1. Tutoring Program: (Reading Pals) Helps children learn to read. (read more)

2. Parent Involvement: Provide practical help for parents whose children are struggling in school. (read more)

3. Early Childhood Education: Help parents prepare their young children to start school (read more)

4. Health: Teach families how to incorporate healthy habits into their lifestyle. (read more) Watch this program in action on ABC30.com

5. College Prep for High-School Students: (read-more)

After School Tutoring/Reading Pals: The Fresno Covenant Foundation’s first program was our literacy tutoring program. The program started in 1999 with 30 students and has grown to over 500 students daily. It is common for children to enroll in the program who are 1-5 grade levels behind. The goal of the tutoring program is for a child who is enrolled in the program for 6 months or longer, to improve by at least 1 grade level in reading and comprehension. To monitor their progress, each child's
reading level is assessed every nine weeks.

People from all adult generations come to one of our tutoring sites to read with children. The goal is to give children the individual and small group help they need to improve and be able to read at grade level. Volunteers can work with a
child 1-4 times per week, for 1-2 hours (based on the volunteer’s availability). FCF operates five tutoring sites throughout Fresno, five days per week, for three hours per day.

Based on FCF’s experience working with struggling read-ers, FCF (with the guidance and support of teachers and reading specialists) created a curriculum that is available for use by the tutors.
The Fresno Covenant Foundation (FCF) operates six tutoring sites throughout Fresno, California, 5 days per week for 3 hours per day.

Parent Involvement: Child success is the goal of all of FCF programs and the Parent Involvement Program was designed based on research which shows greater parental
involvement correlates with student achievement and success. The Parent
Involvement Program works with parents on practical educational issues that
they encounter when their child is struggling in school. Parents learn how to navigate the school system, how to work with their child’s teacher, and how to create a home environment that will help their child learn. We work with parents through classes, workshops, one-on-one meetings, and in-home visits.

The centerpiece of The Parent Involvement Program is an RV (recreational vehicle) that was transformed into a mobile classroom. This classroom on wheels allows us to provide training in locations convenient for parents, such
as apartment complexes, churches, supermarkets, and other non-profit organizations. Our parent trainers are also sent to a variety of locations
throughout Fresno and provide workshops in parents’ native languages.

Since 2003 The Parent Involvement Program has been funded by a federal grant. 2007 will be the final year of federal funding for this program. FCF plans to continue the needed program through other streams of funding from both grants and community support.
 

Early Childhood Education:  “A parent is a child’s first teacher” is the philosophy of FCF’s Early Childhood Education program. FCF uses PAT (Parents As Teachers) for the Early Child-
hood Education Program. PAT is a nationally-recognized, research-based program, deemed an effective program for children aged zero to five years and their parents.

This program was started when it was recognized that the children in the tutoring program wouldn’t be as far behind if they had started learning before
they started school.

This Early Childhood Education program includes home visits, group
meetings, and health screenings, with curriculum that focuses on educating
parents about their children’s development. This program focuses mainly on nurturing young children and educating their parents.
 

Heath Education: FCF’s Health Program was expanded in 2006 with funds from California Endowment. FCF conducted a Community Health Assessment with the par-
ents we work with, in the Fresno and Firebaugh communities. The purpose was to identify areas of health concern most prevalent within these house-
holds, for the purpose of raising awareness and promoting health advocacy within their own families and communities.

FCF is also conducting research on adolescent overweight/obesity in an attempt to reduce ineffective parenting strategies, thus increasing practical knowledge about how to prevent unhealthy eating habits.

Poor health can easily harm a child’s education, but is often overlooked as a
cause of drain on a child’s energy, attention span and brain function. From
this program and future research, FCF plans to build our capacity to more effectively respond to community health concerns by addressing the identified needs and becoming a leader in changing unhealthy behaviors among the children and families in
our community. Watch this program in action ABC30.com
 

College Prep for High School Students: The College Preparation Program is one of Fresno Covenant Foundation’s newest programs. Through this program we provide high school freshmen at Firebaugh High School with practical, hands-on workshops and activities in preparing for college. The students named their club - The Eagles College
Club. Activities include career planning, guest speakers, and field trips to colleges and universities. The goal of the College Preparation Program is to increase the number of students who go on to attend college

In September, FCF brought motivational speakers Richard Santana and
Guillermo Lopez from “Homeboy Goes to Harvard Productions” to Firebaugh High School to speak to the students about the importance of college. Using personal stories and struggles, Richard, a former gang member who changed his life around and went on to get his Masters Degree from Harvard, encouraged the students to stay in school
and attend college.