About Us

Our Mission:
LEA'S KIDS mission is to assist in the development of the youth's educational and spiritual skills and in the early molding of their characters through:

• Assisting them with their homework.
• Teaching them the Bible through songs and stories.
• Providing emotionally and spiritually healthy atmosphere and activities in which to learn, play and grow.
• Leading them to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Providing them a place to learn Godly discipline.
  

Program Overview:
The Farrington apartment complex is a neighborhood that struggles with crime, violence, and drugs. It has limited support systems for the children and youth. To counter these conditions LEA'S KIDS has partnered with residents, stakeholders, and benefactors to develop neighborhood and family support for children so that positive values, high aspirations, and healthy beliefs become the central focus in their lives.

Every day after school and for eight to nine weeks during the summer, children and youth come to the Farrington Clubhouse where they participate in activities and relationships that promote positive life principles, high educational aspirations and achievement, and enriching, fun-filled recreation and fellowship. Six paid staff along with volunteers and parents work in several areas with the children including:

• Spiritual character development - songs, skits, presentations and discussions that teach actions, attitudes, and relationships based on the moral principles of the Bible.
• Sports and recreation.
• Small group tutoring and homework help - 75 minutes each day Monday through Thursday.
• Presentations by community leaders such as policemen, firemen, ministers, and members of the East-West Optimist Club
• Field Trips to cultural and recreational attractions.
• A recognition and reward program that provides prizes and praise to the children for specific positive behavior during the week.
• A parental homework support component.
  

LEA'S KIDS is a partnership with parents. Neighborhood support cannot replace family support from parents, the most important people in the life of a child. Parents volunteer two hours each week for the Program (cleaning, record keeping, assisting with the activities, etc.), attend the parent meeting each month, and participate in the parental homework support component. In this way, parents retain and enhance their vital parental role of setting clear standards and expectations for their children, and demonstrating pleasure and recognition when their children strive towards such standards.

LEA'S KIDS is also a partnership with teachers and the children's school. Two to three times a year, formal contact is made with the Learning Support Strategist and the staff of the school in order to ascertain how we can support what goals and objectives the school has set with each of the children. Information gained from the child's teacher then determines what we pursue with each child during tutoring time in addition to assisting them with their homework. In addition, coordination with parents and teachers has been established to ensure that homework done in the program actually gets to the teacher, resulting in significant improvement in fulfillment of the children's homework responsibilities, and improved communication and relationships amount the parent, tutor, and teacher.

The children work toward specific, measurable objectives and outcomes relating to their grades and behavior in school, their study and schoolwork habits, and their behavior while participating in the Program. The measurable progress that the children make toward these objectives is summarized in our annual Program Evaluation.

All of this work is done to accomplish our mission to partner with parents, neighborhood stakeholders, and benefactors to teach children at a young age life skills, ethics, and academics so that they will become responsible young men and women who will lead their families and their communities. This can be accomplished through working with the neighborhood to direct its energy and resources toward the welfare and positive future for our youth.