Proposal for Capstone Project Consideration PO Box 14219 Cleveland, OH 44114 Contact: Brent Shelley, President p: (440) 836-3156 president@mindsmattercleveland.org mindsmattercleveland.org
Table of Contents I. Executive Summary... 2 II. Understanding the Need... 3 Problems facing our target population III. Project Description... 4 How can we reach students who are the best fit for our program? IV. Minds Matter of Cleveland Program Overview... 5 Target Population Program Details Board Composition Executive Team + Active Committee Composition Volunteer Executive Team Org Chart
Executive Summary Minds Matter of Cleveland is a 100% volunteer-run nonprofit providing academic, mentoring, and college preparation support to high-performing local high school students from low income backgrounds. We understand that the gap in low-income student achievement is not one of intelligence, but resources. Our program includes a targeted academic curriculum to promote complex critical thinking and college success skills, a mentoring program, and attendance at summer programs at colleges and universities around the country. Our students attend a five-hour session every Saturday for three academic years to help them prepare for college admission and success, with a focus on breaking down the barriers that impede the success of high-performing, low-income students. Since our founding, the effectiveness of Minds Matter of Cleveland has been consistent 100 percent of our students gain acceptance to four-year schools. Minds Matter of Cleveland is submitting this proposal for consideration towards a capstone project for John Carroll University s Non-Profit Management Program. With the capacity to accept 24 new students into our program each academic year, we are looking to build and streamline our student recruitment plan for the Cleveland metropolitan and inner-ring suburban area. We look to have a stronger understanding of best practices for reaching and recruiting academically strong students who would benefit from additional support and resources to attain college success. Through these efforts, we seek to understand which area schools yield students within our target population, how we can best reach these students, and how to develop strong and consistent relations and presence in area schools. MINDS MATTER OF CLEVELAND - MARCH 2016 2
Understanding the Need Problems facing our target population. Low income students face barriers to college success at every stage of their education, in spite of their academic achievements. Many of these students lack the support and necessary resources to navigate college preparation from their high school curriculum, to entrance exams, to college applications - and they often face personal or familial hardships with less support than their higher income peers. There are 3.4 million low-income, high-achieving students who need support to sustain and improve on their high levels of academic achievement during grades K-12. Unfortunately, subject to low expectations and unchallenging coursework, many lower-income students with the ability to excel languish in their schools, performing well below their potential and do not complete college. (Achievement Trap by Jack Kent Cookie Foundation). According to the College Board (College Key Compact, 2007) Low-income Parents Low-income Schools Low-income Peers Low-income Students Have an inadequate understanding of college and misperceptions of benefits Do not assign all students pre-college curricula Negative influence on college-going behavior Lack social networks and culture related to college-going behavior Have fears related to the lack of financial resources and familiarity with college Lack adequate precollege counseling and Advanced Placement course offerings Emphasize nonacademic interest and opportunity Do not understand the benefits of college Have misaligned ambitions about career options MINDS MATTER OF CLEVELAND - MARCH 2016 3
Project Description How can we reach students who are the best fit for our program? Minds Matter of Cleveland looks for a better understanding of how we reach more students who are a fit for our program, and how we can encourage those students to apply each year. Current Recruitment Strategy Email and phone outreach to guidance counselors and teachers at area schools. Presentations by volunteers to ninth graders and relevant school staff at area schools. Engagement of current students to a limited extent in sharing program information with peers and school staff. Host an annual open house for interested students and parents. Overall Goals Engage more students and their families in the community in our program. Develop a ubiquitous presence in area schools. Target students who are the best fit for our program and likely to demonstrate commitment over the course of our three-year program. Have a sustainable plan for student recruitment that we can leverage year to year. Foster student ambassadorship so that current students actively assist in new student recruitment. Potential Deliverables + Questions to Answer Within our current mission and frame, how do we measure the quality and appropriateness of schools to target for recruitment? What resources can we use to recognize schools to target? How can we build and maintain relationships with school contacts? How can we install our presence in schools and the community, thereby increasing knowledge of and accessibility to our program? Analysis of our current student recruitment strategy, and recommendations for how we can improve. Formalized student recruitment plan and timeline to guide our student recruitment team throughout the year. Research based on strategies and recruitment methods from other educational organizations that serve similar stakeholders. MINDS MATTER OF CLEVELAND - MARCH 2016 4
