OST Champion Spotlight: Sally Byers
Butterfly Pavilion | Outstanding Site Staff Member
When Sally Byers stepped into a lead role at the Butterfly Pavilion, after school programming changed, as she did more than take on new responsibilities. She started asking how the program itself could better belong to the young people in it.
In just her first month in the role, Sally began reshaping the program from a model centered primarily on content delivery to one built around youth engagement, leadership, voice, and choice.
One of her first changes was creating a club leadership system. Each club now includes student roles such as President, Vice President, Treasurer, and a Leave No Trace Committee. The roles rotate weekly, giving every young person an opportunity to practice leadership and contribute to the way their club operates.
Sally also introduced a club pledge that students recite at the beginning of each session, creating shared expectations for a positive and respectful environment.
Perhaps the biggest shift came in how young people experience the activities themselves. Historically, clubs centered on one whole-group activity. Sally redesigned the structure to include activity stations, giving students choices about what they want to explore and work on. According to her nomination, the change has led to fewer behavior challenges and more meaningful engagement.
Her impact extends beyond the students in her own programs. Sally uses her administrative time to observe other educators and offer guidance, helping strengthen program quality across the team. Her organizational skills have also made programming easier for staff to implement while she continues looking for ways to build more youth voice and choice into the experience.
And sometimes the clearest evidence of impact comes from the young people and families themselves. After Sally sent a “glow note” home celebrating a student, the child’s parent shared how much their daughter loves the program. She has attended camps and even celebrated a birthday at Butterfly Pavilion. More importantly, the student hopes that one day she can volunteer there herself and help other people appreciate nature’s creatures.
That is the kind of impact that reaches beyond a single afternoon or activity. When a young person begins to imagine herself as a future leader, volunteer, or steward of something she cares about, an afterschool program has created more than engagement. It has created belonging and possibility.
Congratulations to Sally Byers, one of Colorado’s outstanding OST Champions, and thank you for showing what can happen when young people are trusted with real voice, meaningful choices, and opportunities to lead.
