Education
More than any other element, education is the cornerstone for creating a more thriving and self-sustaining Jubilee Park. The children growing up in our neighborhood must develop the knowledge and skill sets needed to succeed personally and to create economic opportunities for others in the future.
Our approach reflects the reality that education happens everywhere and that every member of our community is responsible for creating an environment that values learning. Our educational programming is literally lifelong: from “cradle to grave,” from prenatal to seniors. We work with a number of partners, including local school leaders, other educational nonprofits, and a dedicated team of citizen volunteers.
A few of our key educational initiatives are:
- Early childhood: Head Start of Greater Dallas operates both The Play and Learning Strategies (P.A.L.S.) program (for parents with children ages 0 to 3) and Davids’ Place (for parents with children ages 3 to 5) in Jubilee Park. Parents learn how to stimulate early language, cognitive, and social development, and children are prepared to enter and succeed in grade school.
- After-school and summer enrichment: In addition to a strong partnership with nearby O.M. Roberts Elementary School, Jubilee Park & Community Center provides programming which supports students in grades K-12. Our daily after-school program includes nutritious meals, homework assistance, and a wide range of experiential learning opportunities. Our eight-week summer program for students in grades K-8 supplements the school district’s curriculum and prevents summer learning loss.
- Adult education: To support adults in their own pursuit of knowledge and job skills, and to help parents better support their children’s education, Jubilee Park & Community Center provides adult education programming six days of the week. Classes include GED, ESL, and computer literacy.
To learn more about our educational programming, please click here.
Read about the impact of adult education classes on Jubilee residents.
EDDIE'S STORY
Before joining Jubilee, I worked for Hunt Oil Company for 35 years until I retired in 2004. At Hunt Oil I was a System Analyst, Computer Programmer, Computer Technician and Procurement Specialist. During my 35 years at Hunt Oil, I heard about Jubilee through Walt Humann. When he found out that I had retired from Hunt Oil Co., he asked me if I was interested in working at Jubilee. With my background in technology and being bilingual, he told me I would be an important addition to their team.
What interested me most about coming to Jubilee was the opportunity to help the community. My job at Jubilee is teaching ESL (English as Second Language) and computer classes. I also help the community by repairing their computers and installing software. I work on an average of three PCs or laptops a day. I also help them purchase PCs and setup the Internet connection at their homes. I am also in charge of desktop support for our Jubilee staff.
My favorite aspect is seeing the desire in my students to do better for themselves and their family. When my students started English and computer classes, they were timid and shy. Today these students can comfortably utilize their English and computer skills.
What I see in the community is a strong desire to do better in life.
One of many success stories at Jubilee is in a woman named Bertha. Bertha was one of my students whose son lived in El Salvador with his grandparents. She could not afford to use her home telephone to call El Salvador. I introduced her to Skype™ and within one hour she was talking and seeing her family for the first time in several years.
Bertha came to Jubilee to learn, but never could she imagine that learning to use her computer would allow her not only to talk to her family at no cost, but also see them from so far away. Bertha is now also successfully employed.