annual report

Super Stars Literacy has provided increasing numbers of young students with the opportunity to realize the American dream by

helping them build foundational literacy and social/emotional skills essential for their academic progress. Every spring we see the impact of our work and your support in our students’ enthusiasm for learning and the substantial growth in their reading skills. We’re happy to share the successes of our students, families, and our organization with you.

While our annual program evaluation again demonstrated the success of our program in accelerating the growth of our students’ literacy and social/emotional development, our

ability to build a foundation for lifelong learning and achievement occurs when students remain in SSL continuously from Kindergarten through 2nd grade. The testimonials of the principals we work with and the volunteers who generously give their time confirm the impact that Super Stars Literacy has on the students in our program. SSL is structured to provide a variety of engag-ing opportunities for students, retirees, business employees, service organization members, and others to volunteer to support our students.

• SSL grew by 50%, expanding to nine schools serving over 400 students.

• We expanded to a second school district, Hayward USD, starting a trend that has accelerated in 2012-13.• Our partnership in the Oakland Literacy Coalition grew to 3 schools, and we are a key participant in their new

city-wide Oakland Reads 2020 initiative.

IMPACT

2011-2012 MILESTONES

FOR TEN YEARS

WHAT WE DO Super Stars Literacy works to improve educational opportunities for at-risk students by providing them with daily literacy intervention services. The SSL program model consists of school-site based programming for Kindergarten through 2nd grade students, offered at high-need Bay Area elementary schools. We provide 15 hours per week of after-school instruction, plus additional school-day intervention, led by professional educators and highly

trained AmeriCorps staff, who work closely with the students’ school-day teachers and parents in order to tailor learning to the individual student. The program also includes a focus on develop-ing the social-emotional skills needed for success in school and in life. Our goal is for our students to enter 3rd grade as proficient readers who are fully prepared for the rest of their academic career.

Academic success,

as defined by high school

graduation, can be predicted

with reasonable accuracy by

knowing someone’s reading

skill at the end of 3rd grade.

A person who is not at least

a modestly skilled reader

by that time is unlikely to

graduate from high school.

–National Research Council

333 Hegenberger Road, Suite 503, Oakland, CA 94621(510) 777-0870 | www.superstarsliteracy.org

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2012-13 PROSPECTS

10TH ANNIVERSARY

MANY THANKS!

As more education leaders learn about Super Stars Literacy, we gain opportunities to extend our impact.

• SSL was invited to join the Hayward Promise Neighborhood partnership, which received one of only five federal Department of Education grants to develop a coordinated community of resources to improve educational out-comes for students and families in an under-resourced Hayward, CA neighborhood.

• Super Stars Literacy was selected as one of only four new AmeriCorps grantees in California and received a $370,000 grant for 28 AmeriCorps members to serve as our program instructors. The motivation, dedication, and teaching skills of a trained AmeriCorps member are exhibited in the profile of Megan Stimpson, a Super Stars Group Leader now starting her second year with us.

• For 2012-13, Super Stars Literacy will be serving over 500 students in four Bay Area school districts: Oakland, Hayward, Antioch, and West Contra Costa (Richmond).

This year we celebrate 10 years since the Junior League of Oakland-East Bay launched the Super

Stars Literacy program. Our 10TH ANNIVERSARY GALA celebration will take place on January 26, 2013 at the Claremont Hotel & Spa in Oakland. Please mark your calendars!

Your generous support allows us to continue to give more young students the opportunity for academic and life successes.

