BELL 2010 Annual Report

BELL Annual Report 2010 2010 annual

report

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our vision is for all children to excel.

BELL exists to transform the academic achievements, self-confidence, and life trajectories of children living in under-resourced, urban communities. Through our summer and after school learning experiences, BELL helps children build solid foundations in reading and math and develop positive attitudes toward academic success. Because we believe in the tremendous potential of all children to excel, we recognize them as scholars.

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We face a truly momentous time in U.S. education. As a nation, we have slipped far behind the world’s leading economies in math and science knowledge, as well as in college graduation rates.

But in today’s economy, schools are stretched as never before to offer the basics and parents are left struggling to provide additional support that helps children build a strong foundation for the future. We recognize the urgency with which we must act if we are to ensure that an entire generation and our country aren’t left behind.

At BELL, we have always been guided by the firm belief that a child’s zip code shouldn’t limit how far they go in life. Last year, under the leadership of caring teachers who recognized children as scholars, we provided BELL After School and BELL Summer to close to 9,000 elementary and middle school children. With tutoring, mentoring, and enrichment, our scholars are not only learning key reading and math skills, but they are doing so at a faster rate than children across the country. Our scholars leave our programs with a greater sense of self-confidence and with what they can achieve in life.

BELL has been on a great journey over the past 19 years, and we’re lucky to have had many of you as our advocates from the beginning. We’ve come a long way from helping our first class of 20 teenagers get to college. In 2010 - 2011, we are reaching 15,000 students in seven cities. With more and more communities looking to BELL as an integral part of their education solution, we embrace our potential to change entire cities. To do so, we are embarking on a $15M growth campaign that will enable BELL to have a sizable impact in under-resourced communities across the U.S. We are so thankful for your support, and we invite you to continue your work with us in transforming our children’s life trajectories, helping them turn from students to scholars, and ensuring they grow from young leaders to well-educated and high-achieving adults of our society.

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Tiffany C. Gueye Chief Executive Officer

Laurene Sperling Chair, Board of Directors

our scholars BELL provides educational programs to children who are performing below grade-level and who live in under-resourced urban communities.

On average, children enter BELL programs performing a year or more below grade level. Early academic success is critical to children’s wellbeing through the rest of their lives because underperformance in school as early as the third grade level is highly predictive of later negative outcomes such as early pregnancy, delinquency, and dropping out of school.

In 1992, a group of Black and Latino Harvard Law School students created a program combining rigorous academic tutoring with consistent, positive mentoring to inspire children to work hard and pursue their dreams.

Their success was phenomenal. Every member of BELL’s first class of 20 students enrolled in or graduated from college, compared to fewer than 30% of their demographic peers.

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“ My students are more motivated to work in the classroom. They have gone from being passive learners to more active learners.� BELL PARTNER SCHOOL TEACHER FY 2010 in Review 8,837 students in six states benefited from small-group academic instruction, mentorship, a wide range of enrichment activities, and community engagement in BELL Summer and BELL After School in 2009-2010.

Looking forward to fy 2011 In 2010-2011, BELL is educating 15,000 scholars in our summer and after school programs throughout Augusta, Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, New York City, Newark and Springfield, MA. In FY 2011, we provided our biggest summer program in our history, reaching more than 7,000 elementary and middle school children during the summer of 2010.

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fy 2010: BELL Summer 2009 AND BELL After School 2009-2010 Location

Schools

Scholars

Augusta

16

530

Baltimore

10

1,009

Boston

7 1,429

Charlotte

3

308

Detroit, Saginaw and Flint

8

1,185

New York

28

4,376

Grand Total

72 8,837

our programs BELL After School and BELL Summer provide transformational academic and mentoring experiences designed to help children excel in school and beyond. BELL programs establish high expectations for scholars and are based on best practices in effective out-of-school-time programs.

CORE PROGRAM ELEMENTS Tutoring in Literacy and Math Teachers and tutors lead small group instruction using a skills-based curriculum aligned with state and national learning standards. Scholars also read from a library of multicultural books.

xperiential Learning and Enrichment E Scholars participate in activities in a variety of subjects such as arts, science, health, and leadership development.

entoring and Social Skills Building M BELL’s program staff serve as positive role models, encouraging smart decisions and inspiring scholars to recognize their full potential.

Rigorous Assessment and Evaluation Standardized tests and skills-based quizzes measure scholars’ academic and social gains, and reports using performance-based metrics monitor program implementation and quality.

