Tutoring Center

Kids love the CFM Tutoring Center! It's a great place to make friends, receive help with homework, and experience daily adventures. Weekdays 4:00-6pm, ages 7-18.

So Much Fun!

The Cloud and Fire Tutoring Center is an inviting, after school oasis where kids strengthen their academic skills and build friendships for a lifetime. CFM Staff and Volunteers offer homework assistance, skill enrichment, mentoring, and a wide variety of extracurricular activities that keep youth ages 7-18 years old engaged and learning. Optional faith activities also help develop character and provide a compass for youth who are trying to find their way.

In addition to important learning activities, Cloud and Fire is a place to have FUN! Crafts, music, dance, photography, field trips, and even camping are regular features of the amazing Cloud and Fire Tutoring Center experience. We want to equip others for life’s journey, and help young people experience life to the fullest.

Lasting Impact - 95% Graduate On Time

We have a saying at CFM: “Once in Cloud and Fire, always in Cloud and Fire!” That’s because children and teens in our programs keep coming back for more. Cloud and Fire is like a second home—a place to come every day after school. Most of our students enter the program during elementary school and remain all the way through high school. Some even stay longer, and continue attending Cloud and Fire activities well into college. Many now volunteer their time to help build up the next generation, serving as leaders, board members, and even staff.

Since 1999, Cloud and Fire has provided quality after-school programs to youth in North Hills, Panorama City, Arleta, and Van Nuys. These areas are known for low-performing schools and high dropout rates. In fact, recent figures place the dropout rate for Monroe High School at a shocking 76% (United States Department of Education, 2006). In spite of this appalling figure, 95% of Cloud and Fire youth graduate high school on time. Even better, 99% of Cloud and Fire high school grads go on to obtain some form of post-secondary education. This is strong evidence that what we are doing truly makes a difference! What is the secret of our success? Love—especially God’s love—really works!

Stopping Gangs

Cloud and Fire prevents youth from joining gangs. How do we do it? We simply give youth a better alternative. Though gangs are abundant in our community, we find that youth really are looking for positive alternatives. They want a place where they can belong and a place where there is strength to withstand life’s challenges. CFM does all this, and youth respond.

As Woody Allen once said, “Showing up is half the battle.” Since 1999, Cloud and Fire has been in North Hills, showing up day after day to keep youth safe, build community, and ultimately, experience the love of God.

The Cloud and Fire Tutoring Center plays a key role in Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Gang Reduction Youth Development (GRYD) Strategy. As the only service provider in North Hills for that program, we are the “go-to” place for youth ages 10-15 who are identified as at-risk of joining gangs. Our collaborators in that program are New Directions for Youth, LAPD Jeopardy, and El Centro de Amistad.

Enriching Activites

Cloud and Fire’s wide array of extracurricular activities help youth experience the beauty, opportunity, and possibilities around them. Performing arts workshops, sporting events, wilderness activities, and field trips of almost every imaginable kind are regular offerings for Cloud and Fire’s Tutoring Center youth. These activities enrich lives and foster a sense of adventure in youth who would otherwise be confined to the stifling confines of concrete urban neighborhoods.

Performing Arts

SPARK! is a program of recurring arts workshops that introduce youth to acting, dance, magic, music, painting, photography, sculpture, voice over, and a host of other arts activities. Industry professionals from Bel Air Presbyterian Church bring their creative energy to Cloud and Fire every six weeks to share with our students. We are grateful to Bel Air Presbyterian Church and the Bel Air Drama Department (BADD) for dreaming up and implementing this amazing project!

Recently, one SPARK! activity received a great deal of attention in artistic circles in the San Fernando Valley. The Valley Cultural Center’s Photography as Art contest featured the photos of young Cloud and Fire photographers. There were more than 200 applicants in the youth division, and only twelve finalists chosen. Of those 12 finalists, seven were Cloud and Fire youth! Special thanks to Mark Baer, our amazing photography instructor! To the right, you can see a slide show of some of the photos.

Drum Circle

Thanks to Remo Drums and drum instructor Ossie Mair, Cloud and Fire is pleased to offer an exciting drum circle experience on Wednesday afternoons. The drum circle instills teamwork, listening, and confidence in students who have no other musical outlet. Come join us for a rambunctious rhythmic adventure that will rock your socks!

Cloud & Fire and the Sierra Club

Did you know the Sierra Club has an Inner City Outreach? Every year, Sierra Club ICO groups throughout the country conduct outings that help youth learn how to enjoy the outdoors safely and responsibly. The Los Angeles Sierra Club ICO provides fantastic hikes and snow days for Cloud and Fire kids, and has provided scholarships for youth to attend their Wilderness Survival Course. The Sierra Club’s ICO program is helping inner city youth become wilderness explorers! Check the calendar for upcoming hikes.

Royal Rangers

Cloud and Fire is a chartered outpost of Royal Rangers, a Christian scouting program for boys. This high-impact program is designed to evangelize, equip, and empower the next generation of leaders. In Royal Rangers, boys can really be boys, and have fun while learning important life lessons. CFM’s Royal Rangers program is currently open to elementary and middle school boys.

Find out more about upcoming Tutoring Center activities on our calendar.