Family School Who We Are

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Who We Are

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Who We Are

The Family School's founder recognized the untapped potential in young families who were struggling to break the cycle of poverty. In 1985, The Family School opened its doors in a modest setting in the back of a church rectory building in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco. The Family School served approximately 25 families a year through high quality childcare for children and GED preparation, life skills and parenting classes for their parents.

Today, The Family School has grown to serve more than 800 children, youth and adults annually through a comprehensive suite of programs and services which include employment training and job placement, education and support services.

Throughout all of this growth, The Family School has never lost sight of the individual needs of the family. The agency has managed to stay intimate, while serving hundreds of children, youth and families. Graduates and program participants leave The Family School with a new level of confidence, ready to enter the workforce. Their communities are enriched; their children experience school success; and, their lives are changed forever.

At the core of The Family School's success is an organizational commitment to reaching beyond the comfort zone into new areas that have the potential to transform the lives of program participants and their communities. That commitment has lead The Family School to look internally and externally for new opportunities, to introduce new programs to meet the ever-changing needs of San Francisco's low income families, and to continually evaluate the effectiveness of programs. Annually, hundreds of children, youth and families participate in The Family School's programs. Some key outcomes include:

More than 400 unemployed or underemployed individuals have completed training and have been placed into employment through STRIVE San Francisco. Read these graduates' inspirational success stories.

Each year, 40 or more children receive high quality, affordable childcare in The Family School Child Development Center.

Highlights of The Family School's development over the past 20 years

1996: First employment program, "Careers with Children" with more than 100 recipients of public assistance trained and placed into entry level child care positions.

1999: Partnered with STRIVE employment training program. STRIVE allowed The Family School to begin to offer services to men, fathers and youth. Hundreds of program graduates have been placed in employment since the program began.

2001: Expanded to a second site in a new family housing development in the Mission/Bernal communities. Featuring a beautiful child development center licensed for 32 children, as well as well-equipped training rooms for STRIVE and a state-of-the-art computer lab.

2002: Introduced "Our Fathers Being Responsible" and more than 150 fathers have completed the program and have begun to support their children emotionally and financially. In 2002, we also began providing services to youth 18-21 as a “YO! San Francisco service provider. This program breaks the cycle of poverty in San Francisco's low income neighborhoods through education, youth leadership training, job training and support. These services are now a part of our Youth Development Program.

2003: The Family School/ STRIVE Program in partnership with Nordstrom developed the “STRIVE for Excellence in Customer Service” Training Program.

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