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, youth and their families to thrive:

Academically:

We offer educational support using volunteer tutors and staff to provide students with the necessary tools and guidance to be successful in the classroom. We accomplish this by:

Providing prescriptive 1:2 tutoring for our Kindergarten-5th grade students. The students receive at least 3 hours of academic tutoring each week. Students are given assistance with their homework as well as supplemental material to assist them individually. 1:1 tutoring is coordinated by the site director if needed.

Providing a 2:6 group tutoring for our 6-8th grade students. These students can receive a minimum of 5 hours of academic tutoring a week. Students can also request individual assistance from the Teen Director in addition to their small group sessions. Teens are provided supplemental Language Arts experiences to strengthen writing skills and promote creative thinking.

Students grades 9-12 are given opportunities to engage in group discussion about academic goals; in addition, they receive follow-up meetings on their campus sites as well as communication via social media to ensure that their educational goals are being met. Students are encouraged to use the tutors at the Teen Center for long term projects as well as to check out lap tops for use during the semester.

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 for homework assignments and research projects;

Creating systems for tracking academic success and goal accomplishment as well as celebrating student success with incentives and special activities;

Further, the Teen Program organizes opportunities for teens to learn about college and to set goals for life after high school.

Parents of Homework House students are offered online learning opportunities designed to equip parents with the tools to increase their own education and 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 to have aspirational goals which will allow them to achieve their potential. We accomplish this goal by:
- Offering programming within the neighborhoods where most of our families reside or can easily access;
- 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;
- Recruiting and training tutors who not only encourage the students academically, but also model for them goal achievement and interpersonal communication skills;and
- Facilitating a supportive neighborhood environment through promoting community building events and leadership training activities.
- We seek to 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 L.A. Works, Alpine Camp and Azusa Wilderness Park. All of these relationships gives students the opportunity to gain leadership and team-building skills through learning experiences and challenges beyond their urban home environment.
- Further, these opportunities promote and facilitate the expansion of the students perspectives beyond their current circumstances as well as the evening chat sessions for teens.

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.