The Bridgeport Public Education Fund, Inc

THE BRIDGEPORT PUBLIC EDUCATION FUND, INC.

446 University Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06604

203-331-0551, Fax: 203-367-0064

E-mail: , www.bpef.org

2006 ANNUAL OVERVIEW

Mission Statement

“The Bridgeport Public Education Fund develops programs and mobilizes

the community for quality public education in Bridgeport”

For twenty-three years, the Bridgeport Public Education Fund has drawn on the strength of our community leaders to guide the development of programs, and to monitor the growth and integrity of our organization. It is the policy of BPEF to undertake work which can be sustained by our small but dedicated staff and by the financial resources within our community. The BPEF Board of Directors prides itself on bringing new ideas to the forefront. Committees study these ideas and ultimately design programs that lead to enrichment in the classroom or fill a gap in the education of the students in our public schools.

The BPEF was intimately involved in several strategies formulated by the Board of Education to create a new mission statement and strategic goals. Working with our many partners and drawing on a wider network of support, the BPEF helped organize an Education Summit. The purpose of the Summit was to bring together people from the Greater Bridgeport area to discuss critical educational issues and to brainstorm solutions and areas of community involvement. The BPEF was responsible for recruiting and training forty-five people to facilitate twenty-five small group discussions. BPEF continues to be involved with the Action Teams as they complete their work.

The BPEF is also a member of the Education Committee of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council that has committed resources and time to working with the Board of Education for equitable funding.

2006 PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

MAACS * Mentoring for Academic Achievement and College Success

MAACS began its nineteenth year of helping high school students from Bassick, Harding and Central High Schools realize their dreams of attending college. In school year 2005-2006, 177 students from Harding, Bassick and Central High Schools were paired one-on-one with 51 college mentors from Fairfield University, Sacred Heart University and the University of Bridgeport. Of the 44 seniors 42 were accepted into college and six were Charter Oak Scholarship recipients.

MAACS staff were invited to present a workshop on our mentoring program at the national College Access Network conference. In September the MAACS staff traveled to Florida to present their workshop Creating College Connections Through Mentoring.

The Bridgeport Higher Education Alliance obtained funding to begin the implementation of their stated recommendations. The Alliance is a collaborative effort among Connecticut’s colleges and universities and the city’s public schools that was established to create a plan to support the goal of having all Bridgeport youth graduate from high school prepared to succeed in some form of higher education. The MAACS Coordinator and the Executive Director both sit on the Alliance and are working within a committee structure to implement the recommendations.

CAP – College Assistance Program

The goal of CAP is to help our MAACS students enter and successfully complete college. If they stay in touch with staff on a regular basis and send in their class schedules and transcripts they are eligible for emergency financial assistance upon completion of their freshman year.

The CAP committee was expanded this year to ensure a stronger partnership with our public schools and area colleges. In April, 25 seniors from Harding, Bassick and Central participated in the workshops. The workshops were held for three days at Housatonic Community College during the week of spring break. The sessions focused on building academic, social and financial skills. Workshops were conducted by college professors, college mentors, and former MAACS students enrolled in area colleges. Some of the colleges the CAP students are currently attending are Morgan State, College of New Rochelle, Fairfield Unviersity, Sacred Heart University, and Housatonic Community College.

CAP students are eligible for $100 at the beginning of each semester when they provide staff with their schedule and transcript. CAP students are also invited to two reunion events each year where they connect to other CAP participants. This year four CAP students applied for and received emergency financial aid for a total amount of $3,134. A grant was made to Housatonic Community College specifically to award transportation and book scholarships to Bridgeport students enrolled in HCC.

CHARTER OAK CHALLENGE SCHOLARSHIPS

In the spring of 2006 fifteen high school students were chosen to receive the $10,000 Charter Oak Challenge Scholarships. Students were selected from Bassick, Harding, Central, and Kolbe Cathedral High Schools. Six of the scholars were participants in the MAACS project.

In June the Charter Oak Scholars attended a reunion event with their mentors. They had a chance to talk about their year including both challenges and successes. At the spring reunion we also celebrated the graduation of eight scholars.

At an August reception the newest Charter Oak Scholars, along with their families, met their mentors for the first time. Each scholarship recipient left the reception with a new laptop computer. In October, training was held for the adult mentors. BPEF has written a Mentor Handbook specifically for the Charter Oak Program. Adult mentors are recruited from the board of the Charter Oak Foundation, the BPEF Board of Directors, our local colleges, and from the Bridgeport community. Each mentor agrees to work with their scholar until they graduate from college.