MIKE MOWERY, Executive Director, mike@superstarsliteracy.org CARLA KOREN, President, Board of Directors

Student Profile . . . . . . . . . . . .4-5

SSL Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

UPDATE: AmeriCorps . . . . . .8-9

UPDATE: Expansion . . . . . . . 10-11

What People are Saying . . .12-13

Financials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Thank you donors! . . . . . . . . . . 15

INSIDE THE ANNUAL REPORT

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When Michael first joined Super Stars, he was very reluctant to participate. After his Group leader, Julie Goshe, incorporated community building and oral language development strategies, Michael grew more and more comfortable sharing his answers

and ideas with the group. His love of art was very evident, and he excelled in activities such as drawing a picture, and then filling in key words in a sentence frame, such as “I like to with my family.” During guided reading, Julie utilized the comprehension strategy of using pictures to predict meaning. Michael’s attention to the detail in the pictures and his ability to use art to communicate ideas were huge factors in develop-

ing his ability to read texts. Michael also showed great sensitivity to his classmates, especially if they needed help. For example, when the class

was making a book, one of Michael’s team members was frustrated about illustrating his sentence. Michael asked, “Do you need help?

Do you want me to help you draw?” and then helped his friend draw the outline.

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Michael’s Group Leader this year, Karen Schreiner, noted that Michael was an especially observant and insightful reader, noticing details the author included and making interesting inferences. All of Michael’s Group Leaders have noted that his mother was an important part of his success and even though her English

was quite limited, she always attended all of the family activities and participated in “College Bound,” a program that Think College Now offers to educate parents and families about the college application process. Michael’s mom often arrived early to observe the end of Closing Circle and always made sure to check in about his behavior and his classwork. Michael’s clip (which represents his behavioral choices during Super Stars) was often on Green, Blue, or Purple (all positive colors), and Michael was always excited to tell his mom when this happened. When he ended the day on Yellow, Orange, or Red, he was sometimes upset about telling his mom, but was always honest. His reflec-tion sheets—where he would accurately

identify his behavior, state how he could make a better choice next time, and draw detailed pictures to match—were honest and self-aware.

Group Leader Alexandra Ahn said that Michael had found a real motivation for excelling academically, and took great pride in being a hard worker

who always completed his assignments on time. Socially, Michael had trouble expressing himself using “I statements” and at the beginning of the school year, if a conflict arose during recess, he would wait for the instructor to notice him and then burst into tears or yell out in anger. However, he always gladly accepted suggestions in solving the conflict, and by the end of the year he was better with conflict resolution.

Michael’s K–2nd Progress K: Initial Sound Fluency (ability to recognize and produce the initial sound in a word) At the beginning of the year, he could correctly identify only two sounds per minute (benchmark is 8 or above) plac-ing him in the “high risk” score category. By mid-year, he improved to 32 sounds per minute, exceeding benchmark score of 25.K: Letter Naming Fluency Improved from 25 to 40 letters identified per minute in the first half of the year and met the benchmark score.1st: Nonsense Word Fluency (assesses ability to identify letters with their most common sounds and to blend letters into words) Improved from 32 to 49 letter-sounds correctly produced in one minute, just shy of the benchmark score of 50. 1st: Oral Reading Fluency Increased the number of words read correctly in one minute from 18 to 47 over half the year, exceeding the benchmark score of 40. Reading had an accuracy rate of 67%. 2nd: Oral Reading Fluency He continued to improve, ending the year able to read 93 words per minute, with 96% accuracy—higher than the DIBELS benchmark of 90 words per minute!

K: Initial Sound

Fluency

K: Letter Naming Fluency

1st: Non-sense Word

Fluency

1st: Oral Reading Fluency

2nd: Oral Reading Fluency

Beginning Score Ending Score Benchmark Score

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Michael was a pleasure to teach. He is an incredibly interesting, creative, and kind child. I have no doubt that he will continue

to be successful at TCN, especially if supports like Super Stars remain in place.

Alexandra Ahn SSL Group Leader 2011-12

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Ass

essm

ent

Sco

re

Each year our goal is to accelerate students’ growth in literacy skills, improve students’ social/emotional

skills, and engage parents in our program.

At the beginning of program Courtney would not handle any of his own problems. Instead, he would always tell me or the other Group

Leader if there was a problem with another kid, no matter how small it was. Now Courtney remembers to directly address the person with whom he is having an issue. He does not use physical force (even when hit), he talks through his problem and calmly tells the other student that he does not like what they are doing.

