"We're Not Just Watching Kids" - Brightside Academy's Jack Safer & Toya on Mission-Driven Leadership

0:01 [Music]
0:16 Welcome back to another episode here on the heart hustle podcast with our next guest that says we're not just watching kids. We're building foundations for a
0:24 lot of our children. This is their safe space, their meals, their chance to dream. Jack and Toya, Toya, sorry. Jack and Toya, welcome to the show. I
0:32 appreciate e both of you guys cuz neither of you plan to end up in childhood education, however you're here. Jack, I'll start with you, man.
0:40 You come from healthcare. What made you take on child care center near bankruptcy?
0:45 Well, Ephra, first of all, thanks for having us. Uh, I appreciate the consistent followup. I mean, uh, even
0:52 even for this podcast today, I must have gotten 14 no less than 14, uh, invites and reminders. So, I'm glad you were on top of it.
1:00 You weren't going to miss it today, huh? Yeah, I was not going to miss it today.
1:03 Um, as much as I as much as I usually shy away from these types of uh, things,
1:09 this this exposure, um, you've been too gracious on the, you know, on our preview call, and I wasn't going to do that to Toya, so here I am. Um,
1:19 why did I get into early childhood?
1:22 It's a great question. Um, like I've I've mentioned in the past, I never thought I'd actually be caring for other
1:29 people's children. Um, but I think that the opportunity came across uh my desk back in 2016.
1:38 um coming from healthcare and being of of a a a inservice right type of
1:45 industry early childhood education is very similar to healthcare and that's what piqu my interest and here was here we had an a company Bright Side that had
1:55 been doing phenomenal work unfortunately there were some operational constraints or concerns over the span of 25 almost
2:02 30 years now but the 25 years that has caused them they actually went bankrupt once U and we're on the verge of another
2:10 bankruptcy and we're looking for I guess you can say a savior or white knight to come in swoop in and try to help rebuild
2:20 the ship so to speak and turn around the ship and that piqu my interest. I think it was a turnaround story. It was the feel-good element. It was the
2:27 opportunity to give back to society uh and help create and mold minds of the most young
2:34 um and vulnerable so to speak uh population. And uh that's where I'm at today.
2:40 And and you didn't do this alone. You realized you needed a team, which is where Toya then comes in. Toya, you jumped from healthcare ops into child
2:48 care leadership. What clicked? What clicked for you when you first met Jack and you realized, wait, a new opportunity? Obviously, you told me you
2:56 enjoyed um Jack and his his love for what he was doing, his energy. Could you talk a little bit about that? I I sure can. So, I I too want to thank
3:06 you for allowing us to spend some time with you today and talk about what we do here at Bright Side. Um, it's I I always want to talk about the fantastic work
3:14 that we do here. Um, so Jack and I met through a mutual acquaintance and we had a phone call and we set some time to
3:21 meet a week out and you know just a few minutes after we set that time Jack called and said, "Well, can you meet today?" Um, I liked his urgency because,
3:31 you know, that meant he was really interested in doing something great for the organization. Um, so we met and Jack's passion for what he's doing for
3:39 children and families and community just really stood out and it resonated with where I am today. So, I'm excited to be here, excited to come to work every day.
3:49 Jack asks every now and then, are you still excited to come to work? And I am.
3:54 I love it. And and today your kids are going to be well not today but your kids are gonna be watching. So shout out to the kids, right? That that they know mama's doing the thing. They love to
4:02 support. Um so you want to say hello to the kids watching.
4:06 Of course. Shout out to Joya and Harley who always are champions for mommy.
4:11 There you go. And Jack, you got kiddos as well, don't you?
4:14 All right, let me pull out the list. Uh well, I want I first want to say uh give a shout out to my wife Nina that without
4:23 her support and the backing and her ability to man the ship back at the house and watched the kids for many years alone so to speak while I was out
4:32 there trying to rebuild Bright Side. So thank you Nina for always being a supportive spouse and role model for our
4:39 children. Shout out to my son Sam, my son Eli, my daughter Jenny, and my little one Ella.
4:47 You You mentioned your wife being so supportive, and I think women in general are very supportive, and I'm pretty sure that's why you called Toya back. Um,
4:56 what did that urgency calling Toya back the same day say about the mission that you two were stepping into? And I'll start off with Toya. What do you think that actually meant for you?
5:04 Um, it meant that Jack was very interested in moving the organization forward and really meeting the needs of
5:12 more children and families and and as well growing the organization so we can employ employ more people in our
5:19 neighborhoods and just make a difference throughout. And I just want to say the guys are supportive too. My husband Jules is holding it down all the time
5:27 with the girls. So, you know, and not for nothing, Jack as a partner, he really tries to give everything that the
5:35 organization needs and that I need specifically in order to keep moving one foot in front of the next.
