From the President On behalf of the Board of Directors, administration, staff, students and families that are served through all of Lawrence Family Development & Education Fund, Inc.’s (LFDEF) programs, we present this Annual Report on the accomplishments of this past year. This report reflects our unwavering commitment to our mission: strengthening families and building community through education. This Annual Report covers July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015. We continue with all of our mission‐centered efforts to actively seek opportunities to disseminate our practices for an array of educational offerings. This fiscal year Lawrence Family Development & Education Fund, Inc. (LFDEF) executed strategies outlined in our five‐year Strategic Plan and focused time and resources toward: the 5th re‐chartering of our charter school, dissemination best practices in urban elementary education via approval of the LFDEF, Inc. targeted assistance capacity, expansion of our Alternative Youth Development programs and showcasing the accessibility of the Maria del Pilar Quintana Family Center adult education programs. I am excited to share some of our major strategic accomplishments over the past year: Alternative Youth Development Programs Assumed programmatic management of the City of Lawrence’s Safe and Successful Youth Initiative program and the Lawrence Youth Team Sold the completed YouthBuild property at 189 West Street and acquired 2 sites for future properties Completed the build‐out of facilities and, with staff, further developed the Culinary Arts program Awarded a second three‐year $1.1 million Department of Labor grant for YouthBuild‐Lawrence Maria del Pilar Quintana Family Center Graduated 206 ESL and Citizenship students in June, 2015 Assisted 20 new American Citizens in completing the application and interviewing process Updated the availability and use of technology throughout the Family Center Lawrence Family Development Charter School Received its 5th charter, carrying LFDCS through 2020 Graduated 57 eighth‐grade students who earned over $2,200,000 in financial support for high schools Became a model demonstration school for Special Education practices Launched instructional technology through the hiring of a Digital Instructor and offered expanded professional development for teaching with technology Lawrence Family Development & Education Fund, Inc.’s Targeted Assistance to Underperforming Public Schools Developed a 3‐year contract for a Targeted Assistance Partnership with the Lawrence Public Schools and opened a program for four and five year olds in the Lower Tower Hill neighborhood of Lawrence Shared Lawrence Family Development Charter School’s teaching and leadership staff to educate 187 students Contracted with The Community Group for rental space, technical support and food services for an early childhood development program at the 404—R Haverhill Street site Earned “Level 1” public school status in 2014 (third year in a row for MCAS performance) LFDEF, Inc. continues to move forward with our goals of increasing visibility and outreach within the City of Lawrence. We launched a new web presence (lfdef.org) which increases the visibility of all of our programs. We are grateful for the generosity of all our donors, especially the Fournier family, for their gift of the property at 10 Railroad Street. As the Chair of the Board, I hope that you will spend time reading the following pages which were prepared by the leadership team of the Fund’s programs. As we embark on yet another year of strong outcomes and responsible growth, our Board of Directors is determined to continue with the expansion of our programs at every level in order to meet the needs in the community of Lawrence. We remain committed to our mission—strengthening families and building community through education. Sincerely, John C, Housianitis, President
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