United Way of Metropolitan Chicago has issued its first-ever comprehensive report card on a three-year collaboration with Exelon Corporation that created enhanced after-school programs targeting three Chicago communities where dropout and truancy rates are among the highest in the city: Austin, Bronzeville/Grand Boulevard and Humboldt Park/West Town. The findings reinforce that at-risk students can achieve academic success with the right mix of attention and activities.

 
The Exelon-United Way Stay in School program was launched in 2004 to increase the success rate of at-risk students. At that time statistics showed the citywide dropout rate had reached critical levels, especially for young males: 61 percent for African-American males and 49 percent for Latino males.

Stay in School has served more than 5,000 students, ages 10-20, since its inception. The report card captures data and testimonials from 329 students who participated most intensively in the program. It measures the program’s impact across a broad spectrum of data that are tied to student attendance, academic performance, graduation rates and the development of pro-social behaviors.

Key Report Card Findings

Promotion and Graduation

• For Stay in School students, 92 percent were promoted to the next grade level. Eighty-five percent of the program’s seniors graduated from high school or obtained a GED. Only 54 percent of CPS students who were 13 years old in 1998 graduated from CPS by age 19 in 2004.

Attendance

• In the first year of Stay in School data collection, 75 percent of the students had at least a 90 percent school attendance rate. Attendance is a major challenge for schools in these communities, with some schools experiencing average daily attendance rates as low as 68 percent.

  The University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research released a report in July 2007 that named attendance, particularly in the freshman year, as a key indicator for staying on-track to graduate. (Report title: What Matters for Staying On-Track and Graduating in Chicago Public High Schools: A Close Look at Course Grades, Failures, and Attendance in the Freshman Year. Authors: Elaine M. Allensworth and John Q. Easton)

Pro Social Behaviors

• Sixty-eight percent of students increased their pro-social behaviors (participation in out-of-school and leadership activities, involvement in the community, relationships with peers, parents, and program staff—all of which are indicators for positive achievement in school).

  This information was collected through student evaluation surveys in which students were able to report progress in areas such as being able to talk to staff about a personal problem, getting along better with family members, making better decisions for themselves, and being able to control anger. Additionally, the Stay in School participants noted the program has taught them the relevance of academic achievement and completing high school for their future.

About the Program

The program serves students from Ames Elementary, Burr Elementary, Chopin Elementary, Frederick Douglass Academy High School, Jose de Diego Elementary Community Academy, Kelvyn Park High School, Orr Campus (Aasta, Excel and Mose Vines Preparatory Academy), Roberto Clemente High School, Wells Community Academy and Wendell Phillips High School.

Stay in School also partners with United Way health and human service organizations (B.U.I.L.D., Inc., Centers for New Horizons, and Youth Guidance), Chicago Public Schools and students under the leadership of Exelon Corporation to deliver sustainable, local academic programs to strengthen students, their families and their communities.

Exelon has contributed $1 million to United Way to fund the Stay in School Initiative with the goal of delivering a holistic menu of after-school programming that promotes student achievement. Stay in School includes tutoring, college readiness, life skills and prevention workshops, parent and family activities, and a reward and recognition program for students.

“Exelon has made education a signature focus of our corporate citizenship because we believe educational achievement is the dividing line between economic isolation and economic opportunity,” said Ruth Ann Gillis, president of Exelon Business Services Company. “We wanted to focus new resources into these communities to address the escalating problem of student dropout. These findings indicate that we have created another vital public-private partnership that is achieving the Mayor’s goal of improving education.”

Exelon also created Learning for Life, a seven-month, employee-led job readiness and mentoring workshop series that focuses students on business basics and interview/presentation skill development, to support the Stay in School Initiative. Students compete for five Learning for Life paid internships at the conclusion of the workshops.

“United Way works to know the best programs that can create positive change in our community,” said Lester McKeever, managing principal, Washington, Pittman & McKeever and United Way of Metropolitan Chicago board chair. “But that work is lifted to new heights when business leaders like Exelon get involved and bring their wealth of experience, resources and ingenuity to the team. The Exelon-United Way Stay in School Initiative is an excellent example of corporate leadership rolling up its sleeves to improve lives in the Chicagoland area.”

“This program taught me basic life skills, time management, networking and responsibility. Exelon volunteers helped me understand how to prepare for my future,” said Sade Meeks, a student from the Beverly/Morgan Park community who participated in the Stay in School program and is now a senior at Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences in Mount Greenwood. “It’s good to know people out there are trying to help the younger generation, making sure we are making the right decisions and keeping us on the right path.”

For more information, click here to download the full United Way Stay in School report card fact sheet or visit Exelon’s website. The report card itself can be downloaded here.

United Way of Metropolitan Chicago recently launched the first phase of the United Way Latino Initiative, an innovative plan aimed at strengthening Latino families by helping their youth transition successfully into adulthood. United Way supporter, ComEd will provide financial support for the first year of the Latino Initiative by sponsoring a Challenge Grant, which matches 2 to 1 all new and increased donations of $1,000 or more. ComEd also sponsored the Latino Initiative launch reception, Unidos En Accion, at the National Museum of Mexican Art on October 16, 2007 to recognize the collaborative efforts of all those involved in setting the foundation for the Initiative.

How does the initiative work?

During Phase 1 of the Initiative, building a collaborative community partnership, health and human service care providers will engage communities in developing workable projects that include youth participation, evaluation of community assets and needs and planning priorities. United Way will grant funding awards of at least $600,000 over four years to the programs that best address the Latino Initiative outcomes, so that Latino youth:

• Understand the long-term impact of staying in school;
• Create a healthy identity that bridges two cultures;
• Understand and assume healthy family and social roles.

“ComEd is dedicated to supporting initiatives, such as the Latino Initiative, designed to make a significant impact on the diverse communities we serve,” said Fidel Marquez, Vice President of External Affairs for ComEd. “As a long-time partner of the United Way, we are confident in their ability to execute this initiative, which we expect to benefit generations to come.”

Last year United Way convened an advisory committee to develop a plan for creating lasting positive change in Chicagoland’s burgeoning Latino community. Working with experts representing corporations, academic institutions, foundations, advocacy groups, and United Way agency partners, the committee has identified gaps in service for this population.

The resulting Initiative will help Latino youth make a successful transition to adulthood. The focus will be on youth living in areas experiencing rapid growth, where the capacity for social services has been stretched thin by population boom. Stakeholders involved in the program development process will include parents and youth, health and human service agencies, churches, schools, law enforcement, and government.

Latinos are the largest minority group in metropolitan Chicago, with suburban populations currently on the rise. As of 2005, 54 percent of Latinos living in the Chicagoland area actually live in the suburbs. When surveyed, 76 percent of nonprofits that applied for United Way support said growth of the Latino population has affected how they run programs.

How do agencies apply for funding?

United Way Latino Initiative funding applications were made available beginning October 21, 2007. Submission of completed applications will be due close of business on December 30, 2007. United Way partner agencies and other health and human service care agencies that are eligible to apply will receive formal notification of the application process, technical assistance and other important dates. The agencies awarded funding will be announced in the spring of 2008.

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The Latino Initiative application can be downloaded by clicking here.

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For information on the application process, please contact CJ Jones, United Way director of outreach & diversity, by phone, (312) 906-2302, or email, cjones@uw-mc.org.