5:42 Jack, how about I mean, you called her same day. What did that mean to you? And what does it say about the mission? Um, well, I think in my life in general,
5:50 Toya probably knows this, I just try to lead with always a sense of urgency.
5:54 like I don't have patience for any delays or uh you know procrastination.
6:00 Um I think that we as a company as an organization um there's there was too much to be done were impacting way too many lives.
6:10 um not only on the children's side but also on the you know the staff right the employees right we had to make sure that hey this is a going concern that we're
6:19 we continue to be a viable organization and I wasn't going to wait for Toya's call in a week to try to think about it
6:26 or you know for her to sleep on it and change her mind. Um you got to go in when it's still hot and the iron's hot and uh that's that's what the urgency
6:35 was. What what I love about you both is that when I met you guys before virtually, you guys just seemed like you
6:43 guys have a fun time together. Then we got on this podcast earlier today before we even and I just see I see the energy that you guys both have. Smiles in your faces to you mentioned am I still happy?
6:54 Am I still excited to come to work? I can tell that because not just imagine you know people when they come to work and they're not happy just the vibe. You guys don't have that. And I love that you guys almost like brother and sister.
7:04 Do you guys say that? It's like almost a brother sister relationship.
7:07 I'd say that's accurate. I'd say that's accurate. Yeah, I could tell that. I could see it.
7:12 I would I would ask Toya to talk about her time, you know, in her degree in lit, you know, arts and literature and theater. I mean, I think that plays a role as well.
7:19 What? You guys are both theater kids? I'm kidding.
7:22 Oh, I was I'm a theater kid. I love theater.
7:26 You guys were in theater, Jack? No, I think I I was making I was being facicious and saying it's all an act, but uh in reality it is it is genuine.
7:34 Um I think that there actually is chemistry and you need chemistry, especially at this level. You do.
7:39 Um you need to be a you be you need to be able to read the other person's mind without them saying a word, right?
7:47 And you need to be able to be challenged at every level. Jack does not mind being challenged. I don't mind being challenged. Being challenged is the
7:55 greatest thing because when you're challenged, you grow. Yeah. Yeah. I'm a competitive person.
7:59 So, if you ever tell me something, I'm like, well, how can I up that, right?
8:02 And it's not because I want to be better than you. But it's just that you need that competition in life. You need that challenge as you mentioned. I used anytime I went into corporate world um
8:11 or even now I sit on boards. I always say I don't want to just sit here and fill up a seat like what do we need to do and how do I become better? If I if
8:19 if I'm getting bored and I feel like I'm not growing, this this is not for me.
8:22 And it looks like Toya and Jack, you guys are really growing something that really needed it and now you're figuring out how do we continue to move forward.
8:29 And what I really love about this organization is that you guys are actually a for-profit, but uh really kind of almost operate with a nonprofit heart. Like can we kind of unpack that?
8:38 What does it mean to operate for a for-profit with a nonprofit heart? Want me to go?
8:46 You can start. Toya, go ahead. Whatever.
8:50 I think we're mission we're missionoriented. We're missionoriented and when everyone's moving together in the same direction um in the name of children, families, and communities,
9:01 it's easy to do. Um you know, the profit isn't the goal, the mission is the goal,
9:06 and you don't need to be nonprofit, not for profofit to do that.
9:12 And I'm guessing you agree with all that, Jack.
9:14 Oh, yeah. Abs. Absolutely. And I think that, you know, people believe that if you're a nor if you're a nonprofit,
9:20 nonprofits, I'm not knocking them at all, right? They do amazing work, right? Sometimes there's some roadblocks,
9:27 right? A bureaucracy or red tape in order to move things forward in a quick manner, right? Or sometimes you need to pivot, right? Especially leadership,
9:35 right? Like someone like Montoya or a regional management, they need to be able to pivot in the moment. And sometimes in a nonprofit where you have
9:44 layers and layers and layers of approval that have to go through by the time you get the approval, it's too late, right? Or you have to pivot to the next thing.