Family Engagement and Support Families take an active role in BELL programs, meeting regularly with staff, accessing resources through BELL’s network of partnerships, and participating in workshops designed to help guardians become well-informed advocates for their children’s well-being.

Ongoing Training & Professional Development for Teachers Program staff receive comprehensive training on various topics related to child development and learning.

BELL’s training program was recognized with a national award from Training Magazine.

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School District Partnerships School districts across the country are increasingly looking to BELL as part of their solution to school reform efforts. Such public-private partnerships are more effectively enabling large-scale impact on student learning through: Greater Outcomes for Scholars Schools collaborate with BELL to ensure students most in need of academic help benefit from our programs. By the end of programs, the majority of scholars gain months worth of academic skills, increase their interest in learning, and express selfconfidence.

Individualized Support for Students BELL uses test data to craft individualized learning plans, and shares performance data with principals and teachers detailing student progress against learning standards.

Professional Development for Teachers BELL provides intensive training to staff, helping teachers further their professional development and exposing college-age tutors to careers in education.

Family Engagement Families report feeling better engaged with their child’s education because of BELL and would recommend BELL to other parents.

Leveraged Funding BELL augments a district’s funding with contributed funds from foundations, corporations, and individuals to more effectively deliver robust programming to more scholars.

“ BELL is helping me read better and makes learning fun! I want to return next summer.” BELL SCHOLAR

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our impact BELL scholars make measurable improvement in their academic performance and demonstrate positive outcomes in key indicators of future success.

With our long record of consistent and remarkable scholar outcomes, validated through a third-party study and our rigorous evaluation methods, BELL is recognized as one of the most effective out-of-school-time programs in the nation.

Goals • Scholars will increase their literacy and math skills, gaining an average minimum 3 months of reading and math skills in BELL Summer.

• Scholars will outpace national learning norms in acquiring literacy and math skills in BELL After School.

• Scholars will express self-confidence, show positive attitudes toward academic success, and set high aspirations.

• Parents and guardians will indicate greater engagement with their child’s learning.

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Outcomes • Scholars gained critical reading and math skills that help children catch up and excel in school. During summer 2009, scholars made an average 6 months of grade-equivalent gains in reading and math.

• Throughout the school year, scholars learned math and reading at an expedited rate, outpacing national student learning norms, according to Normal Curve Equivalent scores.

• Scholars showed greater self-confidence and improved attitude toward learning, according to almost 90% of parents.

• At the end of a BELL program, approximately 80% of scholars reported having college aspirations.

• More than 85% of parents and guardians indicated greater engagement with their child’s learning.

Measurement Tools • Stanford Diagnostic Tests in Reading and Math • Skills-based assessments to track progress and target instruction

Scientific Evidence of Impact BELL is unique among education organizations, as the only summer program in the country with scientific, third-party evidence of our impact on children’s academic achievement.

Researchers from the Urban Institute and Mathematica Policy found in a two-year multi-state random assignment evaluation of BELL Summer: • Statistically significant evidence that BELL Summer improved the reading skills of low-performing elementary school children.

• Evidence of positive impacts on the degree to which parents encouraged their children to read and the degree to which they read with their children.

• Customized, web-based assessment tools • Surveys on social skills development and attitudes toward academic success • Surveys on parental engagement and satisfaction

“ B ELL’s commitment to working with low-performing students has not only had a positive impact on their ability to perform on or above grade level, but on the morale of our entire school.” PRINCIPAL OF A BELL PARTNER SCHOOL 9

SUMMER LEARNING LOSS Summer learning is a critical component of the education process. All young people lose academic skills when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer. Summer learning loss is most acute among high-need students. On average, students from low-income families lose the equivalent of two months’ literacy and math skills during the summer, while students from more affluent families gain skills from programs like science camps and sports leagues. This divergence in K-8 has been shown to account for 66% of the academic achievement gap between low-income and higher-income ninth grade students. Summer learning loss is also directly linked to whether students graduate high school and attend college.

SUMMER

5TH

SUMMER

4TH

SUMMER

3RD

SUMMER

2ND

SUMMER

1ST

SUMMER

K

AVERAGE READING ACHIEVEMENT

AVERAGE READING ACHIEVEMENT

Cumulative Impact of Summer Learning Loss*

Higher Income Student No summer learning program Low Income Student No summer learning program

*N ational Center for Summer Learning. “More than a hunch: kids losing learning skills over the summer months,” research in brief. Johns Hopkins University School of Education: www.summerlearning.org/ media/researchandpublications/finalcooper121008.pdf (accessed 31 Dec. 2008).

