2026 Bridge Conference

Want to connect with fellow Bridge attendees around critical topics impacting the Washington Expanded Learning community?

Participants will have the chance to do just that during Table Talks, a 45-minute, unfacilitated group discussions for those seeking connection around a specific topic of interest. Topics will be determined by Bridge attendees through an online voting process.

Table Talks is an opportunity to share ideas, successes, challenges, and connect with others across the state who may be navigating similar experiences.

Not quite ready to dive into a group conversation? Consider joining one of the 30-minute sessions happening from 9:45 - 10:15 AM instead.

In busy after-school programs, belonging cannot depend on long planning time or highly trained staff. This hands-on workshop will show how simple, off-screen games can become daily belonging practices for elementary and middle school students, especially grades 1–8. Participants will explore practical ways to use short, low-prep activities to build connection, curiosity, teamwork, and appreciation for differences. Together, we will look at how games can support staff who are juggling limited prep time, changing schedules, and mixed-age groups, while still creating joyful, inclusive moments for young people. Attendees will leave with activity design principles and ready-to-use ideas they can adapt for their own programs.

This session shares the journey of transcreating the School Age Basic Training into Spanish, from the initial needs assessment to the development of the final product launching in Fall 2026. Presenters will offer an honest look at the multilingual collaborative process, highlighting the successes, challenges, detours, and key realizations that shaped the work. Participants will learn how decisions were made, how diverse perspectives informed the adaptation, and why transcreation was chosen over direct translation. Through this case study, attendees will gain insight into the complexities and opportunities of adapting training content across languages and cultures, as well as the commitments made to support inclusiveness, cultural responsiveness, and racial equity throughout the project.

What actually happens inside an organization when someone is let go? And more importantly—what happens to the people who stay? In many workplaces, transitions such as layoffs or leadership exits are handled with a focus on risk, privacy, and the organization's protection. But in the process, what often gets missed are the real human questions staff are carrying: Was this fair? Could this happen to me? What does this mean for our future? Whether you are a senior leader, manager, or team member, this session offers space to reflect on your own experiences and share perspective.

Session Objectives

• Unpack the hidden dynamics of organizational transitions. 
• Explore how these moments are experienced differently by line staff, managers, and senior leaders—and why misalignment between those perspectives can erode trust, stability, and culture. 
• Gain practical tools for navigating change with greater clarity, accountability, and care.

Data sovereignty — the right of communities to control data about themselves — is not just a concept. It’s a practice.

Drawing on the work of the Coalition of Communities of Color (CCC) in Portland, OR, this workshop introduces participants to a framework for assessing and strengthening community data stewardship practices in their own organizations. Who currently controls your data? Who benefits from it? And how can youth, parents, and community members become genuine co-owners of the stories data tells? Participants will work through a guided framework to map their current data sovereignty model and develop a concrete action plan for shifting power back toward the community. This session is for leaders and staff ready to move beyond data compliance and toward data self-determination.

Young people today are growing up in a crisis of disconnection - loneliness, anxiety, and a hunger to belong that no app, curriculum, or well-meaning program has been able to fix. The problem isn't the young people. It's that the village around them has quietly eroded. Research on adolescent development is clear: young people thrive when they feel known,
challenged, and expected to contribute within a real community. But knowing that doesn't tell us what to do Monday morning.

This hands-on workshop introduces the circle practice - a research-aligned tool for building belonging, resilience, and leadership in any youth-serving setting. Participants won't just learn about circles. They'll be in one. Drawing from work now implemented school-wide at O'Dea High School (500 students) and piloting across Bethel School District, facilitators will guide attendees through a live circle and share practical tools for immediate use.

A collective vision and strong organizational systems create teams poised to work effectively and efficiently. Through experiential learning, organizational development theory, and strong facilitation, your team will deepen relationships, develop collective agreements about how to use limited resources, and infuse your team with shared values to create a strong climate that supports accountability, minimizes conflict, and maximizes productivity.

Session Objectives

• Learn strategies to identify core values and use them to design processes
• To reflect on what creates teams that are poised to succeed
• To understand the work styles of team members