Polk Bros. Foundation's
Full Service Schools Initiative
The Polk Bros. Foundation was established by members of the Polk family who
owned and operated the Polk Bros. chain of retail appliance and furniture
stores. The Foundation is the sixth largest foundation in Chicago, and in
1999-00 made grants totaling $12.5 million to nonprofit organizations in Chicago
that work with economically-disadvantaged children and adults in under-served
neighbor-hoods. Grants are made in four program areas: education, social
service, the arts, and health care.
Vision and Mission Through the Full Service Schools Initiative (FSSI), the
Foundation provided support for three partner-ships (each of which consisted of
a Chicago public elementary school and a nonprofit organization) to offer
programming for children and families in their school buildings after school, in
the evenings, and on Saturdays. The FSSI sought not only to increase the number
of safe and accessible education, recreation, art, and health-related programs
for children and parents, but to provide opportunities for parents and teachers
to develop more meaningful relationships.
The partnerships receiving funding were:
* Brentano Math and Science Academy/Logan Square Neighborhood Association;
* Riis Elementary School/Youth Guidance; and,
* Marquette West Elementary School/Metropolitan Family Services.
Goals and Desired Results
The goal of the FSSI is to improve the physical and psychological well-being of
children in Chicago public elementary schools in order to make a positive impact
on their school-related behavior and academic achievement. The key elements of
the FSSI are reflected in the following objectives:
* To improve the access of children and families to recreation, education,
social service, and health programs by developing an integrated and coordinated
service delivery mechanism at each school;
* To involve school faculty and staff, students, parents, community and
nonprofit representatives in deciding which programs and services will take
place in the school building or close by, and in monitoring their success so
that each takes ownership of the process;
* To improve the relationship between parents, teachers, and school personnel so
that teachers feel supported by parents and parents strengthen leadership
skills, feel welcome in the school, consider the school a ready source of help
with problems, and believe that their contribution to their child's education is
valued and nurtured; and,
* To create a mutually supportive environment where classroom and social support
services work together to enhance student achievement.
Distinguishing Characteristics of the Model
* The Foundation's funding is awarded to a partnership that consisted of
representatives of a Chicago public elementary school and a nonprofit
organization.
* The nonprofit organization in each partnership serves as the fiscal agent and
employs the Resource Coordinator.
* All major decisions regarding programming, funding, and staffing are made by
an Oversight Committee that includes the school's principal, teachers, parents,
staff of the nonprofit partner and other nonprofit organizations.
* Each partnership hires a full-time Resource Coordinator. S/he works primarily
in the school, is an employee of the nonprofit partner, and is jointly
supervised by the principal and a liaison of the nonprofit partner.
* Training and technical assistance are extended to each partnership by an
outside entity.
* Evaluation is provided by an outside entity.
* Together, the technical assistance team and evaluator help each partnership
identify a set of desired outcomes and determine how and by whom progress will
be measured.
Roles and Responsibilities
* The school's principal is charged with ensuring that members of the Oversight
Committee, the school's Local School Council, parents, teachers, and other
school personnel share a common vision for improving student achievement by
bringing programming desired by families into the school and by strengthening
the relationship between parents and teachers. Each principal is an active
member of the Oversight Committee and regularly communicates the importance of
becoming a Full Service School with parents, teachers, students, and members of
the community.
* A liaison of the nonprofit partner brings a social service perspective and
sensitivity to the school. By sharing the knowledge s/he has gained working with
families, s/he helps teachers and school staff develop important insights and
understand how to work more effectively with parents. Together with other
members of the Oversight Committee, s/he helps ensure that parents, teachers,
students, and community members remain engaged in a common purpose. The liaison
of the nonprofit partner provides important guidance to the Resource Coordinator
and helps him/her identify and secure services from other nonprofits.
* The Resource Coordinator secures programs to be offered in the school; works
with teachers to refer children and families to those programs; oversees
outreach to children and parents; serves as a communication bridge between
families, teachers, school staff, and social service providers; coordinates the
programming that takes place in the school; and provides information to the
Oversight Committee to ensure that what takes place during non-school hours
supports what happens in the classroom.
Staff and Professional Development Activities
* The Foundation awarded each partnership $25,000 for planning (May-December,
1996), $95,000 a year for three years to implement their plans (1997,1998,1999),
and $25,000 during the fourth year of implementation (2000) to mentor new
school/nonprofit partnerships. Each nonprofit partner retained up to 10% of the
$95,000 awarded annually as compensation for its fiscal oversight
responsibilities and time spent by staff on the project.