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A Model Program • Michelle Obama highlighted BELL as among programs that represent an innovative solution making an impact at the community level.

Sources of Revenue Government

Revenue (54%) $9,286,209

• BELL was cited in legislation drafted by then-Senator Barack Obama called the STEP UP Act designed to create public funding for children to attend high-quality summer learning programs.

Foundations (29%) $4,971,882

• BELL Summer was n amed the best educational summer program for children in the nation by the National Summer Learning Association, and featured as an effective summer program model by The Wallace Foundation.

Corporations (11%) $1,861,190 Events, In-Kind &

Other Revenue (5%) $1,038,482 Individuals (1%) $89,457

Impact on COMMUNITIEs BELL’s impact extends to whole schools and communities, with growing evidence that BELL helps turn around chronically underperforming schools.

Total: $17,247,220

Allocation of Revenue

• BELL is unique among nonprofit organizations to have been invited by districts such as Baltimore City and Detroit to educate significant numbers of children across entire cities.

Program (81%) $13,706,441 General &

Administrative (14%) $2,262,885

• In NYC, BELL helped 45% of its partner schools meet Adequate Yearly Progress during the 2008-2009 school year and graduate from the Chancellor’s list of Schools in Need of Improvement.

Fundraising (5%) $860,543

• In Springfield, MA, 8th grade students who participated in BELL had higher average daily attendance compared to students who did not participate in the program and fewer dropped out of school two years after their participation in the BELL program.

FY2010 Financial Information (JULY 1, 2009 – june 30, 2010) As a recipient of Charity Navigator’s 4-star “exceptional” rating, BELL achieves the greatest impact per dollar. BELL leverages various streams of public funding to multiply the impact of private support from foundations, corporations, and individuals. To maximize our program quality and the number of scholars we can serve, BELL invests 80% of our revenue in program costs – toward hiring the best teachers, buying books, and giving children a chance to participate in music, science, leadership development, and a host of enrichment activities.

Total: $16,829,869

Major Funders

Major Funders Edna McConnell Clark Foundation

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building a stronger organization As part of our strategic growth plan to increase student academic performance and help turn around low-performing schools across the U.S., BELL seeks to invest $15M in growth capital during 2011 - 2014 toward the following core areas: I mpact & Evidence Base BELL will focus on sharing best practices to increase the quality of summer learning programs nationally and generate additional evidence of impact on student and school performance.

Capacity Investments in BELL’s infrastructure will expand our ability to deliver world-class programming at scale.

Sustainable Growth BELL will reach 48,000 scholars nationally over four years.

“ I now truly understand why it is important to go to college.” BELL ALUM

Key Initiatives In FY 10, BELL completed the following key initiatives designed to further strengthen program quality, increase scholar outcomes, and advance long-term sustainability: New School and District Partnerships A core strategy of BELL’s growth and sustainability plans focuses on developing strong partnerships with schools and districts. In 2009 and 2010, BELL launched new partnerships with districts in Augusta, Charlotte, Flint, and Saginaw, and expanded school partnerships in Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, New York City, and Springfield, MA. Middle School Programming BELL improved on our program model to better serve our growing middle school population through additional curricular resources, refined behavior management strategies, and teacher recruitment strategies.

Strengthening Enrichment To further strengthen program quality and outcomes, BELL piloted enrichment curricula in science, financial literacy, health, and leadership development.

Information Technology Infrastructure BELL launched a customized, web-based scholar management system that collects, tracks, and reports key program data related to scholar enrollment, staff recruitment and training, program quality, and outcomes.

Increased Volunteer Engagement BELL tripled the number of volunteers engaged in programrelated activities. BELL also piloted a Regional Council in New York City as a strategy to create a coalition of local champions.

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BELL Alumni Society With the generous support of the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation, the BELL Alumni Society was launched to better support our older scholars as they graduate from BELL, and to empower families to make informed decisions about their child’s future. The goal of the program is to support alumni in their transition through middle school and to create a pipeline to college by providing access to academic and social support and resources. Through the BELL Alumni Society, hundreds of families have benefited from referrals to quality outof-school time programs, information on high-performing middle and high schools, workshops on college planning, and scholarships.

Spotlight on a BELL Alumna Crisamar Martinez attended BELL throughout her elementary school years.

