News & Newsworthy

The Buddy System awarded Community Partner of the Year by the Treasure Island Clubhouse!

Youth of the Year Awards - Treasure Island Boys & Girls Club

Youth of the Year is an annual event where youth are recognized for their achievements in the different departments of the Club (Education, Health & Fitness, Social Recreation, Teen Services). This is also a time when we

recognize the other people that have made the success of the Club possible, such as parents and community partners.

The Community Partner of the Year award is given to the person or organization which has had the biggest impact on the Club that year. The
Buddy System was chosen as the Community Partner of the Year for the
Treasure Island Clubhouse because of the impact that the tutors have had on the academics of our youth. We currently have 8 Buddy System tutors working with our youth and teens every week, helping with homework, study skills, and test prep (including CAHSEE and SAT prep). The Buddy System has helped us tremendously by providing our youth with the individual attention that they are unable to receive in the classroom. We are so grateful for the support of the Buddy System, and we hope to continue this partnership for many years to come!

Current California Unified School District Vendor Contracts:

San Francisco Unified School District

West Contra Costa Unified School District Foster Youth Services

San Francisco Unified School District
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In December 2005, the SFUSD Families in Transition Program (Title 1-PartA funding) contracted with The Buddy System to provide one-on-one, in-home tutoring for homeless children living in emergency and long term shelters.

As expressed in San Francisco's Homeless Education Plan, educational access and success is a key strategy to ending homelessness. The SFUSD chose to partner with The Buddy System because The Buddy System believes in strengthening the educational outcomes for homeless children and has the capacity to provide tutorial services in a very flexible manor.

The transitory nature of families going through homelessness demands
services that can meet the family where they are at both physically and
academically. The Buddy System provides K-12 tutoring at the shelter site,
at the family's requested time, and has the capacity to continue tutorials
as the family moves into permanent housing. The Buddy System meets the
students where they're at academically by matching tutors specific to the
student's needs and by providing academic assessments when necessary.
In the past year, The Buddy System has provided over 1,000 hours of service for over 100 children. The Buddy System has joined the SFUSD Families in Transition Council and continues to shape the tutoring services for homeless children in San Francisco.

If you'd like to read more about the homeless children and youth, go to:
SFUSD


Compass Community Services
Compass Community Services serves families confronting poverty and homelessness by supporting their efforts to achieve stability and realize their individual potential.


San Francisco Homeless Education Plan
Children are the fastest-growing sector of the homeless population. Of the estimated 15,000 homeless people in San Francisco County, approximately 4,050 of those are children. This report, coordinated by A Home Away from Homelessness and sponsored by the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, provides a three-year plan to ensure that these homeless children are connected with available resources and that they have equal access to academic success. The goal of the report is to support systems change in the school district so that the barriers to academic achievement homeless children are now experiencing can be eliminated.
SF Homeless Education Plan.pdf

California Department of Education: McKinney-Vento Act
A federal, supplemental, competitive grant program that protects the educational rights of homeless children and youths.

National Association of the Education of Homeless Children and Youth
The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY), a national grassroots membership association, serves as the voice and the social conscience for the education of children and youth in homeless situations. NAEHCY connects educators, parents, advocates, researchers, and service providers to ensure school enrollment and attendance, and overall success for children and youth whose lives have been disrupted by the lack of safe, permanent, and adequate housing. NAEHCY accomplishes these goals through advocacy, partnerships, and education.

National Center for Homeless Education
Provides research, resources, and information enabling communities to address the educational needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness.

National Law Center for Homelessness and Poverty
Children and youth without permanent homes - those living in shelters or with another family - often lack the means to advocate on their own behalf.

NLCHP's Children & Youth Program breaks through these barriers and equips children's advocates with the tools needed for educational advancement.

We strengthen legislation that guarantees homeless students' right to education. We train state and district education workers. And, we pursue litigation to protect America's homeless students.

West Contra Costa Unified School District Foster Youth Services
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In August 2007, the WCCUSD Foster Youth Services (Title 1-PartA funding) contracted with The Buddy System to provide educational assessments and one-on-one, in-home tutoring.

The West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) Foster Youth Services program serves students in foster care who reside in areas served by the district. Presently, there are 15 group homes and 171 identified foster youth who live in West Contra Costa County. Available data on foster youth reveals that as a population, foster youth are failing academically, have poor attendance, and are not graduating with the skills necessary to transition into the work world. It is clear that new directions and strategies must be looked at to address the challenges that have prevented our students to succeed and develop into independent, successful, and productive members of the community.

In light of these challenges, WCCUSD Foster Youth Services has targeted 30 foster youth who are transitioning from middle school to high school to provide them with the necessary support to ensure that they move through their high school career successfully.

The objectives of the project are as follows:

Objective One: Impact the educational achievement of the student as measured by successfully passing all core classes and progressing to the next year on target.


Objective Two: Impact social/behavior indicators which can influence school success

Each student is given an educational assessment and assigned a tutor to work with them one-on-one in their home. Most of the tutoring is twice a week, for an hour each session.
Tutoring is set up usually within 2-3 days of the request, so each student receives help – fast!