I have worked with Lighthouse students for 8 years and see the huge difference the Lighthouse makes in their lives. Students perform better at school and seek to reach goals that include attending college and preparing for a career.
Lighthouse has grown so much over the past years and I would encourage you to stop by for a visit. You will fall in love with the children served!
Lighthouse is proud to continue in our fifteenth year and fifth year as a “21st Century Community Learning Center” commissioned by the Kentucky Department of Education. These are exciting days at the Lighthouse because we are in true “growth mode!” We are in our 3rd year in our new facility and have already begun to outgrow it. We have renovated storage space to create a new innovative computer lab allowing our original computer lab to be used as a classroom or for additional computers letting us serve even more students on a daily basis. We have been expanding our programs and enrollment and are working with more youth than ever. Lighthouse is a proud participant of eLearn Olympics and have medalists attending our facility! In addition, Lighthouse meets all 20/20 Better Business Bureau Charity Accountability Standards. All our programs serve students at NO CHARGE!
The Lighthouse Community Center, a 501 (c) (3) organization provides an after-school tutoring program for at-risk youth in the Newburg neighborhood of Louisville, KY. This program offers homework assistance four nights a week with special emphasis on Reading, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math skills). We also are focusing on the goals of the USDE for College and Career Readiness. Lighthouse has been selected as an Endorsed Learning Place by JCPS which incorporates Every 1 Reads program along with STEM learning curriculum as well as technology. We have exceeded the Metro Louisville Out of School Time Quality Standards and were selected to serve on their pilot program for these standards. Lighthouse received the “Making a Difference Award” by JCPS, Metro United Way, and Metro Louisville for our work with the Every 1 Reads Program. It has been proven that by the time a child reaches 3rd Grade, their reading score predicts whether or not they will drop out of high school. Every 1 Reads focuses on these students to improve their grades, help them succeed in school, decreasing their chance for dropping out. Our program is coordinated with each child’s public school teacher to ensure help and remediation in their needed academic areas. During these evenings we also offer enrichment activities such as dance training, piano-keyboard-violin lessons, drama, art instruction, Karate, puppetry, photography, etc. The fifth evening and weekends are set aside for special events and field trips.
Nearly 50% of the Newburg children live in single parent homes below the poverty level. (Currently Lighthouse enrolls 99 percent Jefferson County Public School Free/Reduced lunch students and 98 percent of our students live in a single parent home, foster care, or being raised by a grandparent). Lighthouse focuses on working with the achievement “Gap” kids. This is a high crime area with drugs, gangs, vandalism, bullies, and shootings are an everyday occurrence. During each fiscal year, over 2,000 individuals released from the Metro Department of Corrections return to Newburg to reside. Consequently, the neighborhood where Lighthouse resides is full of horror. Lighthouse offers refuge from this fright while educating and instilling a sense of pride and self worth into our students.
