Children’s Defense Fund – Freedom Schools

"I can and must make a difference."

Key Components

-- Integrated reading curriculum

-- Cultural enrichment

-- Parental engagement

-- Community involvement and servant-leadership

-- Intergenerational

-- Conflict resolution

-- Social action

History

-- Modeled on 1960s-era "Freedom Schools."

-- Rejuvenated in the mid-1990s under the Children’s Defense Fund.

-- Nationally, more than 70,000 children have gone through the Freedom School program since 1995.

-- Kansas City is one of the "flagship" cities for the Freedom Schools.

Mission

-- To create supportive, nurturing, literature-rich environments that set high expectations for all children through a focus on literacy, cultural heritage, parental involvement, servant-leadership, and social action.

-- To connect the complex needs of children and families to the rich resources of the community.

-- Empower children to embrace their responsibility to make a difference in themselves, their family, their community, their country, and their world.

Program Administration

-- Freedom Schools in KC run for 6 weeks, Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 3:00pm.

-- Each school has a large space for student activities and a classroom for every 10 students enrolled.

-- Breakfast , lunch and snack are served daily.

Staffing

-- Project Director                                                  

-- Site Coordinator

-- Servant-Leader Interns (provide 1:10 ratio with students)

-- Kitchen staff

-- Janitorial staff