OCT
CHICANOS
2 017
POR
LA
CAUSA
PUBLIC • PRIVATE • CHARTER
SCHOOL CHOICE WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
CONTENTS
C H I C A N OS
P O R
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C AU S A
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COVER STORY
S C H OO L C H O I C E : W H AT YO U N E E D TO K N OW
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CPLC UPDATES
S O U T H O F T H E BO R D E R P ROG R A M U P DAT ES C L I E N T I M PAC T R E P O RT: C P LC LU C ES I T R E P O RT
A BO U T C H I CA N OS P O R L A CAU SA Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) is an all-encompassing organization for the underserved. CPLC was founded in 1969 to confront oppression facing Latinos in Phoenix, Arizona as part of the movement led by Cesar Chavez, who undertook a fast at our original headquarters. Since then, we have become one of the largest Hispanic nonprofits in the country, promoting stronger and healthier communities throughout the southwestern United States. We provide direct services impacting more than 250,000 individuals annually in Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. Our vibrant community presence spans a comprehensive range of bilingual and bicultural services in Economic Development, Education, Health & Human Services, and Housing. As one of the largest community development corporations in Arizona, we are focused on individuals and families with low to moderate income levels and complement our services with cultural and linguistic competencies.
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PUBLIC • PRIVATE • CHARTER
SCHOOL CHOICE WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW by JONAE HARRISON, CPLC Policy Analyst
Arizona public schools face a number of challenges. • Arizona ranks 48th in the country in public school funding • There are 2,200 classrooms across Arizona without a teacher • Arizona ranks last in the nation for teacher pay • $1.5 billion was slashed in funding to Arizona schools during the Great Recession, with Prop 123 (2016) only restoring 18% of cuts • Rural schools and those with a majority of lower socioeconomic students are losing more teachers • Arizona students receive 31% less in per-pupil funding that the national average
Understanding the many education options in Arizona can seem intimidating. P
opular terms such as “school choice,” “parent choice,” and “best interests of the student” litter education dialogue. But before a parent can choose the right school, they must understand the differences between the varied platforms that form the base of this “choice.”
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
CHARTER SCHOOLS
Public school is the most common school option. Public school can mean traditional district schools, charter schools, online schools, and alternative schools. Arizona public schools are regulated by the Arizona Department of Education (“ADE”). The ADE, as of September 2013, was comprised of 230 districts and 406 charter holders, of which there are 2000 public schools—1500 traditional public schools and 500 charter schools.
Charter schools were first introduced in Arizona in 1994. They account for nearly one third of all public schools in the state. Though they receive public funding and are subject to public accountability, they are privately owned. Funding for charter schools has increased from $231.2M in FY2015 to a proposed maximum of $300M in FY2020.
With the advent of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaces No Child Left Behind, states are moving away from a focus on standardized tests as a measure of a public school’s success. These ESSA procedures are designed to help ensure that “every student, regardless of their zip code, will have the support, tools and time to learn that they need to succeed” and that “educators’ voices are part of the decision making process.” The specific procedures are being formulated in Arizona through a series of forums and town halls conducted by Diane Douglas, Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Given the infancy of Arizona’s charter school program (just 23 years old), their review process has led to unforeseen consequences: Charter schools are reviewed after 15 years. However, there is limited review of a charter school’s performance during this 15-year span. This looser accountability gives way to the potential for continued operations of failing schools.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHERS
Private schools are privately owned entities, like charter schools. While they can take many forms, the most common are parochial (ie. Catholic) schools, which account for 57% of Arizona private schools. Private schools are known for smaller classroom sizes, higher graduation rates, and higher enrollment in college. Unlike public or charter schools, parents of children in private schools can be responsible for the costs of tuition as well as additional fees such as books and uniforms. There are approximately 478 private schools in Arizona educating 64,840 students.
Vouchers act as a bridge between public funds and private schools. Arizona’s voucher program, called the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA), began in 2011 as a way to give students with special needs access to additional academic resources. The program provides qualifying students with a $5,000 credit towards their private school tuition. It has since expanded to include access for foster children, children from poor-performing schools, children of military families, residents of Native American reservations, and siblings of current ESA program participants. Under the law signed by Governor Ducey on April 6, 2017, up to 30,000 Arizona students can be eligible for the program by 2020, pending a referendum vote on the November 2018 election.
Unlike charter schools, private schools are not subject to public accountability or standardized regulation. They can limit enrollment based on gender as well as testing and language.
