Education Programs

Our education programs respond innovatively to the unique gifts and challenges of the children, youth, and adults of the communities we serve—fostering creative and intellectual abilites to enrich the quality of life of individuals and communities.

For adults who need to learn English, Harbor House offers a safe place for social interaction, language development, economic skill development, and community life-skill learning for people who would perhaps otherwise not leave the confines of their homes or immediate neighborhood. Through Harbor House, they are able to access the larger community as well as programs where they are comfortable bringing their children. Their youth grow up in our youth programs and bring their unique cultural perspective into the larger community.

Meeting the challenge — Developing Curriculum and Teaching at Harbor House

In order to serve a mostly pre-literate Southeast Asian population in the 1980s, Harbor House began to develop curriculua adapted to the new arrival and the pre-literate student, using graphics and body actions to convey words and concepts. Into the 1990s, instructors successfully adapted Citizenship curricula for our students in order to help them pass the citizenship exam—a feat normally limited to intermediate level language learners and above. Harbor House printed its own two volume set of citizenship activities for the Beginning Low level learner. Following this tradition of generating curricula tailored to our students’ level and experiences, Harbor House instructors continue to craft uniquely adapted material. Over the past few years, in response to our now more settled students’ expressed fear and/or confusion about their neighbors from all over the world, we developed materials to teach the journies of a variety of people groups to the US and California.

Financial Support

Programs at Harbor House are primarily funded by churches, foundations, and individuals who desire to be a part of serving those in need and seeing the kingdom of God advance in the lives of young people in Oakland. Those with financial means are encouraged to support Harbor House through grants and donations, which enable the continued implementation and growth of our programs in the community.