9:52 So I think that that that's one uh concern about a nonprofit versus for-profit. And again, it's all how you're structured, right? You can have
10:00 that in a nonprofit. You could have it on both ends. But I think like you said,
10:04 we operate our heart is in the nonprofit space because I think people associate nonprofit as um impactful organizations
10:12 and for-profit is, you know, potentially a negative connotation is like, oh,
10:17 they're just there to make money. So, I always try to stress that we operate as a for-profit in terms of agility. Um,
10:25 but our heart is in the right place and we operate as a nonprofit. I mean, as as you can see, we care for many children,
10:32 many employees, many and I I actually keep you this too,
10:37 Jack. Um, you mentioned just the the kids that you guys serve, nearly 2,000 kids, if I'm not mistaken, with about across 32 locations. What does the scale
10:45 look like day-to-day actually when you talk about the kids and the impact that you guys are making,
10:51 I want to just clarify that we serve almost 2,000 children today, right? our capacity is almost 5,000. Right? So,
11:00 pre-COVID um we were serving roughly 3,800 children on a daily basis. CO really did
11:07 a number on our organization and many industries nationwide, especially from a labor perspective. Uh you know,
11:15 unfortunately, the areas that we serve are a little bit lagging in terms of getting back out there and getting back to work. And many of you know the people
11:24 in our workforce retired, right? Like you had a lot of uh folks that have been with Price Tech for 20 25 years that are
11:32 from the community and this is all they knew of caring for children and throughout the difficulties of COVID they're like okay you know I I think I'm
11:40 done right or I think I'm I'm ready to retire and move on to the next stage of my life. And unfortunately
11:48 there's today right I think many of the younger generation right are going into
11:54 the you know the hot topics right tech right AI right and not and not not really service-based businesses
12:02 especially early childhood education because of what it means you know what's involved on a day-to-day basis right they'd rather go sit behind the desk
12:10 potentially uh in a computer right and have a nineto-five job versus taking care or, you know, 10 or 15 or 20
12:18 beautiful little kiddos that are, you know, pulling up their legs, screaming,
12:22 making a lot of noise potentially. And I think we as an organization, what we're trying to do, Bright Side, is trying to
12:29 change the narrative, so to speak, and say, "Hey, like there's actually an opportunity to have a career over here,
12:35 right? Like you can literally you want management, we have opportunities for management, right? You want you want to be you want to be custodian, right? You want to you want to make centers
12:44 beautiful, right? Right? We have an opportunity for that. You want to be an assistant teacher, a lead teacher, you want to get your degree in education,
12:50 we'll pay for that, right? There are programs with that partner with Bright Side that our teachers can go for continuing education for free, not pay a
12:58 dollar out of pocket. So, I think it's just about changing the narrative, what it means. I think there's plenty of people out there that want to give back.
13:07 They just don't know how to, you know,
13:09 take their first step. And it's important because that early childhood is needed. They don't know what they don't know.
13:16 And that's why we love to share and have these conversations because the resources are at our fingertips and sometimes people don't even know that.
13:22 Like what? I can get my schooling paid if I just join. Like this is crazy and I can imagine a lot of people would if they knew that. So I love that you kind of mentioned that. And beyond education,
13:33 Toya, how do you address the basic needs, safety, uh nutrition, security for for the students? Um, as Jack
13:40 mentioned, we have the good fortune to have many, many employees here who still have been we, one of our, uh, regional
13:48 directors just had her 20 year anniversary on Friday. Our director of compliance has been here 25 years. So,
13:55 we have a very robust policy and procedure manual. We have very robust training for our teachers and we value
14:03 their education so that they can keep the children safe and follow the regulations and guidelines. And you know all of our locations and I don't know if
14:12 we mentioned this um Pennsylvania has a rating system, a quality rating system and all of our locations are rated star
14:20 star three and star four mostly star four which are the highest quality ratings. So we don't just you know intend to meet the guidelines. We intend to exceed them and we do.
14:30 I love that. Toy, you also talked just now you mentioned these people 20 years,
14:35 right? Decades plus in there. Um, you also talked about empowering directors to move up. Why are you okay with good people leaving?
14:43 I think that not all turnover is bad turnover. When I look across the state at people who came from Bright Side, the
14:52 largest portion of our state inspectors came from Bright Side. Um, a lot of partners came from Bright Side and the
15:00 partner organizations. I think that if you want to open your own effort, you want to open your own childcare center,
15:05 come work at Bright Side. We'll teach you how to do that. We consider ourselves, that's a service that we give to the community. So, when I'm interviewing um sometimes assistant
15:15 teachers, I always ask what their goals are and if their goal is sometimes they're hesitant to say it. I do you want to open your own child care? If you
15:22 want to open your own child care and you want to do it right, this is the place to do it.
15:28 And Jack, I at one point I thought this was like a franchise model, right? And you mentioned it is like a franchise like model for empowerment. What does that actually look like without calling it a franchise?
