Inspired by Black Panthers, San Mateo preschool thrives

The Black Panther Party was known for its Marxist origins and open carry patrols to keep an eye on police and to make social change. It was seen as militant by some and self-reliant and protective by others. It also created about 60 programs across the country like the Intercommunal Youth Institute in Oakland, which started as a free breakfast program for children in 1969. That breakfast program became a central part of the Survival Programs, which acted as community centers across the nation.

Here in San Mateo, it was founded in a 1916 fixer-upper on Second Avenue just west of Fremont Street July 10, 1972, by Phil Lind and Betsy Woodward. They were anti-Vietnam war demonstrators and community activists who sought to model the nascent program after the Black Panther Party’s Survival Program as, at the time, North Central San Mateo, was 80% Black. Now, the neighborhood is predominately Latino.

It was a community-based child development center free for low-income parents through grants and other funding. In the beginning, the 10 children who attended were offered three free meals a day and it was open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. They had bake sales, rummage sales, fashion shows, raffles and spaghetti dinners. It also received a grant from the California Department of Education in 1978.

While the beginning was imbued with an activist co-op feel, over time the school has shifted into a more traditional program with a new name — Intercommunal Preschool — though there is still plenty of parent participation. Today, director Mindy Camacho contends with binders of regulations, requirements and paperwork to ensure compliance with state regulations. The program is no longer free, but has a range of reduced fees that scale depending on family income and household size. She is also contending with a teacher shortage as the state requires fairly high levels of education and training for such a facility. In addition, the expansion of transitional kindergarten has prompted some families to go that route instead of a more traditional preschool.

Still, there is a definite community vibe in the house restored into immaculate shape, though, its stairs creak hello on certain steps. Kids snack on homegrown cherry tomatoes while laughing around a squat table. Toys and books are tucked neatly away in nearly every available corner. Its paint is kept up. Ceiling and plaster repair and basic electrical work are taken care of on project days and the moms come and clean, Camacho said.

For Camacho, arriving at the preschool was a natural progression. Like most preschool directors, she started teaching and moved up. Her last job was with the Child Care Coordinating Council, a countywide organization that assists and promotes early education facilities. At Intercommunal, part of her payment is love and hugs, she laughed. And helping the neighborhood and its children.

“What we do here is going to help the next generation. We want these kids to be excited to learn,” Camacho said. “Creating a solid foundation so parents know they have to participate in school, sometimes we are even teaching parents to sign their own name because they have to for sign in.”

Camacho believes strongly in the original Survival School mission that has evolved over time into its new name, Intercommunal Preschool. Thirteen kids will graduate today, and Lind and Woodward are bringing tables and chairs.

“I want all these kiddos to be successful and their parents to be successful,” Camacho said. “And this place is special. It’s special Phil and Betsy are still a part of this.”

Woodward is a former minister who has a Christian education building named after her at the Congregational Church of San Mateo on Tilton Avenue and has worked with Homework Central and the Atkinson Foundation. Lind turned to education where he ended up as principal at Clifford School in Redwood City. They ran the school for its first 14 years, getting community help to make repairs and remodel the basement into more classroom space.

Now that it is 50 years later, the little school in the fixer-upper is not only surviving, it’s thriving.

“It’s so wonderful and surprising,” Woodward said. “I never thought it would last 50 years.”

Jon Mays is the editor in chief of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at jon@smdailyjournal.com. Follow Jon on Twitter @jonmays.