To advocate for out-of-school time programming as an integral part of education, social-emotional learning, criminal justice reduction, and mental health for youth.
3. Training & Education - To provide training for afterschool, summer and Saturday program providers on youth development, cultural responsivity, academic support and achievement, and wholistic youth wellness.
Our Vision:
1. To disseminate a shared set of standards and trainings that will increase the profession of out-of-school time and ensure evidence-based practices for agencies, funders and programs under local, state, and federal laws.
2. Connect the silos and streamline services to create collaborative, effective, efficient efforts among out-of-school providers and secondary services.
3. Increase equitable engagement and access to quality out-of-school time programming for all communities in Alachua County.