Partnership in practice
What partners
ask for,
and how BAM
responds.
School partners help shape the work, from the first conversation to the next improvement.
Ask ten expanded learning coordinators what would make an enrichment program work better at their campus, and you’ll hear specific, practical, local answers.
A dismissal pattern that runs long. A storage closet shared with two other programs. A group that would rather be outside. A weekly curriculum schedule the office would like to have on hand.
These details matter. Schools aren’t interchangeable, and a program needs to work with the routines, spaces, and students at the site it serves.
So we ask, on purpose and on a schedule, and use the answers to guide what we do.
An ongoing conversation
It starts with the implementation meeting. It doesn’t end there.
Before programming begins, we ask about setup logistics, school procedures, and scheduling. Once the program starts, we check in on student engagement, content quality, communication, and whether the program is meeting the site’s expectations.
We hear from the people closest to the work: principals, site coordinators, administrators, athletics and expanded learning leads, and our own instructors. Surveys, partner check-ins, and site visits give them different ways to tell us what’s working and what needs attention.
The specific suggestions help us understand what would make the day run better.
The details that matter
The most common requests are practical
Partners ask for things that make a difference where a program meets a campus.
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Schedule visibility
Coordinators appreciate getting the schedule ahead of time and knowing which instructors are coming and in what role. It helps them plan their own staffing and know who to expect at the gate.
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How supplies arrive
Some partners want a walkthrough when materials are delivered, so someone on site and someone from BAM can review what arrived, where it lives, and how it gets set up. Others prefer to agree on storage during implementation and leave the details to us. We work with the site to establish the approach that fits.
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Consistency of faces
Coordinators tell us that having the same instructors across the week helps students settle in and site routines hold. We agree, and we work to keep the same staff at each location for the duration of the program.
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Materials scaled to the site
Smaller sites ask for supply quantities matched to their actual headcount and available space. Final enrollment isn’t always available when classroom kits are packed, so we can adjust quantities and arrange returns for excess supplies.
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Depth in the activity itself
In sports especially, partners appreciate coaches who bring knowledge of the specific sport alongside strong group leadership. That combination informs our selection and hiring process.
A team behind the conversation
Where a request goes
Every site has a Program Manager who connects the school team with BAM staff. They are regularly on campus and are the starting point for questions about schedules, staffing, materials, and space.
Each district and site also has a support team, with different people responsible for different questions:
- Program Manager
- Day-to-day implementation and logistics.
- District Partnership Manager
- Program scope, activity mix, and alignment with district priorities.
- Implementation Manager
- Pre-program coordination and day 1 readiness.
- Customer Success Manager
- Data, continuous improvement, and opportunities for growth & expansion.
Weekly touchpoints and site visits are built into the engagement, so there are regular opportunities to raise a question and return to it.
CQI in action
How one district’s feedback shaped our training
Some feedback leads to an adjustment at one site. Some has value beyond the schools where it starts.
Recently, a partner told us their district preferred a zone approach to Active Supervision at middle schools. We took that feedback and adapted how we organized coverage in their schools.
We also recognized the approach’s value for our middle school programs more broadly, so we integrated it into training for middle school instructors.
That is what we want the feedback process to do: help us respond to the needs of a particular district, recognize a useful practice, and carry that learning into how we prepare our team.
- ◎01 / ListenA district shares its approach
- ↔02 / AdaptCoverage changes in its schools
- ↗03 / Build on itThe practice informs broader training
Keep the conversation going
What comes back to you
A feedback loop that runs in only one direction is not a loop.
Partner check-ins and site visits provide opportunities to revisit requests, discuss adjustments, and identify what still needs attention. End-of-session showcases and attendance and participation reporting add another perspective on how students are experiencing the program.
The point is to keep the conversation going—and to keep learning from what happens on campus.
Let’s build the partnership
Tell us what matters at your sites
Your district may have two or three things it would want handled a particular way from the start. Tell us what they are, and we’ll walk through how BAM would approach each one and who would be responsible.
Talk with BAM about your sites