Some of the lesser known facts about the current functionality of the program include: • Vouchers are least used by low-income, minority, and rural students • 75% of voucher users leave “A” and “B” quality (high-performing) schools • 4% of users leave failing schools Some of the unintended consequences of a voucher program can be: • Unavailability to those actually in need • Misappropriation of funds due to lack of accounting • Inexperienced pool of teachers at voucher schools • High levels of student attrition
To make the right “choice” for your student and make your voice heard in the discussion, you first must be armed with information. Pay attention, familia, these policies affect you.
CPLC’S HEAD START PROGRAMS NEED YOUR HELP! THE MOST CRITICAL YEARS A child’s brain develops more during the first five years than at any other time in life. These critical years have a lasting impact on a child’s ability to learn and succeed in school and beyond. That’s why CPLC’s single largest program is our Early Childhood Development (ECD) Head Start services. This program provides early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families across the state, giving them a chance to succeed. However, our Federal funding for Head Start is contingent on the program receiving individual donations. That means your contribution is crucial to this program’s continued operation.
YOUR DONATION CAN BE FULLY REFUNDED UNDER ARIZONA’S TAX CREDIT PROGRAM! Donations to CPLC are eligible for the Arizona Tax Credit for Contributions to Qualifying Charitable Organizations. You can receive up to $400 ($800 for couples) of your donation back at tax time, either by reducing the amount you owe or increasing your refund. Please provide a hand up to low-income children across Arizona by contributing to CPLC’s Early Childhood Develop program.
DONATE NOW!
SOUTH OF THE
BORDER by EMILIO GAYNOR , CPLC Business Enterprise
Chicanos Por La Causa leads meeting between high-level Mexico and Arizona leaders to improve bi-national business and political relations.
C
hicanos Por La Causa’s ongoing efforts to make a positive impact through relationships with Mexico have continued to raise our profile. Recently, we led a discussion with one of the most important politicians in Mexico—Miguel Angel Mancera, Governor of Mexico City and President of the Mexican Confederation of Governors (CONAGO)— and members of the Arizona Legislature and Arizona private, academic and non-profit sector during an AZ delegation visit. Gathering 24 Arizona legislators and more than 50 business and community leaders, the mission was the largest Arizona delegation ever in Mexico City. The event was organized by the President of the International and Local Affairs Committee of the AZ Legislature, Rep. Tony Rivero, and co-chaired by CPLC President & CEO David Adame Mexico City Governor, Miguel Angel Mancera, welcomed David Adame, CPLC Board Chair Carmen Cornejo, Dr. Eunice Rendon, Rep. Tony Rivero and CPLC senior staff for a discussion regarding several points of mutual interest related to business opportunities between CPLC and Mexico City’s business leaders, during a private
meeting with the Governor prior to the general meeting with the Arizona Legislature. The discussions focused on responsible and sustainable economic development and how the Arizona Legislature is formalizing activities to ensure
We led a discussion with one of the most important politicians in Mexico... and members of the Arizona Legislature that Arizona’s relationship with Mexico continues to grow in a positive manner. Immediately following, at the meeting with the rest of the legislative delegation, David Adame and Tony Rivero discussed how CONAGO and Arizona might work together on topics of mutual interest such as: • Continuing to generate and strengthen alliances with CPLC, the Arizona Legislature, Arizona State University, the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and other key actors in the Mexico-United States relationship
• Seeking cooperation agreements between CONAGO, CPLC, and Arizona lawmakers to create sustainable and responsible economic development opportunities while protecting human rights • Promoting the economic and academic development of people on both sides of the border • Sharing experiences and studies that increase awareness of the problems facing Mexican nationals in the United States and generating mutually beneficial solutions • Coordinating support to reduce the negative impact on Mexicans returned to Mexico, whether through deportation or willing return, to help facilitate their reintegration into their destination and society • Supporting programs that protect migrants and others who suffer from abuse, human trafficking, and violence in the United States
PROGRAM UPDATES
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
AZ CARDINALS TREAT CPLC DE COLORES CLIENTS TO DINNER! by GERARDO PEÑA, CPLC De Colores On September 18th, players from the Arizona Cardinals prepared Teppenki style Japanese food for 40 De Colores clients and staff at Sapporo’s Restaurant. The players entertained and cooked in several cooking stations, creating a truly memorable evening for the clients, who interacted with players and cheerleaders, obtained autographs, and took pictures. The Cardinals gave their guests t-shirts, memorabilia, and game tickets. The Cardinals made sure to take care of the children at De Colores as well. They set up Kid Zone equipment at the shelter and, along with the Cardinals Mascot, Big Red, entertained 25 children while their parents went out to dinner.
