From the Chair On behalf of the Board of Directors, administration, staff, students and families that are served through all of Lawrence Family Development, Inc.’s (LFD) programs, we present this Annual Report which covers July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017. This Fiscal Year 2017 Annual Report reflects our unwavering commitment to our mission: strengthening families and building community. Our major strategic accomplishments this year included: The adoption of our name to Lawrence Family Development, Inc. (LFD, Inc.). The implementation of a new Content Management System to assure productivity across programs. Approval of a formal succession plan to prepare for future (planned or emergency) departures of senior management. Financial tracking and technology efficiencies were implemented including cost-effective structures for all jobs, classification of employees to exempt or non-exempt based on job responsibilities, and new Easy Clocking and Harper’s Payroll procedures. The re-confirmation of Lawrence Family Development Inc.’s status as a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)-recognized agency for citizenship services. The introduction of summer ESL and Citizenship sessions at the Maria del Pilar Quintana Family Center. The launching of a community workshop series with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office on residential, financial and consumer issues. Consolidation of the Alternative Youth programming under the new SISU Program umbrella to be housed at a new Canal Street site. The breaking ground of a new YouthBuild-Lawrence house on Jackson Street in Lawrence. An additional partnership for FY’18 with the Lawrence Public School’s RISE Academy to incorporate their academics as a component to the Lawrence Family Development Inc.’s SISU Center. Re-approval by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as a Massachusetts Targeted Assistance and School Turnaround Operator until FY’20. For the third consecutive year, as a School Turnaround project, shared charter school innovative practices with the Lawrence Public Schools’ Lawrence Family Public Academy (LFPA). The Lawrence Family Development Charter School ranked as a Level 1 School for the fifth year in a row, based on Spring 2016 results; only 20% of districts and 32% of public schools across Massachusetts earned Level 1 status in 2016. LFDCS expanded dissemination to include staff presentations at National Conferences, as well as local presentations of RTI practices with nearly forty Massachusetts charter school leaders. LFDCS expanded use of the STEM Center for in-school and after-school instruction using multiple new activities for project-based learning. After School programs included a new STEM-focused Girl Scout program as well as new robotics and engineering efforts with the Latino STEM Alliance. Fifty-five members of LFDCS’ 2017 graduating class were awarded over $1,730,000 in scholarships and financial aid to some of New England’s most prestigious private secondary high schools. We hope that the highlights found in this 2016-2017 Annual Report prompt readers and the Board of Directors to share my satisfaction for the future of LFD, Inc. and its impact. In addition to our individual program goals and accomplishments, LFD, Inc. continues to move forward with our goals of professionalism and excellence in all aspects of the organization as we build a new Strategic Plan in FY’18 and incorporate organizational growth as a Community Development Corporation. Sincerely, Rafael Abislaiman, Interim President and Vice President
4 Publizr Home