Life Learning Academy

Specialties

Since 1998, Life Learning Academy has built an profoundly successful record of leading disconnected Bay Area teens to academic, career and life success.

The small classes, active counseling and peer support groups, and project-​based learning model spark student interest, and create a thriving community. The school’s Workforce Development program opens employment opportunities for students while they earn their SFUSD diploma, and 1:1 college and career counseling support each student to set and achieve goals for the future.

LLA specializes in supporting underserved students of all types, including those plagued by violence, substance abuse, homelessness, incarceration, and poverty, and also those who feel lost, disconnected, and unequipped for high school completion.

LLA proudly maintains 90% attendance and graduation rates, and 100% nonviolent community free of fights, bullying and intimidation. MISSION: The Life Learning Academy is committed to creating a nonviolent community for students who have not been successful in traditional school settings. LLA welcomes students into an ‘extended family’ which motivates everyone to give and receive support, develop responsibility and judgment, and build the academic, vocational and social skills necessary to be successful.

History

Established in 1998.

LLA emerged from an extraordinary community planning process that involved a broad spectrum of public agencies and community-​based organizations serving high-​risk youth in San Francisco, as well as high-​risk youth themselves and their families. Delancey Street was hired by Mayor Willie Brown in 1996 to assess the City’s juvenile justice system and create a plan for reform.

One of the most frequent recommendations that emerged from this extensive community assessment process was for an extended-​day, structured, comprehensive school program that provided hands-​on, project-​based learning and a school-​to-​career focus. Most participants described this ideal program as having small class sizes and targeting youth with a multiplicity of problems including documented school and family problems.

In response to these recommendations, the Delancey Street Foundation developed the Life Learning Academy.

Meet the Manager

Teri D.

Manager

Dr. Teri Delane is the Principal of Life Learning Academy

Teri’s story:

I was kicked out of school in the ninth grade with a serious heroin abuse problem. I spent a year locked in a juvenile detention facility After an overdose, the Delancey Street Foundation saved my life by surrounding me with people who would not allow me to fail. Through the help of my mentors, I was able to get my life together, return to school, earn a Ph. D. in Clinical Psychology, and become a positive influence for anyone who needs a second chance.

I teach that the best way to change your life is by helping others. Since 1998, we have maintained a school free of violence, threats, and substance abuse, and full of respect, peer support, and unwavering dedication to change.