The clients in our program all have faced domestic violence at the hands of a partner. Being treated with dignity and respect by important people, especially by men, helps improve their self-esteem and change their perception of men. The De Colores clients who attended the event all reported that they felt very special that the Cardinals organization and the players would take time to out of their busy schedules to serve them. One client even said she felt like a princess. After what these women have been through, feeling special is truly significant.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
EDUCATION
REAL ESTATE OPERATIONS
A $16 MILLION YEAR FOR CPLC PRESTAMOS
CPLC ENVISION CREATES OPPORTUNITIES
A NEW HOME FOR VIVE ESPERANZA
by JOSE MARTINEZ and TERESA MIRANDA, CPLC Business Enterprise
by DANIEL MORALES, CPLC Envision High School
CPLC Prestamos cdfi is making a huge impact in the community by providing capital to small businesses such as: • A new burger restaurant that started as a food cart • An international plastics manufacturer • A print shop • A commercial contractor Prestamos deployed an impressive $16 million in capital, compared to $5.5 million the previous year; the business lending portion of the deployment was approximately $10 million with the additional $6 million going to New Markets Tax Credit financing, CPLC’s first such transaction since 2012. This growth has been made possible by the tremendous work of the Prestamos team. The team secured a $15 million low interest capital investment from the USDA and raised nearly $2.3 million in grant funding commitments while improving our portfolio performance to the lowest delinquency in 8 years at 1.46%, among the lowest in the industry. This great work led to a total profit of $1.8 million and an increase to over $20 million total assets, making Prestamos one of the most successful CDFI’s in the country.
Charles began high school at a local traditional high school, where he was quickly expelled. He explored other high schools including charter schools, but he was continuously withdrawn, primarily for missing a lot of school. This process left Charles far behind on his high school credits. Charles explored credit recovery programs, including an online program where he recovered some credits, but he was still unsuccessful. Disillusioned by this experience, but still interested in earning his diploma, Charles heard about CPLC Community Schools’ credit recovery program and decided to give it a try. At CPLC Envision High School, one of CPLC’s two Community Schools, Charles is displaying phenomenal results. He has yet to miss a day of school and he is successfully passing all of his classes. With CPLC Community Schools’ unique academic program, Charles will not only be able to earn additional credits, he will graduate on time to receive his well-deserved diploma.
by ALLISIA FIORINI, CPLC Real Estate Operations Hope Lives provides behavioral health support and outreach to people in diverse communities with an emphasis in Forensic Peer Support services for individual and/ or group skill building, employment, community re-entry, psychoeducation, and psycho-social rehabilitation in addition to other social services for individuals with unmet needs. Hope Lives was one of CPLC’s first tenants in the Buckeye Commerce Plaza and has since expanded services, requiring additional space in order to provide services to the community. To meet this need for more space, CPLC’s Real Estate Division renovated a property on W. Van Buren St. that CPLC had acquired in 2016.
WE IMPROVE LIVES our nationally- recognized* wholistic program helps hiv patients:
GET DIAGNOSED NAVIGATE HEALTHCARE INSURANCE GET MEDICAL TREATMENT ATTEND SUPPORT GROUPS STAY IN CARE *nominated for national quality center award; awarded ryan white award
WE ARE EXPANDING OUR IMPACT total clients impacted
WE PRIMARILY SERVE HISPANIC MEN
78% are male
1,810
87 % are hispanic 44%
1,256 2015
2/3 live below the poverty line
2016
clients use luces services
190 infected clients 570 affected clients 1,050 outreach clients
2 X/month
2 % are transgender clients provide
8 referrals/month
WE HELP CLIENTS ACHIEVE SUPPRESSED VIRAL LOADS healthier hiv-diagnosed people lower risk of transmitting hiv to others
72% 91% pre post
healthier maricopa county meeting nation’s goal to eliminate aids by
2020
WE HAVE SATISFIED CLIENTS overall client satisfaction
4.9 1
5
satisfied clients are more likely to take their medicine and continue treatment
CPLC
LUCES
LATINOS UNIDOS CONTRA EL SIDA
2 0 1 6 P ROG R A M O U TCO M ES S N A P S H OT
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