When I first met Yaphire, he was unable to decode or write even the smallest of words. In just a short few months, he is

one of the most advanced students in my class. He spells most words correctly, reads fluently, and even is able to help his classmates with their own work.

ProducingExceptional Results

ssl students achieve program goals

Literacy SkillsImprovement

Socio-emotional Growth

CaregiverEngagement

100

80

60

40

20

0

At the beginning of the year, Jonathan didn’t know that sentences were made up of words and could not count the number of words in sentences. By January, he was

able to not only count the number of words in sentences, but could break down words into their individual sounds—an important skill for a kindergartener. His school day teacher told me she was amazed at how quickly Jonathan has progressed.

% o

f st

ud

ents

ach

ievi

ng

go

al

6

100

80

60

40

20

0

Brookfield Village Elementary School

Cox Academy Elementary School

East Oakland Pride Elementary School

International Community School (ICS)

Think College Now (TCN)

Hoover Elementary School

Lazear Elementary School

Longwood Elementary School

Reach Academy Elementary School

K F

all

K W

inte

r

K S

prin

g

1st

Fall

1st

Win

ter

1st

Sprin

g

2nd

Fall

2nd

Win

ter

2nd

Sprin

g

Super Stars Literacy students who attend program regularly will demonstrate accelerated growth equivalent to one

academic year’s progress on essential literacy indicators.

Caregivers of SSL students who attend the program regularly will engage in literacy based activities with

their children during program-provided opportunities. Though they start school with lower assessment scores, SSL students quickly overtake non-SSL students and end 2nd grade scoring in the highest assessment category.

The liTeracy skills measured:LeTTer NamiNg FLueNcy: Score represents number of randomly arranged letters that students can correctly name in one minute.

NoNSeNSe Word FLueNcy: Score represents number of letter- or word-sounds a student can correctly produce in one minute, when presented with a list of “nonsense words”(e.g., sig, nev).

oraL readiNg FLueNcy: Score represents number of words correctly read aloud in one minute, when asked to read a text passage.

end of year K and 1st grade scores were not available for non-SSL students.

Ayries began SSL with extremely low motor and academic skills. Her speaking skills were also very low. She had the opportunity to work

on oral language development and can now form more sentences. During the school day, I met with Ayries for one-on-one work, mostly focused on writing. It took two weeks of practice on just the letter A, but she was finally able to write letters on her own! Ayries knows she has the help she needs to make progress.

academic literacyprogress indicators

caregiver participationrates by school

100%

100%

100%

84%

84%

100%

89%

87%

79%

SSL Students Non-SSL Students

Fernando was very disruptive and easily offended when directed to correct his behavior. He was consistently off-task and wouldn’t respond to

redirection. The SSL training on classroom behavior and our focus on creating a safe, supportive and inclusive environment was instrumental in guiding my approach with Fernando. As he accumulated points on the behavior monitoring chart, I would praise and reward him. Gradually, I began to see changes in his attitude. Fernando’s parents have also noticed a change in his behavior at home and praise him for his progress.

Naiomi didn’t know any letters at the start of the year. With lots of support, she now knows her letters by sight and sound and went from 0 letter names per minute to 37!

DIB

EL

S A

sses

smen

t S

core

letter naming fluency nonsense word fluency oral reading fluency

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expansion updateAmeriCorps

Since 2009, SSL has hired our Group Lead-ers and Volunteer Coordinators through the AmeriCorps program, via partnerships with other community organizations. This year, SSL was awarded a grant for our own AmeriCorps program, with funding to support 28 members!

SSL Awarded Grant for 28 AmeriCorps Members!The application process was extremely com-petitive with only 4 new grantees in California. This will give SSL control over critical staffing resources and the ability to tailor more effective training to these instructors of our students. While most AmeriCorps members serve one

This position and the amazing training I received from Super Stars Literacy

has been incredibly valuable to me in my development as a teacher. The experience

will have lifelong influence on me, and I am so thankful for this amazing

opportunity. I now have so much to build on as I continue my teaching career!

