Our Mission

Our mission is to establish and sustain neighborhood based learning centers in Azusa wherein at-risk children and their families are equipped to thrive academically, socially, and spiritually.  We provide safe, welcoming environments for children receive individualized tutoring and mentoring.  The staff and tutors build lasting friendships with the neighborhood children and their families.

Our Goals and Objectives

The Homework House goals and objectives reflect a holistic, neighborhood-based approach to empowering at-risk children and youth to thrive:

 

 Academically:

• We offer individualized educational support using trained tutors and staff who provide students with the necessary tools and guidance to be successful in the classroom. We accomplish this by:
  • Providing personal tutoring for our Kindergarten – 12thth grade students;
  • Establishing individual guidance sessions with our middle school and high school students to facilitate goal setting and the implementation of their personal plans to meet their goals.  Students receive a minimum of three guidance sessions per semester to track their progress and reevaluate their goals;
  • Recruiting and training well qualified, dedicated volunteer tutors. Students from Kindergarten through fifth grade are matched with personal tutors; middle and high school students sign up for individual subject-specific tutoring, called “Cram Sessions”, from volunteer subject matter specialists
• We develop programs that equip students for success, nurture students throughout their middle school and high school years and motivate students to pursue higher education and careers. This goal is accomplished by:
• Providing a supervised student computer lab with internet access at both sites for homework assignments and research projects;
• Creating systems for tracking academic success and goal accomplishment.  Students are rewarded for their success with incentives and special activities;
• Organizing opportunities for teens to learn about college and to set goals for life after high school;
• Offering support, assistance and direction that empower students to take steps towards further education;
• Taking students on annual college immersion tours that expose them to a range of colleges and universities and the campus experience;
• Having knowledgeable assistance available for students who are filling out college applications and researching scholarship opportunities.
• We provide educational opportunities to parents of Homework House students designed to equip parents with the tools to support their children in achieving their academic potential.

Socially:

• We provide welcoming, safe environments that serve as places where students and their families are motivated and encouraged achieve their potential.   We accomplish this goal by:
  • Designing schedules and opportunities for assistance that are convenient to their lifestyles;
  • Providing positive role models and mentors that broaden students’ perspectives on their futures and help them realize that the choices they make today have a profound impact on their future.  Volunteer tutors and mentors make a one-year commitment to their students;
  • Recruiting and training tutors who not only encourage the students academically, but also model for them goal achievement and interpersonal communication;
  • Facilitating a supportive neighborhood environment through promoting community development events and leadership training activities.
  • We offer meaningful alternatives to lifestyles of gangs, drugs, poverty, and teenage pregnancy that give students a sense of purpose and empowerment to overcome negative influences within their environments.  This goal is accomplished by:
  • Continuing relationships with organizations such as Vital Link, L.A. Works, Alpine Camp, Azusa Wilderness Park, in which youth are given the opportunity to gain leadership and team-building skills through learning experiences and challenges beyond their urban home environment;
  • Establishing networks with local youth organizations with whom students can elect to participate;
  • Promoting and facilitating youth events and camps that give students perspectives beyond their current circumstances;
  • Holding monthly evening chat sessions for teens, in which guest speakers are invited to share their personal stories, and/or expertise

Spiritually:

• We create welcoming environments in which students and their families will feel respected, valued and loved.
• We provide forums to encourage and motivate youth to make better personal choices because of caring relationships with Homework House staff, tutors and mentors.

Our Values

• Homework House is open to children and their families of all faiths.  While we do not proselytize, we are a Christian based organization and and strive to create an environment where the love of Jesus Christ is evident to each child who enters the Homework House.
• Homework House is a place where children will consistently experience love and encouragement, as they receive the help they need to succeed in school and to make positive choices for their lives.
• Homework House is a place where children will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of enrichment activities such as drama, music, field trips during the summer and school vacations, arts and crafts, computer education and college and career preparation.