The BCC Compass – July 2023
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting different results. A practice we have here at BCC is to learn from what we have done in the past and adapt it to our current practices, realizing that there is not just one way to complete a task.
In June we had celebrated Juneteenth across the majority of our organization and it was deemed a “great success.” We learned and integrated best practices from the event last year.
Here is an excerpt from the Compass blog written by our CEO, LA Spangnola wrote last year:
“At BCC, we set a goal to improve our celebration and understanding of Juneteenth. In 2021, just days before the federal government approved Juneteenth as a federal holiday, BCC put together its first Juneteenth celebration. Staff members who worked that day received double pay, and we organized meals at several BCC campuses. But we quickly realized we didn’t include enough staff in the planning for the day. This year, we reached out to more staff members and received more feedback on how to celebrate Juneteenth in a way that was truly meaningful. We also added more educational opportunities about the holiday so staff throughout BCC could gain a deeper understanding of the day’s meaning.”
Here are the ways that we implemented the lessons learned from last year:
1. Each campus (PA, WV, and MD) had a planning team that consulted other staff and each other in planning
2. Menu was planned accordingly to cultural celebration and appropriate decoration were used
3. Appropriated funding and support was allocated by the EDI committee
4. Educational materials, such as bulletin boards and handouts about Junteenth were given away at the celebrations
Even with the “great success” we still have an opportunity to learn and grow as we plan for next year. The big realization is the need to be intentionally inclusive of all our campuses and also include them in the planning and execution of our celebration. With this in mind, we endeavor to:
- Assign an EDI outreach person to each campus to ensure that all BCC locations are included in the celebration conversation.
- Create and print out more educational materials to be distributed to the campuses.
With every EDI led initiative and celebration, there is room to learn, engage, and improve. That is the great thing about this work: we are always learning and growing together!
Moving forward, especially as we prepare for our agency-wide Hispanic Heritage Celebration, we will keep in mind the lessons learned from our past events to help us share with the world the richness of the people at the Board of Child Care.