The 49ers Academy is a unique partnership - a public alternative school, supported by a private non-profit agency. Ravenswood Communities in Schools (CIS) was incorporated in 1996 and is designed to support the San Francisco 49ers Academy. As a separately incorporated affiliate of the National Communities In Schools, Inc., Ravenswood CIS utilizes a collaborative approach to deliver a variety of services to the 49ers Academy, students and families.

The 49ers Academy serves 6th, 7th and 8th grade students who benefit from a small, nurturing and personalized environment. The population is primarily made up of low-income minority youth and it is safe to say that many of the kids served by the 49ers Academy exhibit high-risk behaviors. These children are often characterized as hard to reach and hard to teach. Next to the family, the Academy is the major source of development for these students. Our goal, quite simply, is to keep these kids in school.

The 49ers Academy provides a caring community where the emphasis is on one-on-one relationships to promote academic success in children who have struggled in other school programs. A talented, caring staff establishes high expectations in the belief that every student can and will achieve academic success.

What makes us special?

• Our Students!!
• Public School Supported by a Private Nonprofit Organization
• Part of the California Department of Education’s Alternative Accountability System
• Project Based Learning
• Single Gender Instruction*
• Services are brought into the school
• A Philosophy that “Programs Don’t Change Kids, Relationships Do”

*For more information about single gender education, please visit www.singlesexschools.org

Support services provided by the 49ers Academy include but are not limited to:

• After school programs
• Anger management groups
• Conflict resolution program
• Dream Team Scholarship Program
• Grief counseling
• Group, individual and family counseling
• Health educator services
• Individual case management by student advocates and interns
• Mentors offered through the Academy’s Mentor program in partnership with Big Brothers/Big Sisters
• Parenting classes
• Peer tutoring
• Project Based Learning
• Teen pregnancy prevention program
• Testing/evaluation
• Tutoring and homework assistance
• Single gender instruction
• Skills Academy
• Support/staff services for referral to special resources