15:38 I think it's precisely what Toya just mentions, right? Empowering our leadership to operate with a sense of autonomy but knowing that they have the
15:47 support of the regional and executive management team. So that I mean our directors are effectively
15:55 business people, right? Running multi-million dollar businesses potentially, you know, if they're full with children like they need to understand the basics of education,
16:04 right? And also management of a business. And if we're able to bridge the two and give them the the skills or
16:11 the tools necessarily and they latch on to it and they're able to run with it,
16:16 that is the biggest form of success for us because now they are able to go take those skills and go anywhere with it,
16:21 right? Open their child care center or go into another industry potentially if they find it attractive. Um, we're not a franchise model because we're not
16:29 charging franchise fees to our academy directors, right? So you you you limit you limit that from from you limit that and you give them the opportunity to
16:38 grow and make decisions and again like you said before empower them is effective like you're in charge like you
16:45 need to know how to have you know conflict resolution management uh uh P&L management um budgeting uh you know all
16:55 these things if we can do that successfully right if we can do that and I think we're trying that right we're trying to build a program. Going a little off topic over here, but part of
17:04 our training and development that we'd like to implement is child care management today. The way it looks like they don't necessarily have those
17:12 business leadership skills because it's highly focused on the educational side,
17:17 right? And rightfully so, right? We're we have to ensure that they're getting the proper education, right? But a a
17:23 piece of that that's missing is that business acumen, right? And if we can,
17:29 like I said before, bridge the two together, get them the skills that they need, like they can just, you know,
17:36 it can be amazing for them and for any organization and and for child care as a whole, right? Um, yeah. So,
17:44 have you guys been seeing a lot of the uh internal team taking on what you guys are offering, you know, going and running their own locations? Are you
17:52 seeing that often now that you guys are implementing these these nice, beautiful opportunities for individuals?
17:58 I mean, for me, it's never enough. I mean, yes. Yes, we are seeing people move up. We're seeing people leave the organization and come back at roles higher than they were in before. I mean,
18:09 that that's that's great.
18:11 Um, and we are highlighting our internal employees who have moved up through the ranks, but for me, it's never enough until every teacher who wants a degree
18:20 has one. until every teacher who strives to be a regional staff member is here or elsewhere and I'll even connect them with a with you know another
18:28 organization if it's for growth until everybody that wants to grow is doing it it's not enough and you know yes we're seeing them take advantage but I'd like
18:37 to see more that's good I mean to think that you guys are not just working with our youth but you guys are also working with our
18:44 you know and I won't say elders but our adults right allowing them to see more within them allowing them to know their
18:52 worth. Um, a lot of times people will work and almost run everything and be damn near a entrepreneur within four
18:59 walls. And what happens when we actually give them the opportunity to be an entrepreneur and see things they've never seen or believe in ways they've
19:06 never believed. So having Toya and Jack at the head of that table to just kind of curate this is actually amazing cuz not a lot of organizations, not a lot of
19:15 companies would sit here and and be that bold to say, "Hey, I'll help you go find an opportunity at another organization cuz I know that one you'll either come
19:23 back or it would inspire you to do more of what you're doing." It's it's I love that. I love that you guys are not selfish in this in that way. Um so
19:30 that's amazing. Kudos to to both of you guys to do that. I also think it's amazing that you guys are kind of in this space of technology innovation and that human- centered approach as we were
19:38 talking about last time. You rolled out tablets and um and robotics classes, but you're cautious about AI and childcare.
19:46 What? Why? I I give this to I'll give it to Jack. I give it to Jack. Yeah.
19:52 So, uh yeah, we mentioned mentioned in the past is we want to be at the forefront of technology. we were
20:00 constantly pushing pushing ways to innovate our processes and streamline get better reporting uh dashboards right
20:08 to to go back to we were saying before is have insight into what we do every day and what every decision that we make
20:15 today impacts at a global level right or a broader level right so what I'm concerned about uh AI right
20:25 utilizing AI um from an from an education ational perspective or curriculum perspective is like, you
20:33 know, obviously that's the way of the future and we're going to have to adapt and and figure out ways how it benefits us, you know, in the manner that we that
20:41 we think it makes sense. But I I don't want to remove that human connection,
20:46 right? And I think that many of our children, many of our families, right, when they have that human interaction,
20:52 right, or social interaction with their teacher, right, the teacher that's with the child probably more than the parent is, right, if you think about it, right?
21:00 If they come every single day for and we serve, we serve that they could be here 12 hours a day, right?
21:06 Um I can tell you so many stories that we've heard is that you know later on in life um again I've been with Bright Side
21:14 since 2016 but even over the span of the last you know nine years or so I've heard stories of parents or of teachers
21:22 or of children how they still communicate and are in touch with their teacher back in preschool right because they have such an impactful
21:31 um you know they play such a pivotal role in their life and shaping them for that K through 12 education. So I don't want to I want I want to limit the
21:40 extent of AI where it doesn't have that genuine feel or that human interaction and social interaction. And in addition to that is right, all of our staff, we
21:48 hire specifically from within our community, right? So we have 24 sites. So give you an example in Philadelphia.
