The Fishing School

You can help us transform lives of youth by providing each child an opportunity to thrive and achieve their dreams.

Have you heard the saying, "If you give a man a fish, you will feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will feed himself for a lifetime"?

Deeply inspired by this adage, Mr. Tom Lewis, a retired DC Metropolitan Police Officer, renovated a former crack house in northeast DC and transformed it into a safe haven for youth in 1990. Seeing so much abject poverty, youth-related crimes, and broken families, Mr. Lewis promised to bring about change for families in Washington, DC. He believed that education is the absolute key to breaking the cycle of poverty. Since 1990, TFS has served more than 7,000 children and families through our FREE out-of-school time (OST) educational programming.

Our afterschool and summer programs are based on an intensive, multi‐year, OST program model serving 1st to 5th graders from Title-1 eligible public schools. Our program model infuses technology and a research-based curriculum to support holistic youth development by improving their academics, life skills, and parental engagement. Our program has the following components:

1. TFS’ Elementary Afterschool Program serves 1st to 5th graders to build their academic and life skills, through hands‐on activities, online tutoring, and a proprietary STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) curriculum.
2. Our Summer Camp allows elementary and middle school participants to build and maintain academic and social skills through the summer months to prevent summer learning loss.
3. The Parent Engagement Program offers an array of activities for parents to promote networking, skill building, and engagement in their child’s academic and personal success. 

Here is a story we want to share about one of our students, “J”:

“J”, a participant in our Elementary Afterschool Program, suffered from depression and very low self-esteem when he initially enrolled in our program. Despite his social awkwardness, he signed up for the Talent Show with a whistling act. On the performance day, he was nervous and exited the stage after seeing a huge crowd of entire afterschool participants and their parents attending the event. One of his peers in the program quickly reached out to him and encouraged him to perform. Twenty minutes later, “J” returned to the stage and started his whistling act that surprised everyone. The enriching environment offered in our program allows students to be carefree, confident, and build nurturing attitudes. J’s story is one among many examples of The Fishing School’s impact on underserved youth in the Washington, DC area.   

Be a special and integral part of the hope that The Fishing School provides our youth and families by donating today.