Casa de Amistad, Centro de Enseñanza is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering the education and character development of low-income children and their families in coastal North County San Diego. It was incorporated in August 2001 as an expansion of the tutoring program at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church (SBPC). Each Monday and Wednesday at Seacoast Community Church, and Tuesday and Thursday evenings on the SBPC campus, children from the local community meet with volunteer mentors who assist the children with their homework and other enrichment activities. A Summer Enrichment Program and Career Pathways Program are also offered in July/August. Since it began in 1997, the tutoring program has grown from serving just 3 children the first night to over 260 children annually. Over 300 community members volunteer as educational mentors.
The cornerstone of Casa de Amistad is its Study Companions Program, guided by the Kinder to College Initiative. The purpose of Study Companions is to provide educational mentoring with the goal of improving the academic achievement of underserved children in grades K-12. This is accomplished through relationship-building between students and mentors, homework coaching and encouragement, study skills development, character education and field trips. The Kinder to College Initiative provides the benchmarks used to inform programming based on the following five milestones crucial for academic success: Kindergarten Readiness, Reading Proficiency by 3rd Grade, Math Proficiency by 9th Grade, College and Career Ready Upon High School Graduation, Enrollment in College and Career Programs. The program meets during the school year on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Solana Beach and Mondays and Wednesdays in Encinitas. A Summer Enrichment Program for students in Grades K-6 and a Career Pathways Program for our high school students are offered during July/August. Other Casa programs include Pre-K Enrichment, DREAMS + Tech Initiative and the Casa Consortium of College Counselors.
Casa parents are also actively involved. Our parents’ group includes weekly parent education classes and quarterly family activities. Parents additionally support the program by volunteering in the classrooms and assisting with administration.
Casa de Amistad has developed several strategic partnerships. Solana Beach Presbyterian Church has made available to Casa de Amistad approximately 3,164 square feet of facility space. Facilities are located at the corner of San Rodolfo and Stevens Avenue in Solana Beach. Seacoast Community Church in Encinitas offers Casa de Amistad classroom space on their campus two days a week. The Solana Beach School District partners with Casa de Amistad in both the Summer Enrichment Program and the CBET program. Representatives from Casa de Amistad actively participate in the Solana Beach Education Coalition.
Casa de Amistad relies on funding from private foundations, community organizations, churches and individuals. Among its supporters are SBPC’s Hispanic Ministries, the Parker Foundation, the Rotary Club of Del Mar, the Del Sol Lions Club, the De Anza Chapter of DAR, and the Pfizer Foundation. For a full list of Casa’s Community Partners, click on the Community Partners link under About Us.
Volunteer mentors are being recruited for the current school year. For more information, please call Program Coordinator Corey Ford at (858) 509-2590 or e-mail her at volunteer@casadeamistad.org.
Project Based Learning
Accelerated Reader Program
Reading Strategies
Common Core Math