The CDF Freedom Schools ® Program Overview

1. The CDF Freedom Schools®Program Overview

2. Mission of the Children’s Defense Fund The Children’s Defense Fund Leave No Child Behind® Mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. CDF provides a strong, effective and independent voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby or speak for themselves. We pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minority children and those with disabilities. Mrs. Marian Wright Edelman President Est. 1973 MWE with Rep. Robert Clark (MS)

3. CDF’s National Programs Health Coverage for All Children Campaign Tax and Public Benefits Outreach Student Poverty Reduction and Health Outreach ProgramsCradle to Prison Pipeline® CampaignBeat the Odds® Celebrations CDF Emerging Leaders® Program Religious Action (October Children’s Sabbath) Young Advocacy Leadership Training (YALTSM)Program

4. CDF Freedom Schools® History • Modeled after the intergenerational servant leadership approach used • during the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project of 1964 • Reborn in 1992 under the leadership of Marian Wright Edelman and the Children’s Defense Fund’s Black Community Crusade for Children as “parallel institutions” to provide complementary learning support • First summer program sites were in Bennettsville, South Carolina, and Kansas City, Missouri • After-school model implemented post- Katrina in Mississippi and Louisiana • to serve displaced and affected families BCCC® meeting at the Rockefeller Foundation in Bellagio, Italy, 1990

5. CDF Freedom Schools® Program 1992-2009 • Believing in children so that they believe in themselves. • Empowering young adults for active lives of leadership • and service to children. • Engaging parents as guideposts on the path of • hope and success. • Transforming communities through literacy and • leadership development. • Dismantling the pipeline to prison by addressing • children’s health needs and modeling non-violent, • conflict resolution skills to the children, youth • and young adults in our care.

6. Collaborative Model The Hannah Project

7. Educational Philosophy • All children are capable of learning at high standards. • Appreciation and knowledge of one’s culture engenders self-worth and the ability to live in community with others. • Literacy is essential to personal empowerment and civic responsibility. • Learning communities that offer a sense of safety, love, caring and personal power are needed for transformative education. • Parents are crucial partners in children’s learning and need supports to become better parents. • As citizens, children and adults have the power to make a difference in their communities and be advocates for themselves.

8. Program Theme: I Can Make a Difference! Week 1: In my Self Week 2: In my Family Week 3 : In my Community Week 4: In my Country Week 5: In my World Week 6: With Hope, Education and Action Key Program Components: High Quality Curriculum Intergenerational Leadership Development Parent and Family Involvement Civic Engagement and Social ActionNutrition, Health and Mental Health

9. Typical Daily Schedule 8:00–8:30 a.m. Breakfast with Scholars and Staff8:30–9:00 a.m. Harambee! 9:00–10:30 a.m. Integrated Reading Curriculum, Pt. 1 Reading, Conflict Resolution and Social Action 10:30–10:45 a.m. Morning Break 10:45–11:45 a.m. Integrated Reading Curriculum, Pt. 2 11:45–12:00 p.m. D.E.A.R. Time Drop Everything And Read 12:00–1:00 p.m. Lunch with Scholars and Staff 1:00–3:00 p.m. Afternoon Activities 3:00 p.m. Dismissal 3:30 p.m. Daily Debrief Meeting (Staff)

10. Harambee! • Swahili word that means “let’s pull together” • First used by Jomo Kenyatta upon release from prison in Kenya • Still used today to bring communities together and resolve conflicts • Time of informal sharing to celebrate selves and each other • Energizes and creates a positive atmosphere • Parents and community leaders are encouraged to participate • Harambee! Components • Read Aloud • Motivational Song • Cheers/Chants • Recognitions • Moment of Silence • Announcements

11. Integrated Reading Curriculum • The CDF Freedom Schools Integrated Reading Curriculum: • Engages scholars with books written by and about individuals who represent the diversity of our world. • Emphasizes stories of children, women and men who have made a difference and encourages children to do the same. • Helps scholars explore issues related to self-esteem and self-respect. • Offers scholars ideas/encouragement to involve themselves in service. • Expands scholars’ capacity to dream and to believe they can make their dreams reality.