21:55 We hire within a mile radius or so of each of our sites, right? So we're not bringing in teachers or educators from 5, 10, 15 miles away. They're there.
22:04 They know the community. They understand the community. They may even know the child and their family, right? How do you get that from AI? From a computer, right?
22:11 Hey, real quick. Have you enjoyed the podcast? We first want to say thank you and we also just want to give you a little insight of what we're up to at Francis. Some don't even realize that
22:20 we're working with organizations to help them use AI to create that real human communication experiences where that's actually supporting your your families,
22:29 those patients or the entire community.
22:32 We're actually creating tech that connects. Check it out. Francis.ai.
22:38 No, I I agree with you. One, let's talk about teachers. Very underrated at their job as you mentioned. we'll spend um as
22:44 students growing up we spend eight nine hours at a job but like that was our families right these teachers were our families as well and you are right I
22:53 still speak to teachers today that were very impactful and said things to me that maybe at the moment I I wasn't really hearing or or listening to but as
23:02 I continue life itself I'm like wait a minute that teacher was on to something and I remember her saying that I mean even at 20ome years old when I started a nonprofit I brought my old English
23:10 teacher uh from 11th trade like so yeah you you're 100% sure I remember going back to model elementary to just go read books to the kids cuz I knew the teacher
23:19 and I wanted to you know show love that way um so shout out to all the teachers that do the work very to me still underpaid still undervalued in a sense I
23:28 I 100% agree with you that we still need that human to human interaction even this like this is great virtually but I can imagine if we were in person the
23:35 energy in the room is a little bit different uh you know and I love that but I think Toya I come to you AI I still see it has um taken an
23:43 organization and I would say let's not talk about the kids but the back end admin taking repetitive task um and and automating a lot of the things so we
23:51 could do more of the things that we love and less of the things that just drives us a little bit crazy toya do you feel that there's AI that could be helpful in those spaces
24:00 I think we're exploring some of those things um you know I'm excited that we rolled out the new Samsung tablets and I'm excited that we're going to roll out
24:08 facial recognition for um clocking in and out. So, I think we're exploring those things and to whatever extent we
24:16 can automate backend tasks, Jack is fully supportive of.
24:22 Got it. And you talked about the Samsung tablets and the robotic partnerships.
24:26 What impacts have they actually made in the classrooms, Toya?
24:29 Um, we rolled out a pilot program with um the Brooklyn Robotics Foundry. Shout out to Mr. and Mrs. Snow. Um, and we
24:37 have other locations that are asking for it. I want the robotics program. Um, we rolled out the pilot over the summer. We were able to serve 16 children at two
24:46 locations and they loved it. Their families loved it. They came in and participated. It was fantastic. So,
24:52 we're looking at expanding the pro the project um to encompass some of our more some of our locations that have older
24:59 children who are really looking to pursue that avenue.
25:03 I love that. And you guys are just as amazing. So, Jack, you guys didn't just stop at child care. you guys expanded into autism and behavioral services.
25:12 What sparked the the the next evolving space in your organization?
25:20 Well, um so back in 2018 or so, we started seeing an uptick in children that uh were coming along with, you know, IEPs or complex IEPs,
25:31 individualized educational plans. Um and we used to farm out so to
25:39 speak or seek vendors that would come in assess the children um for services,
25:46 right? And just to get that assessment would take months because of the backlog
25:53 and the enormity or the the veracity of the amount of children um and I'll talk about Philadelphia in particular, right, that are were in need
26:02 of these services, right? And you know me not lying like you know
26:10 I'm not one to stand aside so to speak right and say hey let's just wait until they come in where our teachers are burning out the children aren't getting
26:18 necessary services that they're that they're needing the parents are frustrated with us right blaming us that we're you know we're the roadblock to
26:26 them um getting the proper services for their children. Mhm. I decided in that moment I'm like,
26:32 "Okay, we need to do something about it." And we started looking into mental health and behavioral health programming to see how we can complement bright side
26:40 and getting those services expeditiously uh and sort of being being control of the destiny, you know, of of our own
26:48 destiny and not relying on these third party sources. um COVID came so that sort of took a uh a back burner but
26:57 postcoid like we're we're up and running shout out to my team uh at Coutammani Developmental Services. Um they're doing
27:05 a phenomenal job in increasing awareness and also uh providing adequate services for the children that are on the
27:13 spectrum. Um, and there it's just amazing. And I think it's really helping not only the children, but it's also
27:20 helping Bright Side because now we have one-on-one supports in the classroom, um, group therapies, and uh, yeah,
27:29 that's I love I got to think about it.
27:33 I No, I just, you know, I love how you just having a conversation with you guys today and in the past, how you guys really balance each other out. Jack,
27:40 you're definitely the vision and Toya with the operations. Toya, how does that partnership play out dayto day?
