Here to serve,
not save.
Honoring our Ancestors and
The Central Valley resides in a region with a deep transformative past, in which our ancestors have fought and died for the spaces we are able to hold today. Further, the theirstory of Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Queer, and other marginalized populations have and are purposely erased in our education and textbooks. While we often may believe that we are the engineers of the programs and projects we create, this assumption is false. Our near existence is based on the survival of our past families and those who protested and were killed for us to continue the work we do today. As a youth-led and built organization, we recognize that our work is not new, it has been passed on to us by our ancestors, and we aim to continue their legacies.
Learn about our goals, values, and
MISSION
Here at Central Valley Scholars, we empower students to realize their potential and capabilities and directly provide the resources, guidance, and support in order to make their educational dreams a reality. We value and understand that every student has their own pathway to education, and we reimagine and rebuild our classrooms, programs, workshops, universities, and more to directly accommodate the individual needs of our students.
We are not here to “save” our students, but to serve our students. There is no right way to proceed with an educational career, so rather than imploring specific pathways, we introduce students to the different avenues towards an academic career and allow them to decide what journey best suits their lives. We follow our students in their journeys, support them in their downfalls, celebrate their successes, and cheer them on along the way. No matter our students' ages or where they are starting their educational careers, here at Central Valley Scholars we open our doors to all students, we support all students, we advocate for all students, and we represent all students.
We are a community-based and community-minded organization, putting the needs of our students first. With an emphasis on adaptability, we mold our programs and services to fit the needs of our students. As a youth-led organization built by Central Valley students, our own struggles upon accessing education are products of the systemic barriers placed upon our communities and identities. We have created an organization that not only directly addresses our intersectional needs but directly attacks the systemic forms of oppression placed against our communities. We empower our community and youth to do the same by providing spaces and funding to develop their own programs and services that directly impact their communities.
Ensuring inclusivity in our
SPACES
We pride ourselves on providing spaces for the most forgotten populations in the Central Valley. With an initiative to introduce and create accessible pathways towards education, we have made it our responsibility to accommodate and assist students from all types of backgrounds and with all types of identities.
We are a safe and accommodating space for all historically marginalized students including, but not limited to:
LGBTQIA+ Students
Women and Non-men Students
First-Generation Students
Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Students
Undocumented Students,
Students with Disabilities,
Black, Indigenous, and Students of Color,
and Student Parents
We stand in solidarity with survivors of any and all forms of abuse, and we sternly prohibit any known abusers or harm-doers in our spaces. We will work to ensure that our spaces are those in which growth and community can thrive, and harm, abuse, and hate are never welcome at Central Valley Scholars.
Taking an environmental
RESPONSIBILITY
We live in a society in which we do not care for the land in which we reside and our impact on it, affecting not only the livelihood of our children but all future generations in our community. The world is in dire need of environmental change, and we make it our responsibility to be a zero-waste facility. From as small as what supplies we buy in our office, to how we travel for worksops, we make sure all of our supplies are compostable where possible.
Want to learn more?
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