Afterschool Program

Staying enrolled in and graduating from school is a key strategy of success for Hacienda youth. Expresiones, serving residents in grades 1^st-8^th, offers a combination of bilingual academic support, culturally appropriate enrichment activities, summer programming and parental involvement. Expresiones programming is offered everyday after school and five days a week at four of our housing-based community centers in Northeast Portland with a fifth site in Molalla, Oregon.

The Program

Program themes and activities are designed around three tenets:

• Academic Support: Afterschool program coordinators and volunteer college students from PSU and Concordia University serve as tutors and role models, providing bilingual homework help and mentoring to youth.
• Personal Development: Latino and other ethnic minority youth are at high risk for a variety of negative influences including gang involvement and school dropout. Culturally-specific and social skill building activities are incorporated into the curriculum to support minority youth’s culture and strengthen interpersonal relationships. These activities include hiking, beach trips, camping, horseback riding, community service projects, art activities, and environmental education.
• Parental Involvement: Parents are invited and encouraged to attend classes and activities offered by Hacienda, schools and community organizations. Acculturation literature identifies that as children acculturate faster, parents lose more ground in the parenting role. By working with parents to help them engage in community and parent-child activities, they maintain a positive role in their child’s life.

The Kids

Click HERE to meet Omar and Isidro, two Expresiones participants, in a short interview.

Expresiones serves 300 predominantly Latino and Somali youth and their families:

• The vast majority are residents of Hacienda’s affordable housing units;
• They come from families earning less – usually far less – than 60% of Portland Area Median Income;
• 97 percent are first or second generation immigrants (57% Hispanic, 40% Somali Refugees); and
• Many enter the program below grade level in reading, writing, math and science.

Partners

Hacienda partners with the following organizations to enrich afterschool programming:

• Boy Scouts: scouting activities for boys and parents, including soccer leagues where parents are trained in coaching techniques;
• Portland Audubon Society: 2 weeks of Explorador summer camp, an environmental education camp for youth and parents;
• Verde: environmental education and community service projects for youth;
• Northwest Family Services: classes for parents and youth focusing on communication, relationships, parenting, and sexual education;
• Africa House: culturally-specific parenting classes for Somali resident families, as well as cultural awareness training for Hacienda staff, partners and Latino resident families; and
• OSU Extension: nutrition education and cooking classes for youth.

Site Locations