Program Overview

IHAD-SF provides long-term academic, socio-emotional and financial support to our class of Dreamers until they graduate from high school and make the transition to college. The goal of IHAD-SF is to ensure that each "Dreamer" is able to become a successful individual and reach his or her potential in school and in their community. The IHAD-SF program provides Dreamers with access to opportunities traditionally unavailable to low-income youth, allowing Dreamers to set ambitious goals for themselves and develop the skills to achieve their goals.

Program Objectives

The program is designed to:

• Increase and support "Dreamers"' success in school
• Enhance the Dreamer's self esteem and view of the future
• Increase parental support for and involvement in their children's education
• Help the "Dreamers" reach their personal goals.

Program Components

The Academic Support Program provides consistent, effective support to meet the changing needs of Dreamers as they continue through high school and prepare for college. Currently the program is composed of the following offerings:

The After-School Program provides a safe, structured environment where students receive intensive academic support and individualized tutoring. The program offers:

• homework help and one-on-one tutoring
• study skills and reading comprehension support

“I Have a Dream”-SF’s after-school tutoring occurs in two locations. Some of the Dreamers stay after school at Gateway High School Monday through Thursday from 3:45-6:00 PM. The other after-school program is held in our Mission Youth Center Monday through Thursday from 4-7 PM. We invite volunteers to join the after school program as a tutor or academic mentor.

The Academic Case Management System monitors students’ progress in school and ensures that each Dreamer is receiving the support necessary to succeed. The system includes:

• Make referrals as needed to ensure that each Dreamer and his/her family has access to important health, housing, counseling and special education resources and services
• Working with youth and their families to ensure that each Dreamer has the opportunity to attend the high school that best meets his/her needs, interests and priorities, whether private, public, charter or alternative
• Communication and outreach to the Dreamers’ schools, counselors, and teachers to monitor their grades, test scores, and mastery of academic material and to identify and allocate needed support
• Bi-annual Academic Advising/Transcript Review Meetings: Individualized meetings with Dreamers, parents/guardians, and school counselors to evaluate each Dreamer’s progress towards high school graduation and eligibility for CSU and UC admission, and to create an action plan as needed to align goals with performance
• Matching of tutors and academic mentors with Dreamers in need of additional, specialized support
• A quarterly recognition program for Dreamers who have achieved a 3.20 GPA or above or have demonstrated significant progress towards meeting their academic and personal goals. The “Academic All Stars” are invited to attend special field trips/overnight college tours each semester.
• Ongoing coaching about each Dreamer’s goals and future plans
• Connecting individual Dreamers with job, internship, extracurricular and academic enrichment resources and opportunities to help them explore and develop their talents and interests and build a strong college resume

College Preparation, Career Exploration and Enrichment Programming provides Dreamers with opportunities to explore the world around them, identify their interests, develop the skills necessary for success in school and life, and receive support, guidance and inspiration from other youth and adults as they set goals and make decisions about their future. Examples of these opportunities are as follows:

• Match Dreamers with mentors and tutors who serve as role models and friends, providing consistent academic and emotional support, exposure to new experiences, and reinforcement of the value of higher education. Mentors make a huge impact in the Dreamers’ lives! Click here for more information on volunteering as a mentor/tutor to a Dreamer.
• Offer a variety of cultural, recreational, and social justice activities and projects to expand student horizons, build community, and empower and motivate the Dreamers to make a difference in the world around them
• Select three to four youth representatives each year to attend “I Have a Dream’s” national youth leadership conference. So far, Dreamers from San Francisco have traveled to New York (2004), Stanford University (2005), Hillsdale College in Michigan (2006), the University of Boulder in Colorado (2007), and the University of Georgia in Athens (2008) to attend this conference.
• Hold monthly young women’s groups designed to create a safe space for the young women of “I Have a Dream” to have fun and speak openly in a supportive environment about the issues that are most relevant to their lives.
• Build relationships with college admissions officers and community outreach coordinators at a number of local colleges, universities, and vocational programs in order to serve as advocates for the Dreamers in the college application process.
• Conduct a series of monthly parent meetings to educate and empower parents and caretakers to take an active role in supporting and advocating for their children's education and planning for college.
• Organize career awareness field trips to businesses, programs, individuals and agencies representing a wide range of career options
• Provide high school summer programs including career visits and guest speakers, college field trips, community service and leadership opportunities, job/college preparedness workshops and trainings, and placements in summer internships and jobs
• Lead monthly Saturday Academy College and SAT preparatory workshops in IHAD’s Youth Center located in the Mission District
• Match Dreamers with local education consultants to provide intensive, professional college counseling and support.

The Financial Support Program allows Dreamers to obtain educational opportunities that otherwise not be available to them.