As a focused student, she grew to excel in math and reading. Now a junior at the John D. O’Bryant School of Math and Science in the Roxbury section of Boston, Crisamar’s academic accomplishments have been recognized with her school’s Greatest Achievement Award, the equivalent of a cum laude designation.

Crisamar serves in several leadership and volunteer positions, including on her school’s debate team, robotics club, and the Mayor’s Youth Council. Intent on studying medicine, Crisamar hopes to attend Stanford University and become a surgeon.

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Sources of Support: Donations above $1,000 through December 2010 Foundations 120 Broadway Partners Adelard A. & Valeda Lea Roy Foundation The Advantage Testing Foundation Altman Foundation Alvin & Fanny B. Thalheimer Foundation Amelia Peabody Foundation Andor Capital Management Foundation Associated Grantmakers of MA The Atlantic Philanthropies The Baltimore Community Foundation Barr Foundation Ben E. Factors Foundation Bernard & Vivian Manekin Foundation The Boston Foundation Bushrod H. Campbell & Adah F. Hall Charity Fund Charles Hayden Foundation Clayton Baker Trust Cogan Family Foundation Community Foundation for the CSRA Congregation Children of Israel Davlin Foundation Dickler Family Foundation Dorot Foundation Dorothy Mustin Buttolph Foundation Eddie C. & Sylvia Brown Family Foundation Edna McConnell Clark Foundation FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fieldstone Foundation Fordham Street Foundation France-Merrick Foundation

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Frank Family Foundation George H. & Jane A. Mifflin Fund Hale-Donovan Family Foundation Harbus Foundation Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation The Helena Rubenstein Foundation Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation Jack Kent Cooke Foundation The Leona M. & Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation Lockhart Vaughan Foundation Lone Pine Foundation, Inc. Lovett-Woodsum Family Charitable Foundation MassMutual Financial Group Max & Victoria Dreyfus Foundation National Summer Learning Association Open Society Institute – Baltimore Orchard Foundation Paul & Edith Babson Foundation Pinkerton Foundation Richard & Susan Smith Family Foundation Robert Treat Paine Association Rowland Foundation, Inc. Roy A. Hunt Foundation Samberg Family Foundation The Seth Sprague Educational & Charitable Trust The Starr Foundation Stephanie H. & David A. Spina Foundation Themistocles Fund

Tiger Foundation United Way of MA Bay & Merrimack Valley Tudor Foundation, Inc. Victoria Foundation Villa B. Webber Charitable Trust The Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation Wallace Foundation Warburg Pincus Foundation William E. Schrafft & Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust Yawkey Foundation Corporations Access to Media American Eagle Outfitters Foundation Athena Capital Advisors, LLC Bain Capital Children’s Charity, Ltd. Bank of America BNY Mellon BJ’s Charitable Foundation BlueCross BlueShield of MA Brown Rudnick Charitable Foundation Bulger & Company, LLC Capital One Castanea Partners CCI Logistics Citizens Bank Foundation Con Edison Corporate Giving Program Deutsche Bank Employees of Deutsche Bank Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation eCratchit Employees of Ernst & Young, LLP Fidelity Investments Fiduciary Trust Company

FishEye Software, Inc. Frances M. Walley Insurance Agency Fudiciary Trust Company Gillette Company Goldman Sachs & Co. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company Employees of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company MetLife Foundation National Grid Foundation New York Life Foundation Northrop Grumman Parkway Message Center, Inc. Pitney Bowes The Reebok Foundation Ropes & Gray, LLP School Specialty Skyrope Sovereign Bank Staples Foundation for Learning State Street Foundation, Inc. Target The Baupost Group Charitable Fund The Hartford ThermoFisher Scientific, Inc. Thomas H. Lee Partners, LP TJX Foundation Verizon Foundation MD Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr, LLP Individuals Dave Ament Anonymous Shergul & Alison Arshad Michael Ascione Jesse & Pamela Baker Baltimore City Combined Charity Campaign Graig Bears Dr. & Mrs. James Beck

