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LAUSD VISTA SUPERVISOR TRAINING . Friday, August 24, 2012 Presented by Nadia Funn Parent Community Services Branch. AmeriCorps VISTA Background . VISTA = Volunteers in Service to America
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LAUSD VISTA SUPERVISOR TRAINING Friday, August 24, 2012 Presented by Nadia Funn Parent Community Services Branch
AmeriCorps VISTA Background • VISTA = Volunteers in Service to America • AmeriCorps VISTA is the national service program designed specifically to fight poverty. Authorized in 1964 and founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965 • President John F. Kennedy came up with the idea for VISTA • 185,000 VISTAs have served since 1965 • Played a key role in establishing many of the best-known anti-poverty programs, including Head Start, Upward Bound, and the credit union system
AmeriCorps VISTA Background (cont) • 6,500 VISTAs in service to fight poverty with passion at more than 1,200 projects across the country. • VISTA members commit to serve full-time for a year at a nonprofit organization or local government agency, working to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses, strengthen community groups, and much more.
LAUSD VISTA Community Partnership • 2011 LAUSD engaged the Corporation for National and Community Service about bringing a VISTA program to LAUSD • Applied for a grant 3-5 year program that sought to address the district’s unmet needs in 3 focus areas: • Parent engagement • School attendance • Resource Generation • 1st Cohort of 20 began their service exactly one year ago today • LAUSD= largest education focused VISTA program in the United States
2012-13 Pilot Cohort Highlights • Over 39,000 hours served • 500 volunteers who served over 1,000 hours • $200,000 generated in monetary/in-kind donations • 21,840 parents engaged • 35,94 community members and organizations engaged
Goals for 2012-2013 See Handout
The VISTA Milestones: What we expect to achieve this year • PARENT ENGAGEMENT • Promote the creation of at least 20 new Parent & Family Centers • district wide • Recruit at least 1,000 parents to participate in district-wide learning opportunities • Develop tools and provide training/technical assistance for the implementation of new school volunteer programs to at least 30 schools • Increase the parent participation rates of school advisory committees, school site councils and parent trainings by 10% in 10 schools • Support the creation/sustainability of Family Action Teams in 20 schools
The VISTA Milestones: What we expect to achieve this year • ATTENDANCE IMPROVEMENT • Conduct assessments of Attendance Improvement Plans at all School-based and AIP VISTA schools to identify opportunities and challenges for implementation, expansion and sustainability • Improve Attendance at 10 VISTA schools not participating in the Attendance Improvement Program by 1% • Create a stakeholder network composed of parents, community members, organizations, teachers, staff, businesses and others to help improve attendance at 70% of VISTA schools
The VISTA Milestones: What we expect to achieve this year • RESOURCE GENERATION • Personalized menu of services for each school site based on the needs assessment for 100% of their campuses • Increased # of supplemental services (new and/or previously cut due to budget constraints) and resources at 80% of school-based VISTA campuses.
Reaching our Milestones How in the world are VISTAs going to do this? • VISTA Assignment Description • A framework for developing VISTA projects and tasks • A living document • Understanding capacity building vs. direct Service
Measuring our progress • Reporting documents • Gathering baseline data • Developing a needs assessment
Break Time 10 MINK
VISTA Project Team The VISTA Partnership VISTAs Schools/Departments
Who are these VISTAs, anyway? 2012-2013 Profile • 25 VISTAs & 3 VISTA Leaders • out of a pool of over 100 applicants • 19 female/6 male • Most college degrees, some with master’s degrees • Bilingual capacity • Varied work experience: none to 15+ years • Receive a living stipend: less than $600 every other week (105% poverty level)
Skills and Assets What do they come to the table with? • Commit to serving a one-year term • 5 days a week; minimum 35 hours • Passionate and initiative • Training in key focus areas • General overview/understanding of LAUSD • Mobile offices • VISTA Assignment Description
Sponsoring Units • 16 school campuses • 4 ESC Parent & Community Engagement Teams • Early Education • Public School Choice • Parent Community Services Branch • Attendance Improvement Team
Why participate? what’s in it for us? • High value, low cost resource • Measurable improvements in focus areas • Greater access to central initiatives, resources, tools and trainings • Parent & Family Center grants • Pilot programs • Trainings: parent access/volunteer program training/advisory councils/Family Action Teams/ Regional Summits More resources for your schools (in-kind donations/donated programming/grants/monetary)
Participant Obligations • Agreement to Participate • Cost-share • Bi-weekly meetings to guide work and measure VAD progress • Participate in site visits and surveys • Create a dedicated space for your VISTA • Help get your VISTA established at your school • Support VISTA in obtaining baseline data • Participate in one pilot project (fall/spring)
Ready, Set, Go The First Week • Establish regular work hours and dress code • Introduce VISTA to campus stakeholders (see handout) • Assist VISTAs in obtaining baseline data • Let them know where the bathroom is located!
What the heck does PCSB do? • Recruit, interview, select VISTAs • Seek out good matches for VISTA service throughout the District • Support supervisor/VISTA relationships • Ensure all projects are capacity building in nature • File all reports- quarterly & annual reports • Manage Compliance Monitoring visits • Promote AmeriCorps and VISTA • Provide ongoing professional development • Serve as a resource center for supervisors
PCSB VISTA Project Team • Jaime Aquino—Program Director, Office of Instruction • Maria Casillas—Program Manager, PCSB • Nadia Funn—Project Coordinator • Jonathan De Belen– VISTA Budget Coordinator • Samuel Bloch—VISTA leader • Angela Shen—VISTA leader • Jasmine Rosa—VISTA leader
Additional Resources • Payment Instructions • Calendar Overview • VISTA resume
Questions? THANK YOU!