2015Summer Evaluation Overview

2015Summer Evaluation Overview

Freedom School Partners (FSP) operateda Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools® summer program at 19 locations from June 18 – July 31, 2015.

Impact on Reading Ability

On average from 2010 through 2013, 56% of scholars improved their reading ability and 33% maintained their reading ability (this is compared to most low-income children who lose 2-3 months of reading ability in the summer months). Reading data for 2014 are unavailable.

Enrollment Attendance

Target # of scholars / 1180 / Avg. Daily Attendance Rate based on target enrollment / 83%
Actual # of scholars / 1254 / Avg. Daily Attendance Rate based on actual enrollment / 81%

Demographics

Gender / Race
Male / 45% / Black / 69%
Female / 53% / Hispanic / 24%
White / 2%
Known to Qualify for Free or Reduced Price Lunch / 93% / Asian / 1%
Mixed Heritage / 2%
Other / 1%

Parent Engagement

FSP served 780families in 2015. FSP requests parents participate in nine engagement hours over the summer, including parent meetings and volunteer hours.

Fulfilled 3 or more engagement hours / Fulfilled 9
engagement hours
2015 / 63% / 26%
2014 / 61% / 33%
2013 / 65% / 33%

Parent Survey: 406 parents completed a parent survey.

• 89% of parents reported that they saw an increase in their child’s confidence in their reading ability after participating in Freedom School.
• 83% of parents reported they saw an increase in their child’s love of reading after Freedom School ended.
• 87% of parents said they are likely to volunteer in their child’s school next year. Of those likely to volunteer, 25% responded they are likely to volunteer more often and 46% said they will volunteer about the same amount as last year.
• 100% of parents said they would recommend Freedom School to another parent.

Some parent comments are:

This program has introduced my children to a way of thinking and being….priceless. Thank you.
I actually love that my girls learn a lot during the summer not just regarding education but they learn about themselves.
Your program has been a blessing in my children's lives. Thank you.
My kids love freedom school and the interns. They are excited every day to tell me about their days adventures. They love the field trips!
My son says freedom school is good. He is studying and is not forgetting his materials and it is helping him for when he goes back to CMS.
They love getting up and going to freedom school. They are hype for the experience
My child enjoys coming to FS. Before she attended FS she was very shy and closed but once FS showed her it's okay to be herself she has opened up. Also everything FS stands for she is passionate about it. I'm grateful for everything FS has implemented in my child and grateful for all the staff, they are wonderful as well.
My three children are enjoying Freedom School. They come home daily eager to share all they've learned.
He loves this school! He has already said he would like to come back.
They have a great time and Freedom School really helps families that can't afford the expensive summer camps that are out there for kids. Thanks Freedom Schools
I'm really happy that my son is in Freedom School, I think it is one of the best programs for him that I have seen thus far.
Thanks to you all for teaching my daughter! They always get off at the bus stop very excited because they love it so much.
My son loves freedom school. He is so anxious to attend every day. He LOVES all of the teachers. Thank you so much for this opportunity. This program is wonderful.
My son is exposed to many positive experiences through the Freedom School program- both of us find these experiences invaluable as life lessons are learned each day.
I'm glad he's a part of Freedom School. Since he's been a part of it, his reading has progressed and he has been more willing to do work.
They love being around happy and loving people who care about them. They really appreciate everything that you do for them. Thank you so much!
Since my daughter started attending, she has been very eager to get up and come to Freedom School. She has this Summer, which she does not like to read. I am very pleased to see her reading on her own. Thanks!
Isaiah Loves Freedom School. He can't wait til the next day. Great program!! Everyone is GREAT!!!
It has been a good experience. She loves freedom school! Freedom school has made her see a lot of things in a better way and she's also socializing and playing well with others instead of just looking sad. She's reading better and more.
My children are very excited because they go to many places that we cannot go. Thank you very much for this because it does a lot for the kids.

Servant Leader Interns

170Interns representing 47 colleges and universities worked in Freedom School. 63% of interns were African American, 28% White, 4% Hispanic, 1% Asian, and 2% other. 20% were male; 80% female.46eligible interns returned from 2014(27% return rate from 2014).