* The technical assistance extended to each partnership by staff of the North
Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) included meetings that brought
together all three partnerships, meetings just for the Resource Coordinators,
and at least one half day a month of on-site assistance for each partnership.
* The evaluator, Dr. Samuel P. Whalen of the Chapin Hall Center for Children at
the University of Chicago, met with the partnerships individually each fall to
discuss the progress they were making toward meeting the FSSI's objectives and
provided written feedback to each partnership at that time.
Governance Each partnership formed an Oversight Committee composed of the
school's principal, teachers, parents, and staff of the nonprofit partner and
other nonprofit organizations. The Oversight Committee's first task was to ask
parents and community members about the kinds of programs they wanted to take
place at the school (both for themselves and for their children) and to surface
resources in the community that could be brought into the school. The Oversight
Committee set policy and met regularly to ensure that identified needs/desires
were being addressed and that high quality programs were offered that supported
the school's academic program.
Primary Supports and Opportunities Provided
* By the first half of 1999, all three partnerships were actively acquiring
resources from over twenty-five outside organizations.
* Partnerships offered academic tutoring and a variety of arts and recreation
programs for students.
* Partnerships offered English as a Second Language, GED, and computer classes
for adults as well as job search support and recreation opportunities.
* Partnerships offered inter-generational programs involving students and their
parents.
Results to Date
* Student Mobility: While patterns varied, average student mobility rates
declined from 1996 to 1999 at all three schools to levels at or below the
city-wide average. More children were in school for longer periods, which
created more opportunities to learn and participate in programs.
* Reading Scores on the Illinois Test of Basic Skills: Scores improved at rates
exceeding the city-wide average at all three schools. (Note: Improvement in
reading has been among the toughest challenges facing Chicago public schools.)
* Math Scores on the Illinois Test of Basic Skills: Brentano and Riis
significantly exceeded city-wide test score gains in math. Marquette reversed a
downward trend, nearly equaling city-wide math scores by 1999.
* Social Capital Development: Parents surveyed reported an increase in the
number of adults in after-school programs who could be trusted to help their
child with a serious problem. (Note: As parents come to see the school as a
friend of the family and a safe haven, they are more likely to support the
school in maintaining high expectations for learning and appropriate behavior.
The climate of the school improves.) Teachers surveyed reported an increase in
the number of adults in after-school programs who knew children in the school
well as individuals. (Note: As teachers are convinced that after-school staff
are concerned and competent, they are more likely to find new ways to get
involved in the lives of their students.)
* Two of the three FSSI partnerships are continuing without direct financial
support from the Foundation. Both schools are using a combination of private,
state, and federal funding to cover the Resource Coordinator's salary, security
costs, and some programming expenses. One Resource Coordinator is now a school
employee, the other remains an employee of the nonprofit partner.
Expansion Strategy
* The Foundation partnered with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) in 1999 to
support three new school/nonprofit partnerships known as Comprehensive Community
Schools. Funding comes from CPS and is awarded to the school rather than the
nonprofit partner, although up to 20% of the $50,000 awarded by CPS each year is
to be passed by the school to the nonprofit partner for its participation. The
remaining funding is used primarily to hire a full-time Resource Coordinator.
The Foundation contracts with NCREL to provide technical assistance for each
partnership and contracted with Chapin Hall to develop and introduce the
partnerships to a Self-Evaluation Manual.
* The Foundation continues to work with the CPSs' Deputy Chief Education Officer
to identify additional opportunities to support full service or comprehensive
community schools, and is an active member of the Illinois Community Schools
Partnership.
Contact Information:
Brentano Math and Science Academy/Logan Square Neighborhood Association
Partnership Reynes Reyes, Principal, Brentano, 773/534-4100 Nancy Aardema,
Executive Director, LSNA, 773/384-4370
Juan Pablo Herrera, Resource Coordinator, 773/534-4106
Marquette West Elementary School/Metropolitan Family Services Partnership
Fred Kravarik, Principal, Marquette, 773/535-9260
David Zverow, Community Development Director, MFS, 773/884-2213
Lori Rios, Resource Coordinator, 773/436-7650
Suzanne Doornbos Kerbow, Associate Director, Polk Bros. Foundation,
312/527-4684
Carlos M. Azcoitia, Deputy Chief Education Officer, Chicago Public Schools,
773/553-1520 Gregory L. Hall, Prog. Assoc., Cntr. for School & Com.
Development, NCREL, 630/218-4984 Samuel P. Whalen, Senior Research Associate,
Chapin Hall Center for Children, 773/256-5199
