Education

The Sacramento Children’s Home offers a wide variety of educational programs to meet the individual needs of every child and family we serve. We know that success in school is dependent on the support children receive when they are out of the school setting and we have developed innovative programs to make learning fun and enjoyable. Our goal is to bridge the gap between the classroom and home.

P.A.S.S. – Plan. Achieve. Succeed. Soar.

P.A.S.S is the Sacramento Children’s Home afterschool program for youth in our Residential Treatment Program. Staffed by qualified tutors, the goal of the P.A.S.S. Program is to create an afterschool academic environment where residents can achieve and succeed by bridging the gap between “The Home” and school. Nearly 98% of children participating in the P.A.S.S. Program complete and submit homework assignments and projects in on time.

Afterschool support consists of the following:

  • Homework help
  • Tutoring support
  • Quiet reading time and read-a-louds
  • Life skills training
  • Technology training / computer literacy
  • Academic incentives

Friday Enrichment

  • Reading to Dogs is one of the most unique and popular programs offered as part of afterschool literacy. This program allows children to enjoy reading, while eliminating feelings of nervousness and self-consciousness. Dogs are the ideal reading companions because: they increase relaxation, lower blood pressure and allow the reader to proceed at their own pace. A child who is hesitant to read aloud to peers is typically less stressed when reading to a dog. And the dog never judges the reading. The program’s goal is to enhance children’s love of reading through the use of therapy animals.
  • NBC Cooking Club involves activities related to meal planning, nutritional guidelines, budgeting, coupon hunting, cooking skills and table presentation. The NBC cooking club is a hands-on approach to the Home Living life skills training.
  • Great Stories Book Club is a discussion group for pre-teens and teens, where books that are relevant to their lives are read and discussed. The ultimate goal is to inspire youth who face difficult situations to take control of their lives by embracing the power of reading.
  • Board Game Events allows residents to choose from a wide variety of educational board games to test their skills and knowledge in friendly competition. There are prizes offered to the winners!

Independent Living Program

Our Independent Living Program (ILP) assists our older residents in becoming independent adults. The program gives an opportunity for our youth to learn valuable skills necessary to make a successful transition for residential living or foster care, to living on their own in the community.

Youth work with an ILP Specialist on an on-going basis, focusing on three major areas:

  • Education and vocational services
  • Employment skills and job readiness
  • Life skills training

The ILP Specialist also develops a workability program and job placements for each resident, and monitor youth in their jobs to help with social and other work related issues.

Incorporated into our Independent Living Program is an innovative program developed for junior high and high school aged youth, the Ansell Casey Life Skills Program. There are nine life skill domains that the Ansell Casey Life Skills Program focuses on:

  • Career planning
  • Communication skills
  • Daily living skills
  • Home life
  • Housing and money management
  • Self care
  • Social relationships
  • Work and study skills
  • Work life

Success Stories

Christopher arrived at the Sacramento Children’s Home in September. Because he had bounced from foster home to foster home, in the span of two years Christopher had attended at least five different schools. This left him frustrated, angry and disconnected. Although Christopher was in 8th grade when he came to the Home, he was barely reading at a 6th grade level and his math comprehension was at a 5th grade level.Christopher was very resistant to doing his classroom/homework assignments and needed constant reminders to stay focused. He was easily irritated by his peers and often isolated himself when he got frustrated.In just a few short months Christopher made remarkable progress. With the support and guidance from his education liaison, he settled into his non-public school placement quite well. The educational program staff noticed that Christopher needed additional individual attention to stay focused, and together they came up with a plan to provide one-on-one tutoring and homework assistance separate from his peers and the study groups. This small change resulted in 100% attendance at school and in his after school programs. With the extra care and concern that staff showed, Christopher began to develop a respect for learning, and was able to eliminate conflict and frustration with his peers. Best of all, Christopher was completing over 85% of his assignments!

By January, he had moved up one grade level in language arts, and was getting several As and Bs on his report card. Christopher is not only very proud of his performance in school and loves to brag about earning good grades, but he is looking forward to graduation and earning accolades for his academic performance. He has a big smile on his face when talking about his good grades and positive school experiences, and is beginning to realize that learning is FUN.