27:47 Um, it is there's fireworks all the time. All the time. Um, Jack is fast and furious and I'm a little bit more slow
27:56 and even. Um, but together we get it done. We have the same vision for the children and families and communities in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. We have the
28:04 same vision. So, um, dayto-day there's fireworks on a regular basis, but in a good way.
28:10 You know, Jack, one of the things you mentioned, and when I used to hire people back in the days, I mean, I still hire people, just not at the level that I I used to, but I uh I worked at a sub shop, and one of the biggest things that
28:19 I would always say is that you have to have sense of urgency, especially food,
28:22 right? Like, you have to have a sense of urgency. People here in a subline, they got 30 minutes on break. Like, you got to move fast. So, I love that that's your thing, sense of urgency, but it looks like Toya's kind of also the
28:30 realistic person. Like, Jack, I hear you, but it ain't happening that time.
28:34 So Toya is definitely, you know, holding you accountable. Do you agree, Jack? She's a your accountability partner.
28:40 I think there's a good balance. I think she,
28:43 you know, sometimes tries to slow me down. Um, but sometimes she says, "Okay,
28:47 I think you're right." But many times she's able to, I guess, broaden the uh the scope, so to speak, come down to earth and actually have a plan, right?
28:56 Because at the end, sometimes I might spit something out and say, "Hey, let's do it and let's do it tomorrow." But realistically, it can't be done till next week. So, and that's fine. And I think that when Toya comes back and say,
29:06 "Hey, I'll get it done. I'll execute,
29:08 but this is the cadence that it has to go in order to effectively execute, you know, to totality or with integrity." And and I'm okay with that. That's fine.
29:16 As long as we're executing and I love it. I love Jack's passion to get it done. I love it. Um and I think
29:23 as an organization especially education and I think coming from a similar background in healthcare that is equally
29:30 as um sometimes cumbersome and slow. I think we are very very agile and I love that about what we do.
29:39 You guys are amazing. I need to join the team. You guys are having too much fun.
29:42 Like literally you guys are having too much fun at work. Like are you guys really getting work done is is is the question.
29:47 Um just fun all day. Fun in the sun.
29:51 I love it. No, I definitely love it. You know, as leaders as well, to have another leader that could really just um fill your cup, like a lot of times we're
30:00 the ones always pouring just somebody else's cup, but it really seems like you guys as leaders fill your each other's cups. I think it's amazing. It allows really the engine to keep going when you
30:08 have that sense of leadership at the top that really care for the staff, that really care for the kids, care for each other. You guys can definitely see that
30:16 through just conversations and the impact that you're making. And I think when we talk about Bright Side and and kids look back years from now, what do you want them to say about Bright Side?
30:28 I want them to say somebody cared about me. You know, somebody cared about me and that was my foundation. That's when I knew I could be something amazing,
30:35 anything I wanted to be. And Zach, what do you want to hear? Um, it's not so much say as it is do,
30:43 right? Like I'd love to see them actually be successful right in their lives right and that's a result of bright side right so they know that we
30:52 prepare them for taking the next steps and for having that confidence right to achieve whatever they want to achieve and that's you know later on in life
31:01 what I like them to say is where do I apply for a job at Bright Side I want to come back that would be nice okay but but at the end of the day is is just
31:08 knowing that they're in a good place whether it's you know uh financially whether it's through, you know, um their
31:16 ability to go to college or things like that, whatever they want to do,
31:21 that that that's the most rewarding piece of it.
31:25 My next question I love so much about both of you, representation matters to me. You have Jack that is a a male in a
31:33 educational, right, like in an educational space, which you don't see often. Then you have Toya that is a woman of color also sitting in a very
31:41 high seat that if she wanted to kick Jack out to be the CEO that she could be the CEO of this organization. Um what does representation matter in
31:49 leadership? Why does it matter for both of you personally? So I think you guys both agree that it does matter. And Toya women's first right Jackson hold off. I know you got something to say there Toya. What you got to say?
31:59 Um I think that representation is so important. Um, I think that a lot of times people don't understand what it is
32:07 they can do. Um, one of the things that I often say in interviews is you should be interviewing me. We're interviewing
32:15 each other to see if it's a fit. I think it's about empowering people to understand that you can do whatever it is and there is no limit. So, I think it's very very important.
32:25 I love it. And Jack,
32:27 from a male perspective, man, like I know you you you probably work with a lot of CEOs in the same space and and probably not a lot of the male. Um, how
32:35 does that also play a factor in representation to you? Being a male in the education space, um,
32:44 there has to be more of it, right? And I don't think there's enough. Um, which which is,
32:50 you know, a little bit mindboggling because it's such a re rewarding space.
