Spring 2011 Progress Report

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S E L F E N H A N C E M E N T, I N C .3920 North Kerby AvenuePortland, OR 97227-1255

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The SEI Youth Potential Realized Newsletter is published quarterly by Self Enhancement, Inc. You can download a PDF version on our website at www.SelfEnhancement.org and share it electronically with your friends.

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S E L F E N H A N C E M E N T, I N C . | 503.249.1721

2 0 1 0 - 2 0 1 1 B o a r d o f D i r e c t o r s

Linda Wright ChairReggie Guyton Vice ChairKarolyn Neupert SecretaryRupa Jack TreasurerTony Hopson President & CEO

Kenneth A. CarrJennifer AdamsHans van AlebeekBernadette ArthareeCortlandt CuffeeScott DemorestChris DunnavilleGreg GoodmanBill HarrisKaren Hinsdale

Margaret HoffmannJosh KardonDavid LoktingLarry MillerEllison C. MorganJill MorganLori MorganCindy MulflurDon PearsonBrian Pienovi

Phil RobinsonBeth SkillernBruce SouthworthThomas SpitzerQuentin D. StrodeRobin TompkinsJohn TrachtenbergJan TurnerMark WallerMalia Wasson

Spring/Summer 2011

SELF ENHANCEMENT, INC. NEWSLETTER

YOUTH POTENT IAL REAL IZED

A New Approach toEducation 1

Message from the President 2

2011 SEI College Graduates 3

Against the Odds:Stories of Success 4

Spring 2011 Progress Report 5

A New Approach To EducationAs we enter into our 30th year of providing vital youth services to the Portland community, SEI has found itself up against extraordinary circumstances.

Our public education system is not meeting the needs of today’s youth – particularly kids of color and poor kids. Too many fail to graduate from high school and successfully transition into adult-hood. For many, this is due to lack of adequate support, the inability of school districts to engage with students from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, and numerous gaps in the system where kids get lost along the way. In fact, without the intervention of programs such as SEI, only 53% of African American students graduate from Portland Public Schools (PPS).

In order to meet this overwhelming need in the community, SEI is doing something that has never been done before; we are investing in an entire freshman class at a struggling neighborhood school. Through our partnership with PPS, all students entering Jefferson High School as freshmen this Fall, will have an opportunity to enroll in both the new Middle College program for Advanced

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Studies and Self Enhancement, Inc. After four years, it is our hope that every student at Jefferson will be a part of SEI.

The Middle College program offers Jefferson students significant educational opportunities that cannot be found at other campuses. By participating in dual-enrollment at Portland Community College, students will earn college academic credit prior to high school graduation, finish college early and reduce semester credit loads.

EventsHere + NowThank you to everyone who attended Here+Now 20ELEVEN. Because of your generosity, we were able to raise enough money to cover all the food costs for our 6-week Summer program for two years! Give yourselves a hand for supporting happy and well-fed kids.

Art + Soul ... is around the cornerBe sure to mark your calendars for

Saturday, October 1st 2011

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E lement ar y Schoo l*Average performance across 5 schools

37% are meeting standards in math

54% are meeting standards in reading

82% achieved 90% attendance

92% achieved 0-1 referrals

98% achieved no suspensions

M idd le Schoo l *Average performance across 7 schools

78% are meeting standards in math

72% are meeting standards in reading

90% achieved 90% attendance

94% achieved 0-1 referrals

95% achieved no suspensions

High Schoo l*Average performance across 3 schools

9th graders [112 students] G.P.A = 2.09

10th graders [57 students] G.P.A = 2.30

11th graders [46 students] G.P.A = 2.36

12th graders [57 students] G.P.A = 2.31

Post H igh Schoo l 2008-2009 Academic Year Projections

Total Post High Program Students (2004-10): 265

Students enrolled in Post-Secondary Education: 127

Currently employed (not enrolled in school): 101

Not employed or enrolled in school: 36

254 kids

373

kids

265

kids

267 kids

SEI Celebrates Success with Spring 2011 College GraduatesDominick DixonBenedict CollegeBA Education

Brianna Hardy Howard UniversityBA English

Treauna JacksonOregon State UniversityBS Human Services

Ashley Jones Howard UniversityBA Business Administration Minor Marketing

LaQuay Kennedy Benedict CollegeBS Biology

Chanel Mitchell Florida A&M UniversityBS Human & Family Services

Markhuri Sanders-Frison University of CA BerkeleyBS Sociology

JeRonde Sanders-Weatherspoon Oregon State UniversityBS Human Services

Against the Odds

Stories of SuccessStudent names have been changed to protect confidentiality

DAVID, an 8th grade Academy student, never made honor role during sixth or seventh grade. He was always challenged to do so by his Coordinator, but just never took it seriously.

