Engage San Francisco Literacy

Through multiple partnerships with SFUSD and community-based organizations we have grown an intentional year-round literacy support project for Western Addition children and their families.

School Year Literacy Programs

The school year Engage San Francisco Literacy program prepares and supports USF students to be culturally humble and engaged reading tutors. We educate USF students with knowledge of teaching and learning to read, adverse childhood events, community history in the Fillmore/Western Addition, and educational equity as a lifelong disposition.

The program operates through our partnership with two San Francisco public schools – Rosa Parks Elementary School and Cobb Elementary – and three after-school programs – Booker T. Washington Community Center, Magic Zone, and Prince Hall Learning Center. 

Participating tutors who are new employees enroll in a one-credit course during their first semester, which focuses on developing their tutoring skills and capacities. For more information, contact Dresden Fraizer-Smith at djsmith@usfca.edu.

Our Approach to Literacy

Our tutoring initiative is grounded in a commitment to relationship-building, equity, and responsiveness to the needs of children and families in the Western Addition. We view tutoring not simply as academic support, but as a holistic, community-rooted practice that fosters belonging, literacy, and confidence in young learners. Tutors begin by centering relationships as the foundation of learning, taking time to get to know each child through conversation, play, and shared activities that build trust and rapport. Guided by trauma-informed and healing-centered principles, they approach each child with empathy and consistency, recognizing that learning is deeply connected to emotional safety and care. 

Our literacy work centers on meeting each child where they are. Tutors work closely with their on-site supervisors to understand the unique needs, strengths, and learning styles of the children they support. They communicate regularly with supervisors about each child’s progress, challenges, and successes, ensuring that instructional strategies remain responsive and aligned with site goals. The goal is to develop not only literacy skills but also a lasting love for learning that extends beyond the tutoring session.

Equally central to our work is a deep awareness of the social context in which tutoring takes place. Tutors understand that they are part of a broader, community-led movement for educational equity in the Western Addition. Their presence is intended to expand capacity by supporting site staff and creating time for them to focus on higher-level tasks. This requires humility, reflection, and an ongoing awareness of how race, class, and privilege can shape relationships in educational spaces. Tutors are encouraged to learn from the community’s history and wisdom, acknowledging the effects of systemic racism, particularly antiblack racism and displacement in San Francisco. By positioning themselves as learners and allies, tutors help sustain an ecosystem of resistance, resilience, and possibility.