Out-of-School-Time Champion: Sheila Byrnes

Exceptional Supervisor | Adams 14

Strong out-of-school time programs don’t happen by accident. Behind the scenes are leaders who build strong teams, solve problems, create consistency, and make sure young people have meaningful experiences every day.

For Adams 14, Sheila Byrnes is one of those leaders. Sheila was nominated as an Out-of-School Time Champion in recognition of the leadership, reliability, and care she brings to afterschool programming across the district. Her supervisor describes her as someone he can trust to make sure successful programming is happening at every site, not simply keeping programs running, but continually looking for ways to make them better.

When Sheila stepped into the work, she took it upon herself to learn the ins and outs of quality programming and build her own expertise. Today, she coordinates staff schedules, troubleshoots challenges in real time, supports new team members, leads weekly team meetings, and works to ensure staff have what they need to serve students well.

That consistency has helped create a strong team culture across sites. Staff feel supported, communication stays strong, and the focus remains where it belongs: on young people.

But Sheila’s leadership extends beyond day-to-day operations.

One example is the family engagement nights she has helped develop and coordinate at school sites. Rather than treating these as one-time events, Sheila works with individual schools to intentionally create experiences that bring students, families, and staff together.

Families have participated in workshops on topics including understanding trauma, supporting learning at home, and strengthening family connections. Shared cooking and interactive learning activities have given parents and children opportunities to learn, laugh, and spend time together. By hosting these experiences at schools, the events also help families feel more connected to the places where their children learn each day.

Sheila brings that same determination to reaching families who have not yet connected with afterschool programming.

When enrollment presented a challenge, she didn’t simply acknowledge the problem—she tried new approaches. She stayed during parent-teacher conferences to talk with families, made herself present at evening events where families were already gathering, and worked to increase community awareness of the program.

Her supervisor put it simply: Sheila is willing to show up, try new ideas, and do what it takes to make the program better for kids and families.

That combination of leadership, creativity, reliability, and commitment is why CAP is proud to recognize Sheila Byrnes as an Out-of-School Time Champion.