“I love to dance. I used to always dance in my room because I wasn’t brave enough to dance in front of my family. Now The Wooden Floor has helped me be comfortable dancing in front people, which feels good. The Wooden Floor helped me get those nervous thoughts out. I’m in the Annual Concert and it is a dream for me. I really care about getting good grades because I want my family to be proud of me. My tutor is really good at math. I always ask him lots of questions, and I don’t want to miss any tutoring sessions. I want to have a good future and support my family since they didn’t go to college.” – Karen, The Wooden Floor Class of 2027
Karen has demonstrated exceptional self-motivation while at The Wooden Floor, especially during the pandemic, in despite of the hardships this year has brought to her family. Karen completed tutoring with 100% attendance in the last academic year, always arriving early and eager to learn. She loves to engage in conversations and deeply cares for others. Karen dreams of becoming a school vice principal and the first in her family to achieve a college degree.
Founded in 1983, The Wooden Floor is one of the foremost creative youth development nonprofit organizations in the country. We transform the lives of young people in low-income communities through the power of dance and access to higher education. In Orange County, and through national licensed partners, we use a long-term approach grounded in exploratory dance education to foster the confidence and gifts within each child to innovate, communicate, and collaborate – skills necessary for success in school and in life. 100 percent of students who graduate from The Wooden Floor immediately enroll in higher education. Our students become change agents and beacons of hope within their own families, their neighborhoods, our community, and our world.