Friends of St. Lawrence-Watts Youth Center

Friends opened the Literacy Center in 2001 with the goal of unlocking student potential hindered by the effects of poverty. The Literacy Center, with an overall program budget of $230,000, is open to 1st to 5th graders. Eighty students with below grade level reading scores are chosen to attend the program.

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The most important component of the program and the key to its accomplishments is the one-to-one tutor mentor session.

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Friends employs 25- 30 teen tutors from the Watts community who are the best role models for our younger students. These exceptional Watts youth are all excelling academically.  By having the Literacy Center students work one-to-one with their own trained teen tutor, a deep level of trust with one another is developed. The mentoring relationship between the child and the teen tutor, one that has grown up under similar circumstances as their student, inspires the child to learn. The tutor becomes a living example of what good work habits in school can produce.

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The Literacy Center is an important part of Friends' mission to encourage academic achievement, community involvement, and awareness of opportunities within and beyond Watts. The Literacy Center gives the children of Watts the chance to live to their fullest potential.