32:54 um that I'd like to see more males in you know in the space come on board whether it's teachers or management whatever whatever it may be um I think
33:03 from a diversity perspective is I think throughout every organization there has
33:09 to be different subsets of backgrounds um to show like toya's point is to show like hey anyone could be anything anyone
33:18 can do anything and to's point I say the same thing you're interviewing me right in other words One day I hope you take my job. Right. To me that's success,
33:27 right? I see that as success. I'll find something else. Right. Yeah.
33:30 But but that means that you grew up in an organization that we were able to foster that career growth for you.
33:38 Um and most people are afraid to do that, right? Or they don't believe in themselves. They're not confident. I just want Ephine, you don't mind go back to something you said earlier about the
33:46 critical role teachers play, right? And I think it's it's sometimes an enigma why like they don't understand the
33:55 impact that they have coming into work every day and providing safe reliable care for these children and what it means. They they don't see it every day,
34:04 right? Because they just look at as a job potentially. And I think the industry as a whole needs to stop calling these individuals staff or
34:12 employees, right? I think they need to be called professionals or educators because at the end of the day and they need to be treated as such, right? Just like the K- through2 education system,
34:21 they're regarded as educators or professionals in their in their fields. That has to be done in early childhood. Early childhood is before K through 12,
34:28 right? So, you obviously need a good foundation. Let's not forget that. And I think you guys are doing amazing.
34:34 I mean, some of the things that really I thought about as you guys were saying is hiring from within a mile of the actual facility. like because now someone
34:43 understands the upbringing of that community and my time and and I you know I remember really high school where I've had um counselors tell me that school
34:51 wasn't for me I might as well get a 9 to5 job. those people won't they weren't there for as we talked about for the students cuz who would tell a student
34:59 that you know um and I think that we are starting to see um I think a shift in
35:07 what it looks like for our educators and and hopefully at some point that the pay actually matches up with the work that they actually do. I remember one teacher
35:14 saying I was I was a a guest speaking to the students and she said, "Listen, I don't got to be here. My husband makes a lot more money than I do and I can just
35:23 sit here and be at home, but I love what I do." And what y'all going to do is respect this man that's here taking his time out of his day. And and when I heard that from her, I'm like, damn,
35:32 she's so right. It's not about the money. These people are doing it truly out of the purpose and the passion and wanting to see someone else be great at
35:40 what they do. And I think me being one of those also difficult kids at school,
35:44 it took teachers that understood my background and where I was coming from to realize that me acting out wasn't me being a bad kid. That there was
35:51 something happening within, you know, my world and let's have a conversation,
35:55 pull them aside and figure out, hey, how can we help you? You know, and and I love that. I think schools, you talk about behavioral health, mental health, we're starting to see a lot of that.
36:02 Actually, I just spoke to someone that she's in that behavioral health mental health space and I was like, "What are you doing with kids in in in in high school?" Because those kids instead of
36:12 sending them to a dean, we should be sending them to somewhere where they can actually have a conversation and and and and talk about just life because a lot
36:19 of times life to be lifing. And we don't see that in our we don't talk we don't have these conversations with our youth.
36:25 No one was talking about therapy. No one was talking about mental health. And you guys are starting this now,
36:31 right? like how amazing uh of an organization and this is only you guys are only scratching the surface, right?
36:37 Pandemic did kind of hinder a lot of the the growth that we were having, but I'm pretty sure that you guys brought it back to life and and the the wheels are
36:45 still get a little little oil on it to keep it going and moving forward. I love that. I love that, Jo. I love that toy that you guys can come together and
36:52 think not selfishly, but think about the future of our children because it's not about us and you guys know that. It's not about us. We live like that.
37:01 succinctly, right? Punitive action,
37:03 right, is not a way the child's going to change, right? It's actually understanding what they're going through and redirecting or helping them through that that's going to change them.
37:15 Correct. Jack, before we get into that blind question because we about to start wrapping it up here, what's your message to leaders about thinking holistically,
37:21 kids, families, and and communities together?
37:27 Leaders within uh early childhood Yeah, we could talk to your space.
37:33 Yeah. So, I think leaders within this space, they have to fully understand um take a holistic view or holistic
37:41 approach to everybody that serves this child, right? Ultimately, the child is the grounding of what brings everyone together, right? But it's the
37:49 surrounding and the environment that this child is exposed to that's going to impact this child for their life. And as leaders of the organization caring for
37:57 these children, we need to I guess broaden our horizons and understand those environments and those surroundings that this child is within
38:05 and take the necessary action or support wherever we may support whether it's the families, the single parent households,
38:12 the grandma who's taking care of the child, right?
