Keylatch Afterschool
Staff Contact Information:
Tati Burgos
tatiana@pbha.org
Student Director Contact Information:
kasp@pbha.org
Keylatch Afterschool provides South End Boston students with enriching academic guidance through tutoring as well as fun, interactive social time! This fall we are also excited to expand to include virtual 1-1 mentorship, pairing volunteers with Keylatchers for additional support.
PBHA's Keylatch Afterschool program provides youth from Boston's South End and Lower Roxbury with a high quality, enriching experience outside the classroom. Keylatch staff, families, and community leaders engage the youth in activities designed to allow them to explore new opportunities, deepen cultural and community pride, and foster a love of learning. Through activity-based curricula and focused attention, Keylatch seeks to provide youth with the academic, social, and civic support necessary to perpetuate the values of service and leadership within and beyond their communities.
History of Keylatch
The Keylatch Program began in 1982 as an afterschool tutoring program for children in the Villa Victoria Housing Development, a mainly Latino community in the South End of Boston. Within two years, the Keylatch Program received requests from parents and the community leaders to expand the program through the summer. Thus, the Keylatch Summer Program was started in 1984 as an educational and recreational program that would complement the afterschool program. Remi Cruz and Vicky Rivera, hired a small staff of counselors and became the program’s first directors. The group then followed PBHA tradition by moving into the community to better understand and respond the needs of its families. In 1989, the program expanded to include the children of the nearby Tent City Development, made up of mainly African Americans. Today, the afterschool program, summer program, and mentoring program serve children of the South End and Lower Roxbury neighborhoods of Boston.