DreamCatchers VisionWe envision a future where Palo Alto’s low-income, historically underrepresented middle school students will stand shoulder to shoulder with their classmates at the starting gate of their high school careers -- feeling academically, emotionally and socially prepared and motivated for four years during which they will develop the competence and confidence to make meaningful post-secondary choices, including successful completion of a four-year college degree program.

DreamCatchers MissionOur mission is to close the opportunity gap in academic and social support faced by low-income, historically underrepresented middle school students in a high-performing school district.

The DreamCatchers ApproachWe fill the gap in academic and social support that our students need in order to be successful in school, but cannot access at home because of limited financial and educational resources. DreamCatchers operates an after-school program that pairs each low-income middle school student with a one-on-one near peer volunteer tutor from Stanford or our local high schools in a year-long mentoring relationship. We partner closely with each student’s classroom teachers, guidance counselor and parents so that our tutors can offer customized support to each of their students.

A Day In The LifeOn any given day at DreamCatchers, you might find one Stanford tutor helping his eighth grader compose an essay on Manifest Destiny while another tutor is tackling Common Core algebra word problems with her sixth grader. We surround our volunteers with professional support from educators and community experts. We consult regularly with Palo Alto classroom teachers and guidance counselors so that the work being done at DreamCatchers is what needs to be done for school. We spice up our homework help with hands-on sessions building circuits, racing robots and even learning knife-handling skills from a local chef. Together, tutors and their students take on challenging

math problems that were formerly considered optional, and ponder the different ways to solve “18 x 5” without pencil and paper. With a mix of inspiration and perspiration, DreamCatchers mobilizes the next generation of volunteer leaders to fill the daunting resource gap our underserved students must overcome in order to thrive in the high-performing Palo Alto Unified school district.

The Essential Elements of Our ModelHighly Leveraged – with Volunteers: DreamCatchers was created by students, for students. Stanford and local high school students volunteer as one-on-one, year-long tutors and classroom leaders. In 2015-16, over 80 volunteers supervised by two paid staff members in structured classroom settings (15 student/tutor pairs in each classroom) will provide over 6,000 hours of academic support to 60 low-income middle school students and their families.

Highly Leveraged – with Palo Alto Classrooms: DreamCatchers is able to capitalize on the highly qualified staff and well-funded classrooms of the Palo Alto Unified school district. By helping with homework and consulting with teachers, we build upon the solid foundation of teaching and learning that occurs during the school day, rather than start from scratch.

Customized Tutoring: DreamCatchers communicates regularly with classroom teachers, guidance counselors and parents. We use Slack, a customizable software program, to stream information and updates on individual students to each their tutors, as we simultaneously collect feedback and responses from our volunteer tutors. Each student’s tutoring is catered to his/her individual needs.

A Place for Middle Schoolers to Feel Good About Themselves: Middle school is a crucial transition time when young adults start to forge their own identities and sense of personal agency. Who do I think I am? Who can or should I be? DreamCatchers students straddle two very different worlds. At home, our students help with day-to-day household challenges faced by parents who do not speak English and must navigate two jobs. Academic help and expectations are in short supply. At school, however, our students sit in class with peers whose affluent, highly-educated families anticipate and address every one of their children’s academic needs.

DreamCatchers bridges those two worlds by providing what social scientists refer to as a “third space” where our students can come together and feel comfortable, confident and supported. At DreamCatchers, our students find plenty of chatter and laughter among peers and role models who truly appreciate the challenges they face and the true weight of their successes in school.

If we lose them in middle school, how will they survive high school?

A Friendly, Approachable Place for Parents: With pick-up and drop-off times well-suited to working parents, and with bilingual, bicultural staff, DreamCatchers has established a relaxed and welcoming relationship with its families. We offer formal Spanish-speaking parent education events in conjunction with community partners, but we are also frequently asked by parents to help bridge the communication and culture gap between home and school.

The Only Place for Palo Alto’s Low-Income Residents: There are a plethora of award-winning after-school programs in low-income Silicon

Valley communities like East Palo Alto and San Jose, but if you are one of the 750 low-income students living in Palo Alto, you are not geographically eligible for those programs. DreamCatchers is the only program that is specifically targeted for low- income Palo Alto residents during their middle school years.

A Win-Win-Win Situation:✓ Low-income students get the support they need to thrive in a high-

performing environment.✓ Next generation leaders in educational equity gain invaluable experience,

skills and inspiration.✓ Palo Alto retains its ideal of a culturally, ethnically and socio-economically

diverse community.

History

Highlights:

2008 Founded by Stanford sophomore Sarah Mummah, serving 1 class of 15 students.

2010 Program expanded to serve 2 classes and 20 students.

2012 Officially partnered with PAUSD.Program expanded to serve 3 classrooms and 44 students.

2014 Former PAUSD educator and Board Trustee Barbara Sih Klausner hired as Executive Director.

Program lengthened by four weeks with the help of PAUSD teachers.

High school tutors added to the volunteer pool.

Building Dreams unit introduces students to educational pathways, careers and lifestyle choices.

Parent Education events in Spanish co-sponsored with PAUSD and local groups representing historically underrepresented families.

2015 Bilingual, bicultural PAUSD ’08 graduate Miguel Fittoria hired as Program Director.

Program at capacity, serving 4 classrooms and 60 students. Waiting list created.

Robotics units added, with the help of teachers and guest visitors from Stanford, high school robotics teams, MakeX Studio, Palantir, Nest.

Math Advisory Board of education leaders formed to launch our math initiative.

2016 Piloting initiative to create customized, tutor-friendly math materials and trainings.

Compiling data on individual students, focusing on math.

Establishing data systems and metrics for program evaluation and improvement.