One vehicle
we have elected to use to help us accomplish our
mission is the Kimmins Family Learning Center
Educational Concept. The Family Learning Center
is a combination of several successful programs our
school system has been using for some time, along win
innovation from the business community Our
concept addresses the whole family with he primary
goal of making the family stronger through education
and employment.
The first step in the
process is a comprehensive census of the
neighborhood. We are identifying all potential
mothers among our 3500 families, and starting our
educational process prior to conception getting them
the physical and emotional support they will need to
be strong and competent parents. After the birth
of our neighbor's child, we will supply the highest
quality Early Childhood Education available in our
country to these new members of our community.
These children, through our learning centers, will all
receive physical and emotional assessments and
treatment from conception through entering the
Hillsborough County School System.
The mothers and fathers of
these children will bring them to school and stay and
receive formal educational instructions leading to
their GED. We also offer ESOL instructions and
vocational training in several languages. But
the most important educational courses we offer are
those that make the family stronger. Courses on
building children and mothers' self esteem,
instruction on dispute resolution techniques, as well
as relationship building between parent and child,
parent and parent, and family and community. Our
mission is helping people access the American
Dream.
We are not trying to prepare
parent our children in our neighborhood for low paying
jobs. Strong neighborhoods and strong families
are not built on minimum wage jobs. Our focus is
to take typical parents, many with English as a second
language, and prepare them for employment that pays a
minimum of $20,000 per year plus health
insurance.
Our programs are designed
around specific job classifications, and focus on the
distinctive competencies of our neighbors.
Through vocational program design, and partnering with
operating businesses in our neighborhood, we will
accomplish our goal of zero unemployment in the part
of the City of Tampa that is the Foundations'
home.