Minds Matter of Cleveland Program Overview Target Population Minds Matter of Cleveland currently has 56 sophomores, juniors and seniors who represent almost 20 local public, private, and charter high schools from Cleveland Municipal and First-Ring school districts. A Minds Matter applicant must: Be in ninth grade during the application year Maintain an average GPA of 3.5 or higher Be committed to pursuing a college education Demonstrate strong academic potential, motivation, maturity, and responsibility Be willing to commit every Saturday for three years to rigorous college preparation Demonstrate a low income background Program Details Through a student-centered college-preparatory curriculum, college-immersion summer programs, and a dedicated mentoring program, students are provided the tools to achieve academic excellence. Our program consists of three key initiatives: Summer Programs Summer Programs provide our students with an unparalleled opportunity to experience life on a college campus. Benefits include: enrollment in university courses, working closely with world-renowned faculty and a diverse peer group, earning college credit, exploring academic interests, and many more. Summer programs mirror the college application process with evaluative essays and financial aid applications; this provides a directly transferable experience. Students attend these programs at no cost to their families students and mentors work with universities to earn financial aid, and Minds Matter Cleveland covers the balance. Mentoring We assign two to three young professional mentors per two students for their three-year tenure at Minds Matter. Mentors work to develop students college readiness including: interview and communication skills, financial literacy, and career goal-setting as well as helping students apply to summer programs and ultimately, a four-year institution. The goal of our mentor program is to positively influence our students understanding of educational and career aspirations and then assist in pursuit of admission to and success at a four-year institution. Our guided mentoring program provides students with the skills The College Board has identified as the instrumental to success: Motivation, Social Engagement, Self-Regulation, and Academic Planning. A typical mentor session may include researching academic summer programs or colleges, working on personal statements and applications to these programs, or engaging in workshops and panels that focus on building personal and professional skills. Academic Instruction Minds Matter of Cleveland recognizes that to be successful life-long learners and contributing members of local and global community, skills-based instruction provides a universally-applicable set of skills to help our students find success in high school and beyond. We provide Kaplan-sponsored ACT preparation and tutoring, development of college writing and critical thinking skills, and college-level math and science instruction. These efforts translated to an average 45-point percentile improvement on ACT scores during the three-year student tenure in our program in 2014. MINDS MATTER OF CLEVELAND - MARCH 2016 5
Board Composition At present, the board meets two to three times per year. Per the bylaws, meetings are required annually. Executive Team committees focusing on Academics, Operations, and Programming meet at least quarterly. Senior Executive Team leadership meets monthly. Samuel Gerace - Board President and Chair 3 year tenure in current position Ann Conrad, Baldwin-Wallace University Derran Wimer, Summit Education Initiative Tony Love, Forest City Enterprises Rickey Shyne, NASA Joel Baxter, Sherwin Williams Paul Elliott, Brand Muscle Dolores Lola Garcia-Prignitz, Jones Day Susanne Trihaus, Eaton Erica Yesko, Veritix Peter Kelly, Baldwin-Wallace University Executive Team + Active Committee Composition With the exception of an hourly paid administrative contractor to manage financial, volunteer, and student information within SalesForce, all other members of the organization donate their time and effort at no cost, significantly reducing overhead for the organization. The organization s leadership structure consists of a Senior Executive Team made up of the following: President, Executive Vice President, and three Senior Vice Presidents. There are an additional 16 Vice Presidents who form the remainder of the Executive Team. Due to our organizational structure as an all-volunteer organization, we are eager for the opportunity for a group of knowledgeable students from John Carroll s Non-Profit Management program to support us in our efforts. Our leadership is available throughout the capstone project process as a resource. We would like to be as involved in the process that we can be. MINDS MATTER OF CLEVELAND - MARCH 2016 6
Volunteer Executive Team Organizational Chart Position 2015-2016 Officer E- mail Address President Brent Shelley brent.shelley@mindsmattercleveland.org Executive Vice President Meredith Shoop meredith.shoop@mindsmattercleveland.org Senior VP of Academics Eric Mele eric.mele@mindsmattercleveland.org Senior VP of Operations Lauren McQuaide lauren.mcquaide@mindsmattercleveland.org Senior VP of Programs Sara Elaqad sara.elaqad@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Fundraising Judy Merzbach fundraising@mindsmattercleveland.org Assistant VP of Fundraising Davis Filippell fundraising@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Finance Geraldine Barnett finance@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Audit Stacy Gray finance@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Communications Lauren Trego marketing@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Recruitment Rosalyn Cooper volunteers@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Technology OPEN technology@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Events Anna Benade events@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Student Affairs Brittney Howard studentaffairs@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Student Affairs Amanda Davis studentaffairs@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Student Affairs Stephanie Magnani studentaffairs@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Student Recruitment Kimberly Sandoval newstudents@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Mentors Jeremy O'Reilly mentors@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Mentors Michael Jones mentors@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Mentors Danielle Best mentors@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Summer Programs Ashley Stephens summerprograms@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of College Admissions Cody Shulman admissions@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Alumni Martin Cole alumni@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Tutors Nicholas Stuart tutors@mindsmattercleveland.org VP of Academics Raneia Ramadan academics@mindsmattercleveland.org MINDS MATTER OF CLEVELAND - MARCH 2016 7