• 30%are first-generation college students.
• 28% are education majors. 15%of non-education majors have considered changing their major after working in Freedom School (most to education or social work).
• 75% indicated they would like to work in Freedom School again.
• 42% of interns strongly agree and 49% agree that their scholars demonstrated higher confidence after participating in Freedom School.
• 63% strongly agree and 24% agree that they receive the support they need from their Site Coordinator
• 65% strongly agree and 21% agree that felt like they worked in a team environment

The following themes emerged in feedback from Interns:

• The relationships with the scholars, the impact made on scholars, and relationships with fellow Interns were the overwhelming highlights from the summer for interns.
• The overwhelming suggestion for improvement in training was to have more time and practical application for classroom management.

Interns shared the following stories from their summer:

As an intern, Freedom School has impacted my life by way shaping my entire vision to the benefit of our children. This year in particular, I have been on a journey of self-sufficiency and Freedom School has helped me to develop my inner justice warrior voice.
Honestly, when I hear a scholar, especially an older one struggle to read, it reminds me how imperative this work is. Better yet, it brings chills to see them persevere and continue to make sense of the words on the page.
Our bus driver for the summer expressed to me how we made the transitions her family was going through easier for her daughter. And how the last bus ride home for the kids was quiet because they were all sad that the summer was coming to an end. Just knowing that we had that big of an impact on our scholars was amazing.
Everyday scholars write in their journals and I read them. One day I assigned a prompt: Why do you like Freedom Schools? One of my scholars wrote "I like Freedom Schools because it makes me feel like I'm somebody."
I had a scholar that was very upset one morning and not speaking to anyone. I took the time at breakfast to sit and talk with her for a bit to find out what was wrong. After a short discussion, he hugged me real tight and stated "you always make me feel better," and hopped up to get her breakfast.
One of my scholars, Norma, started the summer as a very quiet individual. She would never speak up during IRC and it came to the point that I thought she was being disrespectful. With the help of Mr. Rashad, I finally got her to open up about her goals for the future. She explained that she wanted to be a teacher, but she didn’t know how she could overcome her fear of speaking in front of people. She also spoke about needing to learn bigger words, so I went and got her a vocabulary book that she could build on. From that forward, I saw a distinct change in Norma. She would slowly but surely start speaking up more during IRC--not without prompt, but she at least stopped shrugging her shoulders at everything. By week 4, Norma was helping me read IRC books out loud that had Spanish words in them. She was talking more on the bus and asking questions during IRC. If one of her peers didn’t hear the instructions to an activity, she would be the one to explain. What really surprised me was her volunteering to narrate our paly at finale. She was so nervous, but she got in front of the crowd and spoke clearly and confidently.
When I came into this summer with Freedom Schools, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. I was dreading being home all summer while my friends were abroad, and I was generally feeling very beaten down. Like nothing mattered and I was just going through the motions. But in Tennessee I was inspired. I found myself caring deeply about the work I was going to start and I felt suddenly invigorated and excited by the possibilities my future had to offer. Then when school started I wasn’t sure I could do it. The constant behavior issues really wore me down and I went home and cried and dreaded the next day for the first two and a half weeks. Then all of the sudden I realized I was waking up every day at 5:45 excited to see my kids, made things so hard for me day in and day out. All of the sudden, the positives started to outweigh the negatives in my mind and I couldn’t imagine life without seeing my scholars every day. Now it’s over and I don’t know how I'll be in our empty school all day without feeling them. But I am so incredibly proud of them for everything they learned and how hard they worked. And I am so proud of myself for getting through the toughest 2 months-- and the most amazing two months-- of my life. The FS message was important for the kids, sure. But honestly, it was the message that I needed to hear more than anything. This experience came at the perfect time in my life, and it made me realize that whatever I want to do with my life I can achieve it, and whatever I end up doing I want it to make me feel like Freedom Schools has made me feel this summer.
I was impacted by the fact that I learned what it really means to love. I was preparing a little gift for each of my kids and another intern said "my kids weren't that good." I realized that "oh, of course mine weren't either, but I don't love them for their actions, but for who they are." I didn't know this before the experience. The whole summer helped me learn that, not just that specific comment, but I think that's when I truly realized what Freedom School is doing. I thank Freedom School and God for showing and teaching me that love and teaching is much deeper than others think.
I had a scholar who was convinced he couldn't read. Turns out, all he needed was more practice! By the end of the summer after working one-on-one during DEAR time, he got so much better. I think his confidence increased, too:)