Pre-K and Elementary Education

-Bright Beginnings- -Northwest Settlement House- -Seaton Elementary School- -CentroNia- -Big Brothers / Big Sisters- -School for Art in Learning-  Service Coordinator David Dreeben  Email: prekeled@gwu.edu

Bright Beginnings

Bright Beginnings is a child development center, located in the Shaw/North Capital area in Northwest, D.C.  It is designed to meet the educational, social, and physical needs of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers whose families live in the District’s shelters and transitional housing. Bright Beginnings provides over 150 children with a safe, nurturing environment that prepares them to enter kindergarten, and supports homeless parents’ efforts to work towards self-sufficiency.

Volunteer Opportunities

 In-class Aide:  Work with toddlers ranging in age from 6 weeks to 5 years of age.  The main objective of this program is to help these children develop basic motor skills such as crawling, walking, and feeding themselves. 

Time Commitment: Monday-Friday 8am-12:00pm and 3pm-5pm. Minimum two hours a week.

Northwest Settlement House

Northwest Settlement House is a success story that has continued since 1934.  Established by a group of women to extend a helping hand within the Shaw community, the Northwest Settlement House has been a constant presence in the community since its inception. It was the first D.C. Head Start site, and a sponsor of the Shaw Redevelopment Project.  It continues to provide its members with a variety of educational, leisure, and social services.

Volunteer Opportunities

Classroom Aide:  Work with toddlers ages 2-5

Seaton Elementary 

Located in the Shaw neighborhood, Seaton elementary school strives to help its students become self-disciplined, creative, technologically literate, and able to communicate through oral and written expression. They seek to create a school climate that will offer every student the opportunity to become engaged in their education. Their motto is “Together, we achieve the extraordinary.”

1. After-school program aide for children grades K-6

2. Classroom aide for children grades K-6

SAIL

SAIL works to address the needs of students with learning differences by providing creative learning environments. SAIL has developed a specialized curriculum using the arts to help children learn in ways that match their learning styles, paying special attention to individual learning styles and specific need. Its focus is on developing the whole child, intellectually, emotionally, physically, and socially.

CentroNía

CentroNía's  mission is to "educate children and youth, and strengthen families, in a bilingual, multicultural community." Throughout the years, CentroNia is a community outreach and family development center located in the Columbia Heights neighborhood in Northwest DC.  CentroNía has evolved organically into a strength-based model for low-income families, which seeks to recognize and utilize genuine parent/family strengths and build onto them.

Volunteer Opportunities

Family Book Club (FBC) Volunteers: Various times and days, assist FBC Parent Coaches in reading stories and doing crafts with their children.

Time Commitment: Based on book club meeting times. Two hours per session for 6 sessions

Hermanos y Hermanas Mayores 

Hermanos y Hermanas Mayores is a Big Brothers Big Sisters Latino outreach initiative in the National Capital Area. It provides District children, many of whom are Latino, with positive role models who understand their culture. The one on one mentoring relationship a child has with his or her Big Brother or Sister helps them realize their strengths and get the most out of life.

Volunteer Opportunities

School Based Program
       Sites
          -Bruce Monroe Elementary School
          -John Ross Elementary School
          -Brightwood Elementary School

Time Commitment:  one hour per week spent with the child in school.  This commitment is for one school year.  If the schedule needs to change in the spring semester, please inform Jorge well in advance.

Requirements:  volunteers in the school based program must have a criminal background check and a TB test.  The criminal background check can be obtained through Big Brothers/Big Sisters, while the student must pay for his/her TB test.