Started spring 2016, the MPN Scholarship Fund celebrates deserving college-bound seniors at John O’Connell High School with scholarships to attain a postsecondary education. Now in its third year and in partnership with Mission Graduates, MPN has set a bold goal to raise $12,500 in scholarship funds to support more Mission youth towards academic achievement. Here […]

by MPN Director Richard Raya All San Franciscans should be dismayed by the Chronicle story [“A child left behind: SF student failed every class in high school,” March 28, 2018 ], which showcased a student who Booker T. Washington Community Service Center agency staff claim garnered straight F’s over many years — without intervention — […]

The Montoya-Alcocer Family. Josue Alcocer is a 2017 John O’Connell High School graduate. He is now attending City College. Photo credit: Madeleine Bair Co-authored by: MPN Director of Program Evaluation, Learning & Impact Morgan Buras-Finlay John O’Connell High School Principal Susan Ryan There is some great news coming out of John O’Connell High School: Graduation […]

In December 2012, MEDA worked with city agencies and 25 neighborhood partners to replicate New York’s successful Harlem Children’s Zone in the Mission District of San Francisco. The goal of the Mission Promise Neighborhood (MPN) is to guide students on a cradle-to-college-to-career continuum, while helping their families achieve economic success. Director, Mission Promise Neighborhood Richard […]

by Director of Program Evaluation, Learning and Impact Morgan Buras-Finlay The seemingly innocuous “referral” is a mainstay of nonprofits — the most-basic way organizations ensure they meet the needs of the communities they serve. Such referrals support individuals and families as they navigate the ever-complex and changing network of nonprofits, government agencies and institutions. Yet […]

Mural by Mel Waters and David Hyde Cho, Mission and 19th streets, San Francisco Mission District Christopher Gil Senior Content Marketing Manager Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) (415) 282-3334 ext. 152 cgil@medasf.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jan. 10, 2018 Richard Raya Takes the Helm as Director of San Francisco’s Mission Promise Neighborhood Will leverage years of […]

With the collective goal of fostering reading at home, the Mission Promise Neighborhood held its “Third Annual Holiday Book Giveaway” on Dec. 15. The venue was Plaza Adelante, the neighborhood center of the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA). MEDA is the lead agency of this education initiative. Mission kids donning holiday attire — ranging from […]

Story by Children’s Council San Francisco (a Mission Promise Neighborhood partner) As a hard-working notary public and Spanish translator, Maria Antonieta had dreams of becoming a lawyer. She was attending San Francisco City College and was well on her way to achieving her goal when she became pregnant. Six months before her son was born, Maria came to Children’s Council. She says, “I loved the facilities at […]

Immigrating together can definitely form a strong bond. Such was the case for Yeimy Moreno and Orlin Salazar, who separately decided to leave their native Honduras in search of a better life to the north. The bond formed put these émigrés on the path to becoming a family, but that did not happen overnight. Yeimy […]

The Mission Promise Neighborhood is a prenatal-to-career continuum of support services for families in San Francisco’s Mission District. The beginning of the pipeline includes many partner strategies and programs working to promote kinder readiness by ensuring that children have a medical home, are enrolled in a high-quality preschool program and that families support learning. Mission […]