Hannah Husain SSL Group Leader 2011-12

year, approximately half of SSL’s 2011-12 Ameri-Corps extended their SSL placement for a second year. After they complete their service, the majority of our staff enter the education field, helping to fill the need for experienced, qualified teachers in high-need schools.

THE VALUE OF AMERICORPS The mission of AmeriCorps, part of the Corporation for National and Community Service, is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. Our AmeriCorps members are highly motivated college gradu-ates who spend a year in public service as full-time staff, leading our after school program and supporting our students’ school-day classrooms, ensuring alignment between after-school and school-day instruction. They receive intensive training on literacy development, instructional prac-tices, and classroom management. We are fortunate to be able to benefit from their commitment.

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staff profile Megan Stimpson What drew you to Super Stars? The focus on literacy—I’ve always been interested in teach-ing young children how to read. In college, I volunteered in elementary school classrooms during language arts time and tutored students in an after school reading program. The Super Stars AmeriCorps position was a perfect fit for me as an aspiring teacher.

What are some of your proudest accomplishments? It was amazing to watch so many of my kindergarteners grow and develop a real love for reading and learning. After one of our first guided reading lessons, one of my students spent a while holding the book, just staring at it in his hands. Finally, he asked skeptically, “Is this a real book?” When I told him that it was, he paused and then, with a big grin, he said excitedly, “I can read a real book?!”

What are your future plans? I will be extending my AmeriCorps placement and returning to SSL for a second year. After that, I plan on getting my Multiple Subjects Teaching Creden-tials and teaching elementary school in the Bay Area.

Yvonne Pierce, Megan’s Program Manager: Megan is a dynamic, caring, and focused instructor to her students helping them acquire literacy skills at or above grade level and develop a love for reading. Since many of the students in Megan’s class had no prior

experience with formal schooling, they had a hard time adjusting to school culture and classroom rules. Megan worked very hard to get students acclimated to school rules and to get along with peers, taught them how to focus for developmentally appropriate periods of time, how to listen to the teacher, how to work in teams and learn from their peers, and how to work independently. Megan made each student feel that they were a valued member in their classroom community, which translated into the students being able to perform better during the school day.

My work with SSL has given me invaluable experience teaching in a classroom, being a part of a school community, and developing positive

relationships with students and families.

Megan Stimpson SSL Group Leader 2011-12

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NEW SCHOOLSANTIOCH SCHOOL DISTRICTTurner Elementary

WEST CONTRA COSTA SCHOOL DISTRICT with support from the East Bay Community FoundationStege Elementary (Richmond)Washington Elementary (Richmond)

HAYWARD SCHOOL DISTRICTHarder Elementary Park Elementary

NEW CLASSESWe’re adding classes at Brookfield Elementary and at the Think College Now/International Community School campus, allowing us to serve 20 more students at each campus and allowing for a bilingual 2nd grade class at ICS.

expansion update2012-2013

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NEW COLLABORATIONSWe are a key participant in the Oakland Literacy Coalition’s new city-wide OAKLAND READS 2020 initiative, which, like Super Stars Literacy, seeks to ensure that every child in Oakland can read proficiently by 3rd grade.

PROMISE NEIGHBORHOODSIn the fall of 2012, SSL will provide programming at Harder and Park elementary schools in Hayward as part of the new Promise Neighborhood federal grant project. One of only five grantees nationwide, the Hayward Promise Neighbor-hood project (led by CSU, East Bay and modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone) is designed to dramatically improve educational opportunities for children and youth living in the economically disadvantaged Jackson Triangle neighborhood by providing cradle-to-career services that improve the edu-cational achievement and healthy development of children.

