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Learn more about our partners and friends.

Amador Valley High School Peer Learning Program / Peersdom

A student-run program at Amador Valley High School has become Peersdom – an app that promotes peer-to-peer learning among student and professional communities.

Learn more and request to beta test here:  http://peersdom.com.

Arizona Business & Education Coalition symposium

This symposium was to inform those of us in business and education of what others are doing in the way of partnerships between business and educators.

See https://www.azbec.org

Be A Leader Foundation

A letter from Melissa Trujillo
President & CEO
Be A Leader Foundation

May 20, 2020

Dear Bruce,

We want to take this opportunity to thank you for your encouragement and support of the over 8,300 students we serve. We are very fortunate to have so many wonderful individuals and organizations believing in our mission and helping our students to believe a college education is a reality.

2019 was an amazing year of growth for Be A Leader; one that brought new partnerships, expansion of the Be A Leader Family and recognition from the highly respected Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We are very proud of the accomplishments of our team and students and invite you to review the pages of our 2019 Annual Report for more details. From our 7th grade programs through our college success programs, we are very proud of the support we provide to help so many Arizona students aspire to achieve their dreams and reach their full potential. As an example, we invite you to view the SCHOLARSHIP AWARD SURPRISE we were instrumental in awarding to one of our Be A Leader seniors this past Monday.

Because 2019 was such an exceptional year of growth, we need a bigger “home” and are pleased to announce our new address:

Be A Leader Foundation
1717 W. Northern Ave.,
Suite 116
Phoenix, AZ 85021

We aren’t going far – literally across the parking lot – and will officially move in by June 1, 2020. All of our other contact information will remain the same.

Admittedly, 2020 has certainly brought challenges that none of us could have imagined in our wildest dreams. However, amidst the chaos we’ve been reminded of how important the work of Be A Leader is – now more than ever. We have risen to the challenges with additional programs, services and tools adapting as needed to make sure we are still providing much-needed support to our students in real time. We certainly don’t know what the rest of the year will bring, but we do know that we will be ready and willing to adapt to do whatever it takes to ensure we continue to support our students.

Warm Regards,
Melissa & Be A Leader Team

BUSS

Business United for Scottsdale Schools (“BUSS”) is a very professionally presented program to assist workforce development in Scottsdale and its schools.

See website at http://www.bussfoundation.org

Donors Choose

Check out the Camelback High School project, Building Citizens of the World.

See donorschoose.org

Genesis City

So where do these students go and what happens to them after they leave Camelback HS?  One answer is the Genesis City school.  Here is some further information about Genesis which seems to making a success of it with many of these students.

See www.genesiscity.org.

Support My Club

Born out of a need that was recognized while working with Camelback High, one SVPAZ partner launched a new non-profit, Support My Club.

SMC is an e-commerce solution where donors can support the needs of high school clubs and teams. Clubs post their specific requests and donors “shop” for items that speak to them. There are needs in Academics, Activities, Arts and Athletics and range from $2 to thousands – allowing every one to find an item no matter what their interests or giving abilities.  Items are added to the online cart, donors make a 100% tax-deductible purchase and Support My Club delivers the item directly to the club!  For every $100 of value received, the club completes one hour of community service, allowing the receiver to become the giver and the cycle of philanthropy to continue. 

See http://www.supportmyclub.org/collections/camelback-high

Peer Power Foundation

Peer Power is a Memphis, TN based non-profit organization that “recruits and trains high-performing students to tutor and mentor their peers, encourage active learning, value education and be personally accountable for their futures.”

The Peer Power Foundation has started a program at University of Memphis, Fogelman College of Business and Economics. The goals are: to assist the students in the 10 most difficult classes (examples, quantitative analysis, stat, Federal Tax, Accounting, etc), decrease the transfer rate to less challenging areas of study and increase the graduation rate.

