With their parents working late to make ends meet, many children
in Hollister’s Rancho Park Apartments don’t get the help they need
finishing homework.
But in an effort to help the young residents of the
affordable-housing complex, South County Housing has started an
after-school tutoring program that gives the students the help they
need close to home.
Hollister – With their parents working late to make ends meet, many children in Hollister’s Rancho Park Apartments don’t get the help they need finishing homework.
But in an effort to help the young residents of the affordable-housing complex, South County Housing has started an after-school tutoring program that gives the students the help they need close to home.
Since January, kids who live at Rancho Park Apartments gather at a community room to get tutoring from two teachers and a community volunteer.
Many are children of immigrants from Mexico, whose parents don’t have the language skills or time to help them, said Aida Zaldivar, director of neighborhood development for South County Housing, a Gilroy-based nonprofit that has built affordable housing complexes and units in San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.
“We have had problems with kids not wanting to go to school, not doing their homework and loitering … we knew we had to take our community back,” she said.
Although some kids in the complex have already had run-ins with the law, others are motivated to learn, said Zaldivar. And the fact that the tutoring is delivered to them at their doorstep, makes the program all the more appealing, she said.
“A lot of kids don’t have transportation…this way we can go to where they are.”
There are about 45 school-age kids living at the complex, located at 1200 Rancho Park Drive, and about a third participate in the program, said Zaldivar.
One of the volunteers working with the kids is Jennifer Levenfeld, a 25-year-old substitute teacher at San Benito High School, who is also pursuing a teaching degree from San Jose State University. Twice a week for an hour, Levenfeld helps kids as young as eight and some as old as 16 navigate their way through math, science and English homework.
“I love kids and I love teaching,” she said, adding that volunteering in the program was a good chance to get experience. “We get a good turn out of kids.”
The program incurs minimal administrative costs, which are off-set by the nonprofit organization. Coordinators will also be closely tracking kids’ grades, behavior and attendance, to see what kind of impact it has, said Zaldivar. If there is evidence the program is working, the nonprofit plans on applying for grants or seeking funding from the San Benito High School District.
The program, which South County Housing, calls the “first effort to team a public school district with a private, nonprofit housing developer,” is the result of ongoing Gang Task Force meetings, which was formed last year. Organizers hope to expand the program to include classes on parenting, gang awareness and other relevant topics, available to both children and adults.
Don Loe, a retired Department of Corrections officer, and a volunteer for the tutoring program, has experience working with gangs and is planning on putting a presentation in the next couple of months.
“I want parents to recognize the gang patterns and for kids to know there is no future in that,” he said.
Partnering with the nonprofit organization are San Benito High School, Hollister Police Department, Hollister Youth and San Benito County Probation Department, among others.
Karina Ioffee covers education and agriculture for the Free Lance. Reach her at (831)637-5566 ext. 335 or
ki*****@fr***********.com