38:15 Um to help ultimately at the end of the day the child, but also see what how we can support the family too. um you know
38:24 with it's it's from a management or leadership or you know with internally I think we have to constantly be
38:31 challenging our employees right and sort of pushing them towards that growth I don't think the human nature is to be
38:39 stagnant right I think everybody wants to achieve something better than they you know when they were yesterday and again they're looking to organizations
38:48 like us or leadership like us to help them with that and provide them with those that support system to do that.
38:54 And sometimes they just need a nudge or a little convincing, but at deep down at the end of the day, they want to do it. All right. All right. I appreciate that,
39:03 Jack. And Toya, for those that are watching and want to know how to learn more about the organization, what social medias, what is the website? Where can people find more information?
39:11 Um, Brightside Academy is on Facebook,
39:13 Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn. You can find us in any of those places or you can visit our website at brightitsideacademy.com.
39:23 And as leaders, are you both on LinkedIn? I think as leaders, people want to reach out to you and probably pick your brain. Are you guys on LinkedIn as well? Absolutely.
39:31 Yeah. Jack, you you're actually over there, Jack? On LinkedIn. Technology savvy Jack. Yeah. Yeah.
39:37 I I love LinkedIn. I love LinkedIn.
39:41 All right. I asked you guys this blind question, and it's curated really to u the both of you guys. and we'll start off with Toya. So, you've built careers around caring for others people's kids.
39:51 What's one lesson those kids have actually taught you about leadership and life?
39:55 That's a good question. Um, I think, you know, even though I tell you I'm the slow and steady one, um, my brain is
40:04 constantly going and I'm constantly moving from one thing to the to the next. Um, our corporate office is
40:12 located at the back of one of our child care centers and I think it's really taught me to slow down. You know, if I'm walking by and a child wants to talk,
40:21 they want to show me something, they're having a hard time and I, you know, and I see them, I can go in a classroom and spend 20, 30, it probably only time when Jack says, you know, what are you doing?
40:32 And I'm like, I was with a child. And he's like, okay, I understand why you didn't answer. Um, but slow down and really be present for the moment.
40:41 Love it. And Jack, how about you, man? Say the question again.
40:44 No worries. No worries. So, we know that you guys both cared about kids. What's one lesson those kids have actually taught you about leadership in life?
40:56 There's one story that I have that would just resonated with me.
41:00 Yeah. And have has lived with me ever since. Um um I think the overarching concept is no
41:07 judgment, right? Um I walked into one of our centers one day um just to do a
41:14 routine visit and I see a child just seven-year-old hanging on to the
41:22 academy director's leg, right? Just just hugging her like we refuse to let go,
41:28 right? And I'm I'm making eye contact with the director. I'm like, "What's going on?" on like we're sitting here like you're supposed to you're supposed
41:35 to be touring us and my team back here like and she's not letting you go and she gives me that you know that wink
41:41 like I'll tell you in a minute right so finally she you know she settled down she brought her to her classroom got her
41:49 situated she came back out she's like yeah last week that child's dad was gunned down in front of her right and to
41:59 me that was just so powerful in understanding who you're serving, right? And having
42:07 that, you know, no judgment is that every single child, every single staff member has a story, right? And you
42:15 cannot sugarcoat, you cannot paint with a broad stroke, everybody in one picture. You need to take every individual uh for who they are, right?
42:23 And understand their story um and work with that, right? And I think that that has just understanding where you are,
42:30 right? And understanding how you can impact everyone's life individually. Um, and don't judge.
42:38 I love that. Yeah. No, what a good story. And that is so true. You know, um,
42:43 me I have a one-year-old and a four-year-old and me and my wife are scared of putting him out in the educational world. um you know because
42:52 we've hear things, we see things, and I I I was always in the public school system, and I I loved it. Um and I think we're just we're in different spaces,
43:00 but when I hear educators like yourselves, leaders like yourselves that really care, it truly does make a difference in allowing me and and and others that are watching to realize that
43:08 there's still people out there that care for our kids while we have to go and sacrifice this and and work this nine toive job, sometimes too, to put food on
43:16 our tables. So, I thank both of you guys for being honest, for being in the space that you guys are in, for caring the way that you guys care and um really not
43:24 just helping the next generation when we talk about kids, but even the next generation of leaders that come across into these spaces like that's truly
43:31 amazing. You guys are doing you guys think it's just kids, but it's really adults that you guys are inspiring,
43:37 right? It is families. It is it's people that work for you now that you mentioned will leave and come back because they could great leaders. It's not just because of the job they were doing, but
43:45 what Toya mentioned earlier. I just feel happy coming to work. Like, I love this.
43:49 And if you love something, you will never move away from that. So, thank both of you guys for being so honest,
43:55 um, being authentically yourselves. You guys are truly amazing. And I can't wait to have this conversation

‍