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I’ve enjoyed working with children in the past and I think Super Stars is doing something really valuable by team-ing up volunteers with students who are struggling. The kids get excited when a volunteer knows Spanish, and

it helps them realize that it is important to know both languages. The tutors enjoy giving the kids that extra one-on-one time, and I love to see their improvement throughout the year! Even if you have never had any tutoring experience, just showing up consistently and spending time with the kids is a big help for them. When you see a student improve, you know you’ve helped set the foundation for them to succeed in school for the rest of their lives. Michelle Divelbiss, Volunteer Longwood Elementary

Every time I came back, the kids made drawings for me— I was so happy that they remembered me. I also really enjoyed the part of circle time when the kids would share their feelings, whether they were happy or sad and why.

The first time I would help a student read a book, they needed a lot of help with figuring out the words, but by the next time I came in, they would be able to read the whole book to me by themselves. Precious Anderson, Volunteer, Lazear Elementary

Classroom tutoring, family reading night/field trip assistance, organi-

zational support, and special event planning for our 10th Anniversary

Gala. Get involved. Email volunteer@superstarsliteracy.org!

What people say about Super Stars

volunteers

Become a Super Stars Volunteer

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I am most impressed with how well the Group Leaders work together as a team, consistently supporting, col-laborating with, and motivating each other to provide high-quality, effective instruction to their students. Their

strong work ethic is evident, as is their focus on meeting individual student needs and supporting student success. The impressive gains that SSL students are making in vocabulary and literacy skills are a direct result of the consistent effort of each Group Leader to provide the best quality programming possible. Kareem Weaver, Principal of Lazear Elementary

The parents of the SSL students are thrilled with the aca-demic and social progress that their children have made. They are especially appreciative that their young students have a safe and nurturing after-school environment which

is tailored to their age and their needs. I am very impressed with the commitment and conscientiousness of the Program Manager, and the Group Leaders are extremely effective and caring instructors. Patty Sheehan, Principal, Reach Elementary

principals

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Sustainability: SSL continues sustainable growth by developing a balanced revenue stream from government sources, foundation & corporate grants, and individual donations, and by avoiding reliance on any single funder or funding source.

Investment in Future Growth: As we expand our program, we are expanding our network of funders who share our focus on improving educational outcomes for at-risk children and who are willing to invest in our growth. We are extremely grateful for the continued support of our long-time funders, and look forward to a productive partnership with our many new donors. Please find more information about our donors in our Acknowledgements.

Yearly cost per student: During the past year, SSL reduced our yearly cost from $2800 to $2300 per student. Each student receives over 500 hours of intensive literacy instruction and socio-emotional skill development, several hours per week of additional school-day inter-vention, plus various family engagement and enrichment activities, such as weekend field trips to local museums and science centers, Family Reading Nights, and parent education events.

28%

1%13%

58%

Revenue Foundation/Corporate

Grants: $548,200

Government: $267,592

Events: $12,482

Individuals: $123,853

Expenses Program: $759,893

Management: $114,355

Fundraising: $85,930 79%

12%

9%

financials2011-2012

Super Stars Literacy is a not-for-profit charitable

organization, making your gift tax-deductible to the full

extent of current tax laws. You may donate by check to

Super Stars Literacy, Inc., or donate online through our website

at www.superstarsliteracy.org.

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Teacher: $50,000 - $99,000East Bay Community

Foundation

Librarian: $25,000 - $49,000Anonymous Family FoundationIrene S. Scully Family

FoundationMay & Stanley Smith

Charitable TrustThe Stocker Foundation

Reading Specialist: $10,000 - $24,999

Anonymous AT&T/San Francisco Giants

Community All StarsDavid AndersonBanks Family FoundationCallison Foundation Change Happens FoundationClorox Company FoundationRon CordesDavid B. Gold FoundationFleishhacker FoundationCarla Koren & Neal Parish

Thomas J. Long Foundation OfficeMaxQuest Foundation San Francisco FoundationUeberroth Family FoundationWestly Foundation Bernard E. and Alba Witkin

Foundation

Mentor: $5,000 - $9,999Barrios TrustChildren’s Support LeagueGena HarperDanielle Mowery FundSan Francisco Giants’

Community FundSt. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

Tutor: $1,000 - $4,999Judith AndersonAnonymousAvnet Corporate ContributionsLarry Bercovich Jeanne & Mark BerresLowell Berry Foundation

