Communities of Practice

"In a nutshell: Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.”
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- Etienne Wenger-Trayner, Pioneer of Communities of Practice​

All COPs are supported by a skilled AFCOST facilitator - check out their bios here

Communities of Practice (COP) provide a place where our Cambridge Out-of-School-Time (OST) professionals can come together to collectively explore, challenge and test ideas and practices arising in our OST work or professional lives with the support of an experienced facilitator. The COP brings together OST staff who want to pursue exploration of their OST practices and professional development needs. By engaging over time in collective and generative learning as a COP participant, you will develop new relationships, knowledge and resources to enhance your OST practices and professional career.  

​​Email: [email protected] if you need additional information

Youth Workers, Staff Leaders and Quality Stewards COPs are held October-June on the second Wednesday of each month so that teams of staff from different OST programs can attend their COP and then share their experiences when they return to their OST programs. Executive Director Learning Space COP meets four times a year seasonally.

​​Click here to return to the OST Learning Institute.​

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Youth Workers Community of Practice​

Staff, who work directly with young people and have no supervisory responsibilities, explore creating and delivering age-appropriate, quality program practices, as well as their professional development and self-care

Staff Leader Community of Practice

Supervisors, who have program oversight responsibility, explore what it means to lead, mentor and coach staff engaged in working directly with young people, while attending to their own professional growth and self-care.

Quality Stewards Community of Practice 

Directors/managers, who have responsibility for setting and/or overseeing the program quality and operational visions for their organization, reflect upon, examine and develop effective and inspirational leadership behaviors and practices that link organizational mission, program outcomes, and building and retaining empowered staff teams.

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Executive Director Learning Space

Facilitated time and space for executive level directors and similar positions to gather with their peers, share their work, learn from each other and move their programs to new levels of quality.  Quarterly, senior executives discuss leadership topics, as well as their organizational strategies and opportunities.

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Communities of Practice Facilitators & Staff

​Melinda Barbosa, She/Her. Staff Leaders

Matt Dunkel, He/Him. Quality Stewards

Trevis Brooks, He/Him. Youth Workers

Daniel Michaud Weinstock, He/Him. Executive Directors

Ashley Kelly, She/Her. Program Coordinator

Leon Weiler, He/They. P.D. Associate

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"COP conversations have helped me support staff--by creating leadership opportunities and
empowering them to solve problems. This has contributed to a happy and cohesive teaching team. That impacts the children because their teachers are happy, motivated, and excited to bring high quality programs."

View the Community of Practice 2024-25 schedule & directory.

Click here to return to the OST Learning Institute.