BEYOND SUPERVISION
A Practical Guide for Afterschool Leaders to Build Emotionally Safe, Inclusive Programs for Neurodivergent Learners
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Afterschool professionals are managing the same behavior challenges day after day, often with limited training, rotating staff, mixed ages, and systems that were never designed for regulation.
This book begins with a decisive shift: Behavior is not a child problem. It is a systems issue.
When you redesign the environment, routines, and adult responses that shape behavior, escalation decreases and emotional safety increases for everyone.
Beyond Supervision gives you the structure, tools, and implementation roadmap to make that shift real.
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"This presentation was so eye opening, I really understood everything that was said. Dr. Toledo's experience and the examples she shared were what made me understand what self-awareness really was and to better understand it. I also have a learning disability and to know Ms. Sonia had to the same disability, it just connected me more with what she shared. I truly appreciate her sharing her knowledge and her experiences knowing it isn’t easy to share something so sensitive, it captivated me and led me to believe everything that was told. I honestly have no words to say or questions, I just truly appreciate and with all love, thank you Ms. Sonia. Thank you and I hope to learn more from her."
– Attendee, 2025 Legacy Summit
Managing behavior isn’t the same as leading a system.
Many afterschool leaders are:
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Repeating the same discipline conversations
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Relying on behavior charts that don’t change patterns
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Handling daily escalations during transitions
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Supporting neurodivergent learners without consistent frameworks
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Carrying the success of the program on one “strong” staff member
These challenges are not a reflection of children.
They are signals that the system needs redesign.
When routines are unclear, staff respond inconsistently.
When adults feel reactive, children feel unsafe.
When predictability disappears, escalation increases.
Supervision alone cannot solve that.
System design can.
Stop chasing behavior. Start designing environments.
This book makes one thing clear:
If behavior keeps repeating, the environment is reinforcing it.
Inside, you’ll learn how to redesign:
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Arrival, transitions, cleanup, and dismissal routines
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Physical space to reduce overstimulation
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Adult language and tone during escalation
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Accountability practices that preserve dignity
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Program flow to strengthen executive function
The result?
Staff respond with empathy and consistency.
Children experience structure without shame.
Neurodivergent learners gain predictability and regulation supports.
This is leadership beyond supervision.
About Dr. Sonia M. Toledo
Specialization: PhD in Education and Global Training and Development
Experience: 25+ years of experience
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Dr. Sonia M. Toledo is an educator, author, and nationally recognized leader in youth development, emotional intelligence, and executive function. She is the author of Beyond Supervision, a practical guide for building emotionally safe, inclusive afterschool programs that support neurodivergent learners.
With over 25 years of experience, she trains educators and nonprofit organizations nationwide through her work as Founder and CEO of Dignity of Children. Dr. Toledo is known for bridging research and real-world application, offering practical, immediately usable tools grounded in lived experience, equity, and systems-level insight that strengthen executive function, honor neurodiversity, and create true belonging in afterschool programs and all educational settings.
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"All children are brilliant; and it's our responsibility to let them express it."
–Dr. Sonia Toledo
What you’ll learn inside
- Create emotionally safe spaces without becoming permissive
- Prevent escalation through proactive environment design
- Build predictable routines that reduce transition chaos
- Implement Calm Corners and Peace Boxes that teach regulation skills
- Replace reactive consequences with structured accountability routines
- Increase engagement through movement, collaboration, and stations
- Build team-wide consistency so success doesn’t depend on one staff member
You’ll also receive:
- Ready-to-use checklists
- Sample scripts
- Reflection prompts
- Implementation templates
- A simple step-by-step rollout roadmap
This is not abstract theory.
It is field-tested for real afterschool settings.
Outstanding Leadership Award
Education 2.0 Conference
Designed specifically for real afterschool programs.
Most behavior resources are written for classrooms.
Beyond Supervision is written for:
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Mixed-age groups
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Busy rooms
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Limited time
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Rotating staff
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High-energy afternoons
It addresses the realities of youth development programs, not idealized school environments.
And it replaces compliance-based discipline with emotionally safe system design.
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"I was given so much knowledge and empowerment to be the best kaleidoscope staff that I could possibly be."
– Jonathan Terrell Thomas, Charleston County School District
"My experience with this training was very enlightening and engaging. There are some takeaways I will definitely implement in the afterschool program."
– Sharon Williams, Charleston County School District
"IÂ felt this this training has brought a new reason for her why and will share my WHY with my team in hope they will find there WHY."
– Carol Holmes, Charleston County School District
If you’re ready to replace constant supervision with intentional leadership…
- You don’t need another behavior strategy.
- You need systems that support staff and children at the same time.
Design programs where:
- Emotional safety is visible
- Routines reduce escalation
- Staff act with clarity
- Neurodivergent learners are included with dignity
