Program leaders and staff wear many hats. You may tackle administrative duties, manage finances, maintain relationships with parents, empower team members and keep kids learning and safe all in a day’s work. While the work is gratifying, the daily grind of keeping your after school program running and producing positive results can be daunting at times.

But we’re here to give you the boost you need to get from January to June in one piece. We’ve rounded up 25 of our favorite quotes to inspire, empower and remind you of the difference you’re making in the lives of your students and their families:

 

25 of Our Favorite Inspirational Quotes for After School Program Leaders and Staff

“Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world.” -Nelson Mandela

“A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others.” -Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

“It takes a big heart to help shape little minds.” -Unknown

“Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.” -Confucius

“Great leaders harness personal courage, capture the hearts and minds of others and empower new leaders to make the world a better place.” -Maxine Driscoll

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” -President John Quincy Adams

“A teacher is a compass that activates the magnets of curiosity, knowledge, and wisdom in the pupils.” -Ever Garrison

“Be one who nurtures and builds. Be one who has an understanding and forgiving heart, who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.” -Marvin J. Ashton

“I’m not sayin’ I’m gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will.” -Tupac Shakur “Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” -Socrates

“Teaching children is an accomplishment; getting children excited about learning is an achievement.” -Robert John Meehan

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” - Thomas A. Edison

“When one teaches, two learn.” -Robert Heinlein

“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” -Ronald Reagan

“Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence.” -Unknown

“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” -Lou Holtz

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” -Steve Jobs

“Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism.” -David M. Burns

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” -Henry Adams

“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” -Malcolm X

“The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.” -C.S. Lewis

“If you fell down yesterday stand up today.” -H.G. Wells

“We never know which lives we influence, or when or why.” -Stephen King

“Every child deserves a champion; an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best they can possibly be.” -Rita Pierson

“Help others achieve their dreams and you will achieve yours.” -Les Brown

Revisit these quotes whenever you need encouragement. Stick your favorite quote to your mirror or laptop to start your day on a good foot. Whether you’ve had a long day or need a little inspiration at 5:00pm, these quotes are here to help you stay motivated throughout the second half of the school year.