GRANTS FOR BRIDGEPORT TEACHERS

This was the first year of the revised Mini-Grants program. $20,000 was allocated to grants that were interactive, project based and crossed over academic disciplines. Although the program is still providing funding for the classroom projects, the focus will continue to be on active learning. At a reception in September, 53 teachers received a total of $37,238.53, which provided funding for thirty-six projects effecting 3,648 students. The forty-eight members of the Allocations Committee will re-visit the teachers they helped fund to observe the projects in action during school year 2006-07.

PREVENTION GRANTS

The partnership with RYASAP has enabled us to fund Student Assistance Teams in public, private, and parochial schools within a six-town area. In September nine projects were awarded grants to implement effective anti-substance abuse projects for students. Many of the projects, totaling $5,170, were developed and will be implemented by students. The majority of the funded projects focused on bullying and character building.

FIRST DAY

On the first day of school, over one hundred community volunteers distributed 2,450 books to all students entering first grade. Each first grade student received their own hardbound copy of “Someday is Not A Day of The Week” written by Denise Brennan-Nelson and illustrated by Kevin O’Malley. Underwriting for First Day was provided by The Bank of America Foundation, The Ruth I. Krauss Estate, The Near and Far Aid Association, The Inner City Foundation for Charity and Education, and Ralph Schacter.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Two Education Forums were held in 2006. The first, in March, was a presentation by Steven Rockefeller, Jr., President of Educational Adventures, an organization which creates family friendly entertainment to empower children to make better safety related decisions. The second Education Forum in October tied into the national “Give Kids Good Schools” Campaign and featured Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Ramos. Dr. Ramos presented the State of Public Education in Bridgeport.

TEACHER RECOGNITION AND CELEBRATION

The thirteenth annual Teacher Recognition and Celebration Event took place in May during Teacher Appreciation Week. Over one hundred and seventy people gathered to honor teachers who were nominated by their peers and selected because of their leadership and outstanding work with students, parents and their colleagues. The educators honored for their leadership and outstanding work in the Bridgeport public schools were: Robin Bottillo Anderson, Kindergarten teacher at Newfield School, April Blackwell, English teacher at Bassick High School, Filomena Goncalves, Special education resources teacher at Columbus School, Jane Roseman, Fourth & Fifth grade special education teacher at Waltersville School, Shawn Stillway, Second grade teacher at Thomas Hooker School, Virginia Verrillo, Numeracy coach at Hallen School, Patricia Warrern, Fourth grade teacher at Columbus School, & Victoria White, second grade teacher at Waltersville school. In addition to a Tiffany crystal apple each Outstanding Teacher received a certificate entitling them to $1,000 to be used for professional development opportunities.

The Elizabeth M. Pfriem Civic Award was presented to Marilyn Ondrasik, Executive Director of the Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition, for her tireless efforts of behalf of children in Bridgeport. The George Bellinger Leadership Award is awarded annually to a principal from a Bridgeport public school who demonstrates the ability to foster and recognize good leadership. The recipient of the George Bellinger Leadership Award was Ms. Denise Clemons Graham, principal of Wilbur Cross School. The permanent plaque will hang in the school of each recipient for one year.

THE STAR 99 MATH AND SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS.

The goal of the STAR99 program is to give recognition to students who are achieving above the norm in math and science in the seventh grade. Two students from the seventh grade in each school who have shown outstanding ability in math and science were honored at a reception in June. Each of the thirty students received a graphing calculator. The students were interviewed by John Harper and were heard on his morning radio show on STAR99.9.

FUNDRAISING

In 2006, financial support for the work of BPEF was received from over 600 businesses and corporations, individuals, and teachers enrolled in the Change for Children payroll deduction program. The personal commitment of the Board of Directors to help our fundraising efforts has been successful in identifying new contributors and foundations. We would like to particularly thank the foundations who have been committed to BPEF for multiple years such as The Ruth I. Krauss Estate, the E.S. Moore Foundation, The Kreitler Family Foundation, Near & Far Aid Association, and the Charter Oak Challenge Foundation.

An audited financial statement is available on request.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

BPEF continues to be a resource to many communities throughout the country who are interested in establishing community partnerships focused on educational reform. BPEF helped convene a statewide meeting of sixty educational foundations in October. BPEF also serves as a consultant to the statewide Community Conversation project sponsored by the Connecticut League of Women Voters and the Graustein Memorial Foundation.

The Executive Director serves on the Board of Directors of the Public Education Network and chairs the national Associates Board. Additionally the Executive Director sits on the PEN National Branding Committee, and on the “Give Kids Good Schools Task Force.” In that role, information about the work of BPEF is disseminated throughout the country. The ability of BPEF to build such an extraordinary group of partners sets our work apart from most communities.