Next Step Learning Center

Next Step will be closed for our Winter Break from Thursday, December 19th - Friday, January 3rd. We will see you on January 6th! Happy Holidays!

In July, we celebrated our Next Step graduates! Congratulations to all of our hardworking students who earned their high school diploma or GED! Here are just a few photos from that day! 🎓

It's official . . . Graduation is Friday, July 12th! Please make sure to call or email Erin to RSVP and make sure your contact information is up-to-date!

We are called Next Step Learning Center for a reason: We are truly committed to helping each student reach their "next step." We were so excited when Delana completed a program with Kaiser earlier this month and is now a licensed Phlebotomy Technician. After graduating with our high school diploma program, Delana worked with Jennie, our College Transition Coordinator, to figure out her next step. Jennie supports our students in everything - finding the right school and applying for financial aid, choosing and registering for classes, and even continued tutoring while they're enrolled in college classes. Delana shared that she never thought that she would accomplish so much because it has always been hard for her to finish what she starts. She said, "I love Next Step. Everybody pushes you, but supports you. When you get discouraged, they encourage you to keep going and to believe in yourself. Everyone here helped me realize I could do it, and I feel so accomplished!" Congratulations, Delana. We are so proud of you!

🪻 Just a reminder - we will be closed next week for Spring Break. We will see you on Monday, April 8th! 🪻

In line with Next Step Learning Center’s commitment to nurturing every aspect of a student's growth, we've begun offering a weekly art class. Under the expert tutelage of Carol, a professional artist and volunteer, these classes really engage the students in creative and meaningful lessons in visual art. Last week's lesson was a self-portrait, and this week, students learned about the color wheel and created a still life. A HUGE thank you to Next Step volunteers Carol and Ed who are leading our Monday Art Class! If you have questions about Next Step or if you are interested in becoming a tutor and sharing your talents with our students, please give us a call!

Our best days are graduation days! This is Ana, our most recent graduate. Ana said, “I just graduated last week and my most favorite thing about Next Step is the support that I get from people here, especially the teachers and tutors. Sometimes I don’t think of them as tutors; I think of them as angels. They were with me through this whole journey.” Could any sweeter words be said? Congratulations, Ana! We’ll see you in a few months for our graduation ceremony.

It is our privilege to serve the Bay Area community and support our students on their education journey. If you’re interested in supporting our work, give us a call!

We wouldn’t be able to do the work that we do without our awesome tutors! Meet Beverley, who has been tutoring at Next Step Learning Center for six years, and is beloved by her students. Beverly says, “What I love about Next Step is all the wonderful people. It's so much fun and so satisfying to see students make progress.” Interested in joining our team of amazing volunteer tutors? Contact us at Next Step to learn more about how you can support our work. We think you’ll get as much out of the experience as the students do!

What an incredible story of inner strength and determination.

Like a Phoenix: The story of Sherie Williams, class of 2023 — Next Step Learning Center There is a day I will never forget, and that is the day my heroin-addicted mother dropped me off at school and didn’t return to pick me up. The school called my aunt, and from that day on, she raised me as her own. As the years went by, my feelings started getting the better of me and by the time