Norma Francisco

The Bold Idea:

If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If you teach him how to fish he will eat for a lifetime. If you tutor a child, it may learn that day's lesson. If you teach a child how to learn, it will achieve for a lifetime. Teach a Child to Fish provides scholarships to students to study Kumon Math and Reading. This program teaches students how to learn while developing students' confidence, study skills, math & reading skills. Teach a Child to Fish also provides academic support and workshops to parents and students. Teach a Child to Fish gave 5 - 8 students full scholarships each year for the past 8 years. The last students received funding in June 2007. The scholarship program will continue with new funding.

Biography:

Norma Francisco has been the executive director of Teach a Child to Fish since 1997. She established the scholarship fund to make the highly successful Kumon Math & Reading program available to inner city students, especially in East Oakland. She received her PhD from Stanford University, the Medal of Honor from the University of California, San Francisco, School of Dentistry, and the Outstanding Role Model Award from the National Dental Society of the Bay Area. She has also been the director of the East Oakland Kumon Math and Reading Center since 1997, working with approximately 100 students each month.