• Scholarships for enrichment classes throughout the school year such as hip hop dance, guitar, piano and singing lessons, and an urban art course
• Financial aid to help pay for special college preparatory summer classes and programs such as Great Books, Junior Statesman, Teen College at City College of SF
• High School Scholar Program to allow high achieving Dreamers to attend private high schools in San Francisco
• College Tuition Assistance: A promise of up to $10,000 on a last dollar basis for post-secondary education for each Dreamer who graduates from high school in June, 2010 (learn more about IHAD-SF’s Tuition Assistance Policy)

Working with SFUSD, San Francisco private
schools, and other districts' schools in the Bay Area
and elsewhere

IHAD works closely with each school the Dreamers attend, meeting with school administrators and teachers to monitor the Dreamers progress in school and ensure that each Dreamer is receiving the support they need to succeed. When the Dreamers began middle school, "I Have A Dream"-SF moved its office from Marshall Elementary to a new small school, the Aim High Academy. For three years, IHAD-SF worked closely with Aim High to provide comprehensive academic and enrichment programming to the Dreamers and their class during the school day and after school. IHAD also worked closely with several private middle schools, helping the Dreamers attending these schools to make the transition and to succeed in these challenging academic environments.

When the Dreamers began high school, IHAD-SF moved to an office inside of Gateway High School, an excellent public charter high school attended by ten Dreamers. In addition to the many public and charter high schools the Dreamers attend, IHAD also works closely with five private High Schools in San Francisco: The Bay School, Urban, Sacred Heart Cathedral, ICA, and Bridgemont.

“I Have a Dream”-SF’s partnership with the San Francisco Unified School District allows us to stay abreast of each Dreamer’s academic progress and needs, and informed about his/her test scores, grades, transcripts, attendance and behavior.

High School Placements for 2008/9 School Year

Public -- San Francisco

Public -- Outside San Francisco

Private

Working with Parents

Through monthly workshops, informal conversations, home visits, parent conferences, a monthly parent newsletter, regular phone calls and notices sent home in Spanish and English, the “I Have a Dream” staff has established strong and frequent communication with many of the Dreamers' parents and caretakers. Parents and guardians attend meetings and events, accompany the Dreamers on field trips and college visits, complete forms required to enroll their son/daughters in special programs and activities, and attend conferences to discuss their child’s progress and behavior. Parent meetings are held every month to encourage parent involvement in and feedback regarding the “I Have a Dream”- San Francisco programs and to develop the Dreamers’ parents/guardians knowledge of and confidence in how to best support their children’s future goals and educational success.

Working with Local Community Based Organizations (CBO's)

During the past school year, IHAD-SF’s primary partnership was with Gateway Charter School, where we are receiving an in-kind donation of office space in return for our collaboration and support for the 11 Dreamers attending Gateway. We continue to be delighted with the positive, friendly, rigorous, and collaborative school culture at Gateway and look forward to continuing our strong, mutually beneficial relationship with Gateway as our Dreamers complete their last two years of high school.

During the past year IHAD-SF also built stronger partnerships with two of our other partner schools: Leadership High School where we now have eight Dreamers attending, and Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, where six Dreamers attend. We also leveraged resources through a number of other high quality community partnerships as well. The program continued to partner with the San Francisco Food Bank, Mission Graduate and Marshall Elementary School. Because Marshall is located in the neighborhood where most of our Dreamers live, IHAD worked closely with the Tutoring Center Director, Ario Salazar, to gain access to the Marshall cafeteria for the majority of our parent meetings.

Other active partnerships that benefited the IHAD program and the Dreamers during 2008/9 school year included college counseling through McClure, Mallory & Baron Educational Consulting, and through the college counseling departments of the Urban School and Lick Wilmerding High School. We also worked closely with the Bay School, Boys Hope/Girls Hope, Summer Search, Great Books, Upward Bound, CORO, LINC, New Generations Health Center, Planned Parenthood, the UCSF Center for Excellence in Women's Health, Peer Resources at Horace Mann Middle School, Be Magic, Somos 1, 826 Valencia, the Life Learning Academy, Horizons Unlimited, Brava Theater, and the Women’s Building of San Francisco.

The IHAD staff is currently working on establishing partnerships with admissions officers and outreach personnel at colleges, universities, and other post-secondary programs in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, and the United States at large.

Working with Foundations, Corporations and Governmental Organizations

In addition to generous support from The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, IHAD-SF currently collaborates with/or receives funding from many individuals, companies and organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

Mission District Youth Center

In early October 2007 the IHAD Staff worked together to create an all new IHAD-SF Youth Center in our rented space at Capp and 17th Streets in the Mission District. The program’s youth were involved in the design and decoration of the Center which now serves as a social gathering place, programming/event hub, and tutoring center for Dreamers from all over the City. The staff continues to work out of our office at Gateway so as to continue our partnership and the daily support of our Gateway Dreamers and families.