About Us

Overview

Operating at the unique intersection between Stanford University and its neighboring Palo Alto community, DreamCatchers brings together resources from a leading research institution, one of the best schools of Education in the country, and one of the best school districts in the state of California, to build a model for closing the educational achievement gap.

Leveraging these resources in tandem, DreamCatchers operates a two-pronged program that helps underserved middle school students achieve in school while cultivating a pipeline of Stanford undergraduates to become future leaders in education.

Why Palo Alto?

The notion that all Palo Alto families are affluent does not apply to the entire community. In fact there are many families who, despite living in Palo Alto, do not have the resources to pay for tutoring services to enable their students to succeed in school. Kate Young first identified this need to provide greater academic support to low-income families in Palo Alto, while working in her capacity as Director of Resident Services at Palo Alto Housing Corporation. It was this identified need that first prompted the launch of DreamCatchers, which now provides the only free, long-term, one-on-one tutoring for students in Palo Alto.

As DreamCatchers began, we discovered an inspiring array of dedicated individuals and organizations passionate about influencing education within the Palo Alto community. As a result, we have brought together a wide array of partnerships in support of our program, making the Palo Alto community an ideal home for our efforts.

Why Stanford University?

As we launched our tutoring program in Palo Alto, we saw enormous potential to draw upon the resources and expertise from leading scholars at Stanford University. Bringing together experts from the leading research institution, we have worked to develop a program of the highest caliber which influences the lives of Palo Alto middle school students and Stanford students alike.