The Dean Dr. Rajiv Grover identified 10 professors, who in turn nominated 30 tutors, Peer Power hired and began last week. It will be a great learning experience. Peer Power hopes to work with the local community colleges to help get their students prepared to join work force and to be ready if applicable to transfer to a 4 year institution.

It will help us in Memphis to assist a student through the entire academic cycle.

See http://www.peerpowerfoundation.org

 View an update letter from the founder

From the December 2013 Peer Power email newsletter:

Peer Power was founded in 2005 in the belief that if you could combine the methods of a one-room schoolhouse with the values of the American free enterprise system – where hard work is rewarded with honest pay – then you could begin to reverse the downward spiral of our public schools and inner city communities. Today, we are proud to report that Peer Power has exceeded our highest aspirations. Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS)* data from 2012-2013 demonstrate that students involved in Peer Power are academically surpassing their fellow students at a dramatic rate.

  • In English I, East High School (EHS) students fell short of TVAAS predictions by 3 percentage points while Peer Power students at EHS exceeded them by 9; in English II, Peer Power students exceeded predictions by 18 percentage points while EHS students met expectations. 
  • In Algebra I, EHS students performed within 2 percentage points of TVAAS predictions, while Peer Power scholars exceeded them by 22. 
  • In Biology, EHS students met TVAAS expectations, while Peer Power students exceeded them by 31 percentage points  

These results aren’t just about test scores. They’re about the level of improvement that’s possible when students are given an effective supplement to classroom learning. Rather than continuing to performat the level expected based on their past achievement, students involved with Peer Power shatter the status quo.Peer Power needs your help to continue this life-changing work. Your support today will help redefine the future for Mid-South students and every community they touch. To learn more, meet our students, and make a donation, visit us online Sincerely, Kela D. Jones Director of Development Peer Power Foundation * From TVAAS Fact Sheet:  “Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) is a statistical analysis of achievement data that reveals academic growth over time for students and groups of students … TVAAS is a tool that gives feedback to school leaders and teachers on student progress and assesses the influence of schooling on that progress.TVAAS is not an additional student test, but rather an analysis of different tests/variables to produce a precise and reliable estimate of student progress and effectiveness of instruction over time … Up to five years of students’ available achievement data is used in the process to estimate performance.”

 

Page 15

Page 15 is committed to providing supplemental reading and writing education for all students living and attending public schools in Orlando, Florida. Our FREE after-school tutoring and creative writing workshops are dedicated to enhancing communication skills, encouraging personal creativity, and inspiring a lifelong passion for the language arts. Since 2008, we’ve served over 1,000 children from over 90 Orange County public schools.

APRIL 2014 UPDATE: For the second year in a row, Page 15 was recognized by the Walt Disney World Company as a recipient of the Disney Helping Kids Shine Grant last month. We were honored to be recognized by a company whose own generosity and creativity is a constant inspiration to all of us.

See http://page15.org for more information.

 

Peer Tutoring Resource Center

An online resource website for all things related to peer tutoring.

On the web at http://www.peertutoringresource.org or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/peertutoringresource.

Angela Lee Duckworth: The key to success? Grit

 

Angela Lee Duckworth’s Ted Talk on trying to find the magic formula for kids’ success in schools.

Join the Conversation

This website is a case study of a school transformation experience. The conclusion so far is that schools can benefit greatly from the time, talent and treasure of those in the local community.

Can the student outcome improvements generated at Camelback High School can be sustained and replicated? Or were the improvements only due to a unique synergy among this particular group of highly-motivated students, teachers, community leaders and an uninhibited principal?

Let's discuss.

Social Venture Partners Arizona

CULTIVATING EFFECTIVE PHILANTHROPISTS, STRENGTHENING NONPROFITS, AND INVESTING IN COLLABORATIVE SOLUTIONS

For inquiries about the Success is Mandatory program case study, Camelback High School or the Phoenix District, please email Kellie Burris: kburris@PhoenixUnion.org