Surrounded by Logan Elementary schoolchildren, Mayor Kevin Faulconer on Nov. 17 launched a citywide education program and announced a new non-profit organization, One San Diego, to promote opportunity and inclusion throughout San Diego’s diverse neighborhoods.
A $30,000 contribution secured by One San Diego will fund 60 laptops for the city’s new Do Your Homework @ the Library after-school program for students from kindergarten to 8th grade. Faulconer and One San Diego board members presented laptops at the Logan Heights Branch Library. The donation is made possible by a $15,000 gift from the Walmart Foundation that was matched by the San Diego Public Library Foundation.
“Your opportunity to succeed,” Faulconer said, “shouldn’t hinge on whether you live in a neighborhood north of Interstate 8 or south of it. As mayor, I’m working to bring people from all walks of life together to overcome our shared challenges, end the division and create what I’ve called One San Diego.”
One San Diego is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization designed to promote equal access to an enhanced quality of life and access to education initiatives. Its grant program give up to $2,500 to help fund these efforts.
The city’s 2015 budget funded the Do Your Homework @ the Library program, which provides one-on-one assistance to children for school-assigned homework at targeted kindergarten through 8th-grade schools. It adds a learning coordinator in 18 San Diego libraries where curriculum-aligned resources, technology and community partnerships work in tandem to support students. The program also capitalizes on San Diego public library equipment, staff, Wi-Fi access and digital resources, including the HelpNow! online tutoring program.
The afterschool program has begun at the Central Library and four branches – Logan Heights, San Carlos, Pacific Beach/Taylor and Scripps Miramar Ranch. The program is scheduled to expand to 13 additional libraries in January.
After years of service reductions, Faulconer’s inaugural One San Diego budget, passed last June, brought library hours to their highest levels in a decade.