Bridgewater Associates in honor of Ted Huntley

Brickyard Berridge FundMindy & Bill Bush Amanda CaseyRoy & Monica ChestnutHugh & Nancy DitzlereBay Foundation, a Corporate

Advised Fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Patti HeimbergerHerb HeyneckerJunior League of Oakland–

East Bay, Inc.Nikki JustinoKiwanis Club, Lamorinda

ChapterTerry & Suzan KramerLaura & Eric LamisonChris LehmannRam NairBob & Mary RaffertyMatt SalmonsonRobin Silva

Limmie SimsDiane SteuberPeters SuhUnited Way of the Bay Area

Workplace Campaign Donations

Annual Campaign Contributions: $250 - $999

American Hospital Association, in honor of Pam Schwartz

AnonymousPatricia BartheS.D. Bechtel, Jr. FoundationDiane ColemanBarbara ConleyDebra ConstantineKenneth CordierDeanna DespainDreyer’s Grand Ice

Cream Foundation Louis EdelsonJennifer GravesElena GutierrezTerence Hawley

Mark HickeyChris HolmesMainul IslamDarin JensenDon KerminJolie KrakauerMike LaheyElise LomenzoMiriam & John ManginiKaren Meredith & Mike WanlessDale MinamiAnne MudgeJean McClune MudgeSathish NaadimuthuRichard Nelson Diana OdermattStephanie OgdenGigi OrtaJames PenrodJohn & Carol SalmonsonMargaret SchausSchwab Family FundScott Sullivan Mark & Pat UngerKim Weinstein

A sincere thanks to everyone who has supported Super Stars Literacy over the past year with financial contributions, in-kind donations, and volunteer assistance. You make it possible for us to continue giving every child the foundation for lifelong learning and achievement.

Our Families Our students’ families, for recognizing the importance of reading and for supporting their children’s participation in SSL.

Our community partners, collaborators and volunteers:

California Volunteers—AmeriCorps; Aspiranet; Bay Area Community Resources; BRE Properties; CSU East Bay; Chevron; Liam Connolly; East Bay Community Foundation; Franklin Dingemans; Girls Inc. of Alameda County; Hayward Unified School District; Junior League of Oakland-East Bay, Inc.; Landor Associates; Ben Mittelberger; Oakland Literacy Coalition; Oakland Parents’ Literacy Project; Oakland Fund for Children and Youth; Oakland Rotary; Oakland Unified School District; OfficeMax; Pandora; Reading Partners; Rogers Family Foundation; Eli Sharf; Dylan Smith; Target; UC Berkeley BUILD Program; Volunteer Center of the East Bay; Volunteer Center of San Francisco and San Mateo Counties; Volunteering for Oakland; Wells Fargo.

Our school partners: The administrators, teachers, support staff and other after-school program personnel at each of our school sites.

Our Board of Directors:David Anderson, Larry Bercovich, Rosemarie Boos, Amanda Casey, Debra Constantine, Kristen Duffel, Mainul Islam, Karl Isa-sac, Darin Jensen, Romi Jordan, Kathleen Kizer, Carla Koren, Chris Lehmann, Kim McAtee, Russ Meyer, Catherine Muriel, Ram Nair, Mike Mowery, Matt Salmonson, Robin Silva, Alejandra Villalobos, and Andrey Vinogradsky.

Our Board Committee Volunteers:

Kelsey Bozanich, David Christy, Alex Do, Sarah Friedman, Brian Leonard, Sarah Morrison, Sathish Naadimuthu, John Quintana, and Jaci Urbani.

And our generous donors, whose support during the 2011-12 program year allowed us to sustain and grow our program:

Thank you!

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333 Hegenberger Road, Suite 503, Oakland, CA 94621(510) 777-0870 | www.superstarsliteracy.org

Super Stars Literacy is an officially registered 501(c)(3) organization as recognized by the IRS. Federal Tax ID # 51-0666163©2012 Super Stars Literacy