12. Integrated Reading Curriculum • The CDF Freedom Schools Integrated Reading Curriculum is: • Developmentally appropriate. • Grounded in research and best practices. • Organized by grade level and features engaging activity-based lessons. • Features cooperative group activities and conflict resolution strategies that extend the literature-based curriculum. • Includes a Resource Library that remains with the partner sponsor. • Features multicultural books suitable for diverse student populations. • Gives each scholar a book for their home library each week.

13. Afternoon Activities • Educationally and culturally enriching activities related to the IRC • Age appropriate • Arranged in a rotating schedule • Requires advanced planning and preparation Street Clean-ups Field Trips Theatre Performing Arts Chess Cooking Sign Language Music Service ProjectsDance Drumming Organized SportsMulti-Media Social Action Non-Competitive Games Photography Science/Math Labs Public Speaking Storytelling Athletics Swimming Pottery Computer Lab Art

14. National Day of Social Action

15. Youth Leadership Development • Servant Leader Interns are: • Identified by local Freedom School Directors • Trained by the CDF at Haley Farm • Empowered as current and emerging leaders • Given the tools to build strong and healthy communities, and • Engaged and sustained with lasting intergenerational relationships

16. Achievement Gap at a Glance Marin City MLK Middle School Mill Valley Mill Valley Middle School State Rank: 3 out of 10 State Rank: 10 out of 10 API Score: 709 (2009) API Score: 912 (2009)

17. Marin Education Statistics Attainment of a high school diploma is the single most effective preventive strategy against adult poverty. Yet a significant number of students do not graduate on time with a regular diploma. • In 2008, 24 percent of California3rd graders scored “Below Basic” or “Far Below Basic” on the California Standard’s Test (CST) English-Language Arts test. • In Marin County, 14 percent of 3rd graders scored “Below Basic” or “Far Below Basic” on the CST English-Language Arts test, including: • 5 percent of Asian 3rd graders; • 8 percent of White 3rd graders; • 28 percent of African-American 3rd graders; • 36 percent of Latino 3rd graders.

18. Evaluation A three-year longitudinal study of the Kansas City CDF Freedom Schools initiative by the Philliber Research Associates of New York found that: “The average scholar demonstrated a significant improvement in reading. End-of-year scores were 2.7 percentile points higher than assessments completed during the first week. Students in the comparison group did not demonstrate similar improvements.” “Scholars appear to end the summer looking for more ways they can make a difference in their communities by helping others, including others they don't know.”

19. Why Would an Episcopal Parish Get Involved? • Today’s Gospel Story • Area Ministry • Embedded in community • Diversity • Collaboration • Millennium Development Goal #2: Achieve Universal Primary Education Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. • Political will, coupled with targeted investments, have yielded widespread progress in primary school enrollment • Poverty’s grip keeps children out of school • The quality of education is as important as enrollment

20. Next Steps: Financial Contributions Three-Year Vision • Program is free to the scholars and families • $91,000 investment per year • Training ~ 20% • Operating Costs ~ 30% (art supplies, meals, field trips, parent workshops, enrichment, books, additional staff training) • Personnel ~ 40% • Administration ~ 10%

21. How Will Donations be Spent? Over a Six-Week Program: • Every $100 donation will provide: • Books and instructional materials for one (1) scholar, including books to take home • Every $200 donation will provide: • Music and art materials and supplies for (ten) 10 scholars • Every $1,000 donation will provide: • Intensive one-week training for one (1) Servant Leader Intern  at the CDF’s Haley Farm in Tennessee • Every $5,000 donation will provide: • Books and instructional materials for the entire program (all 50 scholars), including books to take home and a well-stocked permanent library for the site • Every $10,000 donation will provide: • Compensation for two mental health professionals, one music therapist, one art teacher, and one life skills counselor at a site serving 50 scholars.

22. Next Steps: Hands-On Involvement How Might Congregations Offer Additional Support? Partial List: • Be a guest reader during Harambee! • Provide snacks for scholars each day • Provide transportation for 2 scholars coming from Homeward Bound • Provide housing for one of the Servant Leaders who will be coming from Alabama • Offer services/classes for parents and/or scholars in such areas as art, music, financial planning, health and fitness, parenting skills, conflict resolution • Provide tickets for field trips to events such as ball games or museums • Provide entre for tours into venues such as newspapers, retail corporate headquarters, media venues, performing arts centers, or medical facilities as a way to expand the scholar’s world view and vision of career opportunities • Provide in-kind services including marketing, bookkeeping, graphic arts or printing

23. Thank You