A Letter from our President (continued) The 2014-2020 goals for all of the Fund’s programs, their design, accountability and oversight across the organization include: 1) increasing the visibility of the organization and building support; 2) conducting an analysis of the architecture of the Lawrence Family Development website so that the three components of the organization (Charter School, YouthBuild, Maria del Pilar Quintana Family Center) are reflected as separate segments of the website for information and promotion; 3) building strong teams of staff in all program areas and assuring that the administration ensures consistency, integrity and longevity for the Fund, and 4) developing an increased capacity for Board development, participation and fiscal oversight. Specifically for this past year as program highlights or as a “year in review,” YouthBuild–Lawrence concluded its nineteen-year cycle helping “high-risk” youth become “high-potential” young adults. In December 2013, YouthBuild-Lawrence launched its U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) grant award of $1.1 million, which now comprises the operation’s main source of funding and allows YouthBuild-Lawrence to serve, over the contract’s three-year timeline, 68 young people. In the spring of 2014, YouthBuildLawrence submitted a request for another three-year award of $1.1 million, after receiving a successful Spring 2014 DOL monitoring visit. The amount of the DOL award in 2013-14 was a budget of $550,000, and as the fiscal year ended, LFDEF, Inc. was notified that a contract renewal was granted from DOL for the same amount. In anticipation of a future culinary arts track to complement the DOL funding for academic and construction at YouthBuild, LFDEF, Inc. received a $10,000 grant this year from the Lawrence Community Block Grant (CDBG) for a culinary arts kitchen which is now almost completely constructed. Additionally, these awards complemented financial support from: AmeriCorps ($95,000), United Way ($23,000), the Shannon Grant ($29,000) and the Walmart Foundation ($25,000). This year YouthBuild also received support from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education ($190,000) and in preparation for 2015, LFDEF, Inc. and applied for grants to assist YouthBuild by filing applications to the Moseley Foundation, the Stearns Trust and the Russell Trust. In FY’2013-14 as program highlights for the Lawrence Family Development Charter School (LFDCS), the school district again experienced a successful school year with Spring 2013 MCAS test scores, placing it once again in the top 10% of public schools in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. By meeting the standard for adequate yearly progress, LFDCS performed as a Level 1 School. Of interest was that due to the high standards set at the School, LFDCS hit the state expectations for MCAS performance, but did not meet some of its own accountability measures in 2013-2014. For example, accountability goals were not met at the Academy for some of the students’ academic skills and accountability goals were not met with the Opening Doors program’s applications and acceptances at private high schools. Therefore the new charter school principal will focus specifically on these areas and the staff who are responsible for them. This planning will include an analysis of resources, regular monitoring meetings and required reporting by staff about data and outcomes. This year, which was the year following the opening of the LFDCS Academy of Early Academic Preparation, LFDEF, Inc. began discussions with the Lawrence Public Schools (LPS) on ways in which its experienced educators and Response to Intervention (RTI)/English as a Second Language (ESL) services might be disseminated in early childhood education for SY’2014-15. This led to a successful application by the Lawrence Family Development and Education Fund, Inc., which is the Charter School’s Management Organization, to leverage the Charter School’s best assessment and instructional practices 2
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