Youth Programs
Our youth are champions in the making
Through our youth programming, we find East Oakland youth who are growing into becoming the leaders our community needs to thrive. We take that spark and help them by connecting them with the tools, peers, and mentors they need to grow into the champions they’ve always wanted to be.
All About Our Youth Programming
Our youth come into our doors with a wide variety of backgrounds, interests, and lived experiences that require a multifaceted approach in order to best serve them.
By choosing to focus on the whole person in everything we do, we believe we are able to have the greatest impact on our students, as well as model for them the ways in which wellness intersect and overlap in a person’s life. EOBA implements the dimensions of wellness into our programming from a young age to aid students in internalizing what wellness means to them and plan for how they intend to live a life of wellbeing.
Academic Enrichment
Student Preparation
Academic programming encompasses three main areas: literacy/tutoring, promoting executive function, and college readiness.
Grounded in Literacy
All students participate in reading and homework time every day in order to provide as much support as possible in achieving their academic goals.
Boxing, Sports, Exercise
Self-defense as a Cornerstone
Through boxing, we work to counter the narrative that boxing is a violent sport dominated by arrogance, teaching youth to lead through defensive behaviors.
Boxing and So Much More
Students also learn the essentials of basketball, soccer, volleyball, and golf through rotating clubs and field trips to local partners.
Creative Design
Encouraging Creativity
Creating art has been proven for decades to provide benefits in stress relief, critical thinking, academic performance, and self-reflection.
Exposure to New Art Forms
Students are trained in visual art forms (including digital) and have opportunities to have their art exposed to the community at large.
Culinary
Cooking with a Purpose
Marginalized communities, like those served by EOBA, are disproportionately affected by poor nutrition and food deserts.
Modeling Farm-to-Table
By teaching new healthy recipes each week, youth are exposed to new flavors, cooking techniques, and more nutritious ways to enjoy their family favorites.
Garden
An EOBA Staple Grows and Grows
EOBA started its organic garden 20+ years ago as a means of promoting healthy eating for youth. Since then, the Garden Club has become a fan favorite.
Understanding Food and Climate
Students grow and learn to prepare kale, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and more. In doing so, they build a respect for the environment that provides their food.
Science
The Wonders of Science
By completing biology, chemistry, and physics projects, students learn that science is everywhere and is more than just pages in a textbook.
Becoming a Scientist
Many youth take pride in being a ‘scientist’ and are encouraged to explore their scientific curiosity together in topics such as magnetism and DIY robotics.
Technology & Media
It Takes More Than a “Like” to Succeed
While youth love being on the internet, many lack the computational thinking skills needed to succeed in their academics.
Bringing Tech to East Oakland Youth
Our media instruction has grown to meet the needs of our youth by offering instruction in entry-level coding, video filming and editing, and blogging.
Theater
Artistic Expression
Students learn aspects of theater production including scriptwriting, character development, and set, prop and costume design.
Creating Agency through Storytelling
Through our theater program, youth tell the stories that are most important to them and find a connection to others in the narratives they choose to tell.
