Saturday Place

Charged with wanting to inspire the community just as he had been by a third-grade teacher, former Chicago Bear Wide Receiver, Rashied Davis, along with his wife Dianna established Saturday Place in 2010.

The Davis’ wanted Saturday Place to be a refuge and training ground that would challenge students to see beyond their current circumstances and live to their full potential, just as Davis’ teacher inspired him to overcome his impoverished South Central Los Angeles neighborhood and make it to a major NFL team.

Understanding that just one experience can change the course of a person’s life, Saturday Place is a thriving program that enables Chicago kids to improve their academic proficiency in a fun, confidence-building, judgement-free environment.

We’d like to thank our Keynote Speaker for our 2026 graduation ceremony: Yanet Garcia!

Yanet is the Vice President of Construction at Related Midwest!

She leads Related Midwest’s efforts to promote equal contracting with minority- and women-owned businesses, overseeing community engagement and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Thank you Yanet for being an inspiration to the next generation of Saturday Place!

To watch a clip of Yanet’s speech:
https://tinyurl.com/2vaems4w

We’d like to thank our Alumni Speaker for our 2026 graduation ceremony: Nautica Sandoval!

Nautica graduated from the Saturday Place program in 2018 and has recently graduated high school at UIC College Prep!

She will be attending University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign this fall and we cannot be more proud of her and all that she has accomplished!

Thank You Nautica for being an inspiration to the next generation of Saturday Place!

☀️Schools out for the summer for Chicago Public Schools! We’d like to congratulate our Saturday Place students on a good job this year! Happy Summer!

🎓Here’s a first look at our 2026 graduation ceremony!

All of us at Saturday Place are very proud of our 4th grade graduates and are extremely excited to see where their success in the Saturday Place program takes them!

Thanks to our Saturday Place parents, teachers, and donors for making this school year a success!

More highlights to come shortly!

🎓Here’s a first look at our 2026 graduation ceremony!

All of us at Saturday Place are very proud of our 4th grade graduates and are extremely excited to see where their success in the Saturday Place program takes them!

Thanks to our Saturday Place parents, teachers, and donors for making this school year a success!

More highlights to come shortly!

🎓Graduation is 10 days away! Help support our students graduating this Spring!

On May 30th, our 4th grade students will graduate from the Saturday Place program, marking the end of an incredible journey filled with growth, resilience, and achievement. Many have achieved significant academic growth, while also developing social-emotional skills that will guide them far beyond the classroom.

But graduation is a beginning. As our students take their next steps, your support can help ensure they continue to thrive. Donations make it possible for us to:

📍Provide high-quality academic programming for future students
📍Offer enrichment experiences that inspire curiosity and confidence
📍Support families and build strong school partnerships
📍Continue empowering young learners who need it most

Your gift today is an investment in a child’s future.
As we celebrate this year’s graduating class, we invite you to stand with them to honor for their hard work and help open doors to even greater opportunities ahead.

Saturday Place has real, proven benefits. Our students not only improve their academic performance, but maintain their improvements as they advance through higher grades.

Our students may arrive performing as the lowest in their classroom, however by the end of the academic year, our students minimally demonstrate:

📍Over 45% improvement in writing
📍Over 5% improvement in spelling
📍Over 10% improvement in reading comprehension
📍Over 20% improvement in math

An independent program evaluation of Saturday Place by Loyola University School of Education identified a wide range of benefit for students including:

– Improved academic performance and academic self-sufficiency.
– Student development in key social-emotional learning domains.
– Greater reading and math growth on national standardized tests among program alumni in 5th and 6th grades.
– Increased desire among students to attend college.
– Improved relationship skills at home and in school.
– Cultivation of a healthy sense of self-awareness and self-esteem.

On Saturday, May 2nd, we were thrilled to welcome a special guest, Patsy’s Promise, who treated our students to a fun and memorable experience.

Through an exciting ice cream truck visit, students were rewarded with free ice cream after a morning of teamwork and also completion of our end-of-year assessment. In addition, students received a Highlight book to celebrate their efforts and accomplishments.

Thank you Patsy’s Promise for giving our students a well deserve reward for all their hard work through the school year!

This Mothers Day, we’d like to highlight the mothers of our Saturday Place students and graduates. These mothers go above and beyond by ensuring their child is ready to learn not only for the typical school week, but for the Saturday Place program every Saturday too. We appreciate your efforts to help us ensure that our students are prepared for our program and are able to successfully complete it to continue onto a more successful education.