About Us
Cada Casa facilitates equitable, impassioned learning and cultural enrichment through interest exploration, skill building, creative expression, and community development opportunities for everyone.
Guiding Principles
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Commitment to Equitable Opportunities
Cada Casa advances equity by providing accessible intercultural education, athletic programs, skill-building, and civic engagement opportunities for students; with a focus on BIPOC, Latino/x, and other disadvantaged communities. CC develops an impassioned learning curriculum and facilitates cultural enrichment for school clubs throughout Oregon.
In addition to targeting marginalized schools and areas, we believe that our students should see themselves in their instructors. All of our instructors are artists from our local POC community. Furthermore, we strive to provide a nuanced pairing of instructors and target students. For instance, in NE Portland (Jefferson HS, 33% Black) we would have more BIPOC instructors but in Washington County (Beaverton HS, 44% Latino) we would use Latinx instructors.
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DIT: Do It Together
Although we embrace the philosophy of building instead of buying (creation over-consuming), we also encourage the concept of DIT: Do It Together. There are people in the community around you who are experienced and passionate about the topics that interest you. Cada Casa aims to help connect youth with similarly passionate mentors/teachers/individuals/organizations, provide the materials, and the opportunity to let you explore the world around you.
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Skill Building & Knowledge Intersection
While school separates knowledge into different classes, Cada Casa offers integrated learning opportunities that demonstrate how discrete skills are applicable to youth in modern life. The result is an increased understanding of an ecosystem of disciplines that facilitates the development of critical, capable, creative, renaissance humans. The screen printer learns basic accounting and color theory; the barista explores ecology and engineering; the music producer organizes shows and conceptualizes digital marketing.
History
In 2008, Tymon spent 6 months living and working at a children's home in Cusco, Peru. While teaching English, and acting as Director of Extracurricular Activities, Tymon found that there was a disconnection between the children's perception of education and its relation to their life. A new class was created where passionate college students and US volunteers came and spoke to the group about what they do, and how education was integral to this process. Classes included the creation of a newspaper, mock-archeology excavations, screen-printing, web-site development, musicianship, and more. It became apparent that people could become great educators when assisted with curriculum development and when done so with great passionate. Returning to the US, Tymon brought this idea of transforming enthusiastic, inspired members of our community into educators of new, interesting classes.
Cada Casa was started to offer a different form of learning for today's youth. The idea behind community education is that there is a wealth of skills and information that can be learned from one's environment. It is the role of Cada Casa to facilitate such learning. Founder, Tymon Emch, has spent over a decade working with children in many forums, which has eventually led to the creation of this educator/student facilitation. Tymon is a Dual Language (Two-Way Immersion) Science teacher in the Beaverton school district, but Cada Casa started well before this.
In 2008, initial classes included Bilingual Soccer, Art Movements and Techniques, and Conversational Spanish, and Math Tutoring. With support from the community, Cada Casa grew and partnered with PoetHouse art to provide more and more classes. These programs became more popular, and soon we were in public middle and high schools, rehabilitation centers, hospitals, half-way homes, and much more.
In 2013 we offered our first full-day summer school hosted at Straub Middle School, in Salem, Oregon. Students chose their own four class schedule with a wide range of academic, arts, and sport classes. This year also started to offer our classes in the Beaverton School District funded by internal grants. These classes included Spoken Poetry is Transformational (Beaverton High and Meadow Park), Electronic Music Production (Beaverton High), and other soccer and arts programs for a variety of schools and ages.
Non Discriminatory Policy
Cada Casa International does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.
Cada Casa International is an equal-opportunity employer. We will not discriminate and will take affirmative action measures to ensure against discrimination in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee or job applicant on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran's status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression