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PINC
NEWS
Protect. Inspire. Nurture. Challenge.
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A MESSAGE FROM ODA's CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER
It's hard to believe that summer is coming to a close and the school year is upon us! ODA successfully completed another year of 8-week summer programming with many new camps and inspiring projects.
This summer we held a record high of 51 summer camps, serving 85% of our scholar population. From rowing in Lake Erie to exploring careers at the Cleveland Clinic, ODA scholars experienced the most engaging variety of summer camps in the city. Forty-two of our high school scholars also completed internship programs with ODA at the Natural History Museum, Lake Erie Ink, Dreamhouse Marketing, and many more community partners.
This was also the first time that ODA hosted family engagement programming during the summer months. Our families joined us for a financial literacy workshop series, Zumba, craft night, and family movie night at the ODA offices. We have truly found our niche in comprehensive summer programming.
Just as summer ends, we have new projects for the new school year. For example, we are excited to launch our new high school programming model. This model is a culmination of national best practices that provides robust college and career programming for ODA scholars. I hope that you spend some time to read about this model in more detail below.
As we are gearing up to begin school year programming in September, you can expect to hear about many of our campuses through this newsletter. Our scholars, families, and staff have so much to share about their out-of-school experiences at ODA and we are excited to share them with you!
Thank you for your continued support,
Amy Btiebet, M.S.
Chief Programming Officer
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BEHIND THE SCENES OF ODA'S NEW HIGH SCHOOL MODEL
This year, ODA is excited to begin a new journey with our Pathways to Independence Program for our high school scholars. The Pathways to Independence Program (PIP) is designed to prepare each scholar to succeed in a career path long-term. PIP supports the Ohio Department of Education's Career Connections Framework and leverages best practices from the United States Department of Labor and Ohio Means jobs. Programming is offered 5 days a week and on occasional Saturdays throughout the year. Programming begins in the 9th grade and runs the 1st year of post-secondary programming.
The Pathways to Independence Program is divided into three core sections: College and Career Readiness, Core Competencies to Adulthood, and Global Education and Intercultural Fluency.
The goals for PIP focus on scholars developing a clearly defined path to their future career, developing the necessary essential skills to be successful in adulthood, and provide in-depth small-group and individual coaching to ensure that scholars are prepared to excel in their future goals.
To learn more about ODA's new Pathways to Independence model, join us for a presentation with Deborah Very, President & CEO of the Deaconess Foundation, on Thursday, September 28, 2017.
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5 OUT OF 5: OHIO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AWARDS FIVE 21ST CENTURY GRANTS TO OPEN DOORS ACADEMY
We learned at the end of last week that the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) approved all of ODA's new grant applications to the 21st Century Community Learning Center Program. The entire ODA community - from our board and staff to our scholars, families, and school & community partners - is thrilled by this news.
Overall, ODE awarded 107 grants across Ohio. Fifteen were secured by agencies in Cuyahoga County, and ODA earned five of them.
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SUMMER CAMP DATA REPORT
Summer camps matter because they prevent students from forgetting what they learned during the school year. ODA collects a variety of data in order to better fight this summer learning loss and in order to show that scholars are actively learning during the summer. Summer camp data is assessed from multiple different perspectives in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of how our program continues to impact our scholar's lives even when school is out.
Pre- and post-tests are given to scholars for each camp. This assessment helps measure a scholar's background knowledge of the subject at the beginning of the week, to then accurately measures how much they learn by the end of the week. This data is compiled to show the average percent of growth in knowledge for each camp.
ODA also administers satisfaction surveys to learn how well scholars enjoyed the camps. This data helps us improve our future summer programming.
To measure ODA's benchmark goals, attendance is collected daily to inform us on how many of our scholars participated in the summer programming. This past summer ODA served 222 middle school scholars for an average of 5 out of 8 weeks of summer camp.
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AN ODA HERO:
THE CLEVELAND CLINIC
The Cleveland Clinic is an invaluable partner in many ways. They are committed to providing life-changing experiences to our scholars and families. Their investment in ODA directly improves the well-being and futures of the kids we serve.
In the last year, the Cleveland Clinic made an impact through the programs they funded. They hosted an ODA high school intern, provided a Cleveland Clinic Careers summer camp, taught health and wellness enrichment sessions to scholars and parents, and provided health screenings, Zumba, and fitness demonstrations at ODA events!
With ODA, the Cleveland Clinic is committed to making a direct, positive impact in the lives of our scholars and their families.
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SUPPORTING THE WHOLE ODA:
THE AMES FAMILY
FOUNDATION
The Ames Family Foundation has long been a generous and trusted supporter of ODA. Headed by brother and sister Dick Ames and Cindy Ames Huffman, the Foundation has funded an impressive range of programming and projects throughout the past eight years. These have included support for the high school program, rent for the first year at our Perkins office, leasing an ODA van, and salaries for newly created positions.
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SUMMER ARTS SHOWCASE
On Friday, August 18th ODA scholars showed off their creative side at Negative Space Gallery. Thanks to artist, Gadi Zamir, Scholars spent several weeks at Negative Space this summer learning and creating different forms of art which they displayed and sold at the showcase.
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HYLAND SUMMER OF SERVICE
Hyland Software generously donated their time and knowledge by spending a day volunteering at ODA. They completed not one but TWO projects! One group of volunteers worked on the technology closet by giving the devices much needed updating and organization. The second group provided four training sessions on a variety of technology topics.
Thank you Hyland
Software for your time and commitment to serving the community!
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ODA CAMPUS SPOTLIGHT: MONTICELLO MIDDLE SCHOOL
If you walk into any of the three homework rooms at ODA's campus at Monticello Middle School in Cleveland Heights you will see groups of scholars drafting WNBA and NBA superstars.
No, they're not participating in a fantasy basketball draft; rather, they are using basketball to test their math skills. The Math Hoops program is centered around a board game, mobile app, and supplemental curriculum that is tied to the Common Core State Standards for mathematics.
To read more, click here. |
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ODA STAFF MEMBER OF THE YEAR
Every year, ODA recognizes a member of the staff who embodies the organization's mission, strives to work hard everyday, and serves as a strong mentor to the ODA scholars. This year, the ODA team selected Tommy Bigelow, Assistant Campus Coordinator at the Monticello Middle School Campus, as the Staff Member of the Year.
Congratulations Tommy!
To read more, click here. |
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9/18
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First Day of ODA Programming!
ODA begins another great year of programming!
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9/28
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New ODA High School Model Rollout
Join us at the ODA Office for an informational meeting to learn about the new high school model. Click here to register!
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10/5
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ODA Speaker Series Luncheon
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ODA Family Fun Fitness Day!
We're changing things up by having this event at the beginning of the school year instead of at the end. Join us at Cleveland Central Catholic High school from 4-7 PM.
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Major gifts and grants to Open Doors Academy come from:
The Abington Foundation, The Ames Family Foundation, Barbara McWilliams and Tom Paraino, Bruening Foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, CDBG, Cleveland Clinic, Deaconess Foundation, Dr. Malcolm Kenney, John Morley,
Higley Fund, The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation, Key Bank Foundation, Lubrizol Foundation, The Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Ohio Department of Education, The Reinberger Foundation,
Robert Immerman, Saint Luke's Foundation, Starting Point, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, The Thomas H. White Foundation, Third Federal Foundation, The Treu-Mart Fund, United Way of Greater Cleveland.
For more information about gifts and giving, please visit
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