Sumner & Susan Bell Jeane Charn Bellow Michael Berk Terence Boga Nicolas Bogard Tomas Bok Joseph & Susan Buckley Richard & Eleanor Campo Russell Carlson John Carroll John Kim & Kathy Choi Kenneth & Virginia Colburn Phil & Lisette Cooper Gregory Cullen Dolores Curtis James & Lauren Czapla Floride & Neal Dickert Elizabeth Eveillard Cynthia Francis Gregory R. Galeaz Joseph A. Gilles Arlee & Reginal Gilliam Jason Ginsburg Tiffany & Mouhamed Gueye Gene & Susan Guill Marshall & Margaret Guill Frances Hester Keith & Andrea Higgins William & Karen Huff Anna Faith Jones Nancy Kaplan Neal & Sue Karelitz Sean Kavanaugh Kathleen Kelley Brian Knez Debra Knez Margaret Leipsitz & Matthew Yarmolinsky Rebecca Lim Peter Lipson Stacey Lucchino James & Jean Lucey Donald & Bridgette Manekin Maryland Charity Campaign

Harry & Jaimie Manion Stephen J. McAnena Joe & Kathy McCarthy Doug Miller Diane M. Nardi George & Sharyn Neble Soren & Caroline Oberg Timothy O’Neil Tim & Lynne Palmer Anne Peretz Chris Piela Jean Rhodes & Dane Wittrup Robin & Sam Richardson Lora Robertson Joshua M. Ross Justin Sadrian & Lee Kellogg Nathan Salwen Robin & Steven Scari Doug & Andi Shaw Gary & Caryl Shaw Al Skinner Lauren Smith & Jim Boll Laurene & Scott Sperling Michael & Margaret Stevens Maureen Sweeney Pamela Thornton Sharon Vogt Lornette Weekes Kent Weldon Douglas & Elizabeth Williams Jeffrey Wright Elizabeth Zieglmeier Daniel Zwelling Public Sources of Funding 21st Century Community Learning Centers Advantage Afterschool Program Baltimore City Public Schools Boston Centers for Youth & Families Detroit Public Schools Flint Community Schools

MA Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (MAESE) National Heritage Academies, Detroit Office of Jobs & Community Services, Community Development Grant Program Partners in Out-of-School-Time Richmond County School System The After School Corporation (TASC) The Family League of Baltimore City, Inc. In-Kind Donations Boston Celtics Boston Red Sox Game On! Gemini Graphics Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Joyce Kulhawik & Andrew Cohen Maryland Food Bank Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP New England Patriots Charitable Foundation Northeastern University, Sport in Society The New England Patriots Universal Cheerleaders Association Board of Directors Laurene Sperling, Board Chair Nick Bogard, President, J. Nicholas Arthur Dr. Tiffany Cooper Gueye, CEO Gene Guill, Managing Director, Loan Exposure Management Group, Deutsche Bank’s Global Banking Division Kathleen Kelley, Global Macro Portfolio Manager, Kingdon Capital,

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John J-H Kim, President and CEO, Rakuten USA Deb Knez, Trustee, Richard & Susan Smith Family Foundation Donald Manekin, Founding Partner, Seawall Development Company Doug Miller Soren Oberg, Managing Director, Thomas H. Lee Partners Prof. Charles Ogletree, Jr., Professor of Law, Harvard Law School, Founder, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice Chris Piela, Regional VP of Montgomery Insurance, Liberty Mutual Group Dr. Lauren Smith, Pediatric Hospitalist & Medical Director, Medical-Legal Partnership for Children at Boston Medical Center BELL’s Evaluation Advisory Board Dr. Duncan Chaplin, Sr Researcher, Mathematica Policy Research Dr. Leslie Goodyear, Sr Research Associate, Education Development Center, Inc. Dr. Denise Huang, Sr Research Associate, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing Ms. Priscilla Little, Evaluation Consultant Dr. Beth Miller, Director of Research and Evaluation, Nellie Mae Education Foundation Ms. Elizabeth Reisner, Founder, Policy Studies Associates, Inc.

Awards & Recognition

BELL extends a heartfelt thank you to the generous foundations, corporations, individual donors and volunteers, and our school partners who, this year, made BELL Summer and BELL After School available to close to 9,000 scholars living in under-served communities. Together, we are transforming thousands of children into scholars while working to improve the quality of public education in the U.S.

For questions or comments, please contact give@experiencebell.org

thank you

National Headquarters 60 Clayton Street Dorchester, MA 02122 617. 282. 1567 Maryland 2601 North Howard Street Suite 130 Baltimore, MD 21218 410. 338. 1318 Massachusetts 60 Clayton Street Dorchester, MA 02122 617. 282. 1567 Michigan 407 East Fort Street Suite 410 Detroit, MI 48226 313. 887. 4601 New York and Tri-State 1361 Amsterdam Avenue Suite 320 New York, NY 10027 718. 561. 2181

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