Jamestown Community Center

For almost 50 years, the Jamestown Community Center has been providing learning opportunities and safe spaces for youth in the Mission District and surrounding neighborhoods of San Francisco. Our number of annual youth participation has grown significantly from 750 participants to 4,000 participants ranging from zero- to twenty four-year olds. Jamestown fulfills its mission with a full range of early education, educational enrichment, academic support, leadership, employment, sports and counseling and prevention programs.Early Education Programs:Growing Together. A weekly two-hour language and literacy acquisition class for families with children 0-18 months. Playing Together. Weekly playgroups for families who have 18-36 month old children, focusing on social-emotional development, parent-child attachment, and early literacy skill development. Reading Together. Children, ages 3-5, and their parents have the opportunity to attend this drop-in literacy program once per week, either in the morning or afternoon. Activities focus on kindergarten preparedness and the importance of reading to a child.Sharing Together. Bimonthly Friday workshops for parents with children 0-5 years old. Each lesson focuses on either language and literacy or understanding childrens development and play. Parents are required to attend nine of the thirteen workshops. To ensure full parent participation, childcare is provided. Jumpstart. Weekly workshops serving children, ages 4-5, and their families. Instruction focuses on early literacy. The program is offered once per year prior to the start of kindergarten, and attendance is required.Educational Enrichment Programs:S Se Puede. K-2nd graders are provided with academic support, as well as an enrichment or recreation activities. Brain Soup. Elementary school youth in 3rd-5th grade participate in after-school dance, multimedia, theater, recreation, and cooking classes with an emphasis on developing reading and writing skills. Summer Playhouse. Elementary school youth (K-5th grade) spend the summer season engaged in arts education and structured recreation, and also take field trips throughout San Francisco. After-School Explorations (ASE). Middle school youth take part in after-school cooking, skateboarding, and martial arts classes emphasizing decision-making and leadership skills. Summer Voyage. In the summer, middle school youth plan and budget weekly activities and projects around a theme. Like ASE, decision-making and leadership skills are emphasized.Casa: UnidosUS funded leadership development for middle schoolers.CasaCode: UnidosUS funded leadership development for middle schoolers to build skills in coding and digital literacy.Academic Tutoring Program:One on One Tutoring Program. Elementary, middle, and high school youth who are performing one or more years below grade level receive intensive, individualized tutoring from college students. Youth Leadership and Employment Programs:Peer Education Program (PEP). Youth, ages 17 to 19, create age-appropriate violence prevention and sexual/reproductive health workshops targeted at youth in Jamestowns programs. Peer Educators also co-facilitate peer support groups.CAM Tobacco Prevention Program: Community action model focused on leadership development among teens to work on reducing the use and abuse of Tobacco products among teens in the community. CMCA Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program: Community action model focused on leadership development among teens to work on reducing the environment and culture in the neighborhood that fosters alcohol abuse.Youth In Charge (YIC). Young people who have been with Jamestown for three or more years can serve in YIC, Jamestowns leadership corps. YIC gives the Executive Director and Board advice about program directions and budgets and represents Jamestown in the community. Youth Apprentices Program (YAP). High school youth interested in working with youth receive on-the-job training as apprentices in the enrichment programs, the Jamestown office, and other community based organizations school-based programs. These youth work closely with mentors and attend bi-weekly job readiness training. Escalera: UnidosUS curriculum supporting High School youth in preparing for college. Sports Programs:Organized Teams. Boys and girls play on soccer (year-round) and baseball (summer) teams that compete in city-wide leagues. These programs also include workshops on health, sportsmanship, and gender-specific issues.Girls Soccer. Girls 5th grade through High School play in recreational soccer teams, learn new skills, and participate in workshops on health, sportsmanship, and gender-specific issues. The teams compete against other schools through an indoor soccer tournament that is organized collaboratively by several community based organizations.Girls and Boys Sports Camp. In the summer, girls and boys further their soccer skills and participate in new activities, such as self-defense techniques, yoga, and fencing. Drop-in Recreation. Middle and high school youth participate in supervised after-school recreation at a local public school. Arts and Community ProgramsCommunity Arts Education. Loco Blocos after-school, school day and community classes for youth ages 3-24 offer multicultural performing arts training with developmentally appropriate curriculum in dance, percussion, stilt walking, and theater arts rooted in Afro-Latino and Afro-Brazilian traditions. Arts instruction includes technique, history, skill building and performance. At the core of our curriculum are Loco Blocos Values: Artivism, Health, Inclusion, Grit, Youth Leadership, Family and Education. Our instructors use performance arts to teach these values, supporting youth to overcome injustice; adopt healthy, active, lifestyles, serve as leaders in their communities, and embrace ethnic and cultural diversity.Community Arts Events. Loco Blocos annual Carnaval SF contingent brings together over 300 community members of all ages to present spectacular new Afro-Latino music and dance compositions and stunning visuals at the Carnaval San Francisco parade and festival. ReclaMission brings together Jamestown youth and artists from Calle 24 organizations to reclaim the traditions of Dia De Los Muertos in the Mission, and return the celebration to the communities directly connected with its origins in a physically, emotionally and culturally safe space. This uniquely SF-Mission event fuses Meso-American traditions with modern social justice practices & customs for honoring our ancestors. With our art we create a protection; of each other, our cultures, our traditions and our spaces.Phoenix Risers Program:The Phoenix Risers program provides structured enrichment, homework support and breakfast to youth k-5 before school from 7:00 am until school starts at multiple school sites.Counseling and Prevention Services: Treehouse. Treehouse is a guidance program for young men and women designed to address prevention of risky behavior, such as sexual activity, drug and alcohol use, and gang activity. Services include social support groups, clinical case management, and prevention and education programs. SFP (Strengthening Families Program) A 14 week prevention and family support workshop for parents and youth targeted at families of preadolescents focused on skill building in communication, conflict resolution and family strengthening. Parent Programs:Convivencia. Convivencia includes workshops that address child-rearing issues and community-building activities for families throughout the year. Leadership Group. Parents participate in leadership training, determine an issue in the community of concern and develop a campaign to address the issue.