All of that changed when he became an eighth grader. This year, David has had a different focus in the classroom. He sits in the front of the class instead of the back and asks questions about things he doesn’t understand.

He is doing a great job of turning in his homework on time, and the first quarter of the school year he received a 2.7 GPA - one of his highest to date. Although proud of his achievement, David was challenged by his Coordinator to work even harder and bring his GPA up to 3.0.

Not only did David meet the GPA challenge, but he also was selected as student-of-the-month for February.

In addition to David’s academic accomplishments, he also made the game winning shot for

his basketball team in one of the biggest games of the season!

David is more confident, is making great improvements and is working hard to maintain his spot on the honor roll.

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Its services would include academic tutoring, student and parent advocacy, college and career exploration, social services support, parenting classes, counseling services, college scholarships, individual success plans, foster care support, employment opportunities, and drug and alcohol support for parents.

If we could imagine a program that could provide all of this, we would have imagined Self Enhancement, Inc.

For over 30 years, SEI has been providing youth development services for children in need. We reach over 3,000 children and families per year, operate our own (on-site) SEI Academy and work directly with 10 Portland Public Schools. For all these reasons, and many more, we graduate 98% of our students, with 85% going on to college.

But do decision-makers care enough to explore models like SEI that work? Enough to make education their top priority? Enough to talk about race and its impact on America’s future? Do we as a people care enough to realize the urgency of this? And move the education needle to the same level of: 9/11, Katrina, Iraq or the financial system bailout?

Yes, we all care, but I contend that this nation, this state, this city and most Americans may simply not care enough.

Here’s your opportunity to prove me wrong.Don’t let our kids become statistics. Help SEI by pulling together as a community to show our children that we do care about their future.

Warm regards,

Tony L. Hopson, Sr.President & CEO

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SHAYLA is a sophomore at Benson High school. This

past term she failed her core classes.

Shayla’s Coordinator

communicated with her teachers and received information that they thought would help in making her successful. After some research, Shayla’s Coordinator also discovered a real need to

have tutorial homework support on-site at Benson, since some students were unable to make it to after-school programming at the Center.

With the help of SEI, a tutor was identified for

Benson students after school on Tuesdays and

Thursdays. Shayla has been there at every opportunity to get assistance, and as a result, is now passing all her classes!

With the support of SEI’s High School Team,

Shayla has made positive strides in

her academics. She is now confident that

she can do the work and reach her full potential.

MESS AGE FROM THE PRES IDENTBy Tony Hopson, Sr.

Education is

not preparation

for life; education

is life itself.

- John Dewey

Dear Friends,

With over 30 years in the

Public School and Youth Development

arena, I have never seen a more important time in the Public School debate than now. In fact, I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that the very future of America will be shaped by the outcomes on the Public School debate.

Given the urgency of the situation, I want to share with you just a few of the problems nationally and locally – and what I believe our best hope is - while asking the question, does anybody really care?

In 1995, the United States was tied for 1st in college and university graduation rates, but by 2006, the country had dropped to 14th.

Forty years ago, the United States had one of the best levels of high school degree attainment, but in 2006, it ranked 18th out of 24 industrialized nations.

In 1970, the United States had 30% of the world’s college graduates. Today, we have less than 15%.

And finally, apart from health care, the United States spends more public funds on K-12 education than any other service.

If we’re looking for a true solution, we might imagine a multi-service organization that could fill all the gaps for kids and families we just outlined.

This program would start with kids and families at an early age and stay with them well into adulthood. It would provide support services during school, after school and in the summer.

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At the core of the Jefferson Middle College experience is the Self-Enhancement Program which offers “wrap around” services, including: tutorial homework support; a one-on-one relationship with a school coordinator; and post-high school and support networks up to the age of twenty-five. Students will be actively involved in re-building their local community and will also become a part of SEI’s system, which graduates 98% of its students from High School!

Employment opportunities shrink for students without a degree, and many find it difficult to achieve economic stability. In Multnomah County alone, communities of color earn $16,636 annually - compared to $33,095 earned by Caucasians - and have unemployment rates 35.7% higher than whites (Coalition of Communities of Color report, March 2010).

By investing in the lives of underserved youth during those critical high school years, SEI will help many children in our community avoid a future of poverty and turmoil - a fate that is almost certain without intervention.

But we need your help.

We hope you will take a moment to consider supporting our services. Your personal commitment to helping children become positive, contributing citizens means so much to us and will allow SEI to reach out to even more kids in need of a

helping hand.

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