children's outreach project annual report 2013-2014
DESCRIPTION
Once annual publication of program outcomes, highlights, fiscal situation and donor support during fiscal year 2014.TRANSCRIPT
Meet Mr. T. Scott Smith, our new permanent Executive Director as of July 1, 2015. Mr. Smith, M.A. is a management and organizational
development consultant with over 40 years of professional experience working with local, regional and national nonprofit organizations. Scott had been working with Children’s Outreach Project for a year as our transitional director after our previous Director Stephanie Baer moved on. He decided to stay on with us permanently to help implement our new three year strategic plan. We are thrilled to have him on board, and our students have taken to calling him “The Captain”. We couldn’t think of a more qualified leader to guide us along our journey!
Friends of Children’s Outreach Project,
At Children’s Outreach Project (C.O.P.), we always strive to provide the highest quality educational offerings to the members of the communities we serve. Throughout this past year, we focused on ensuring the continuation of our mission and the long-term success of the organization. The net result is a stronger, more resilient and forward reaching program centered on not only providing affordable, quality early childhood education to all children in need, but also offering assistance to parents and caregivers in navigating life challenges.
We began the year without an official Executive Director, under the excellent leadership of T. Scott Smith, a consummate professional who is seasoned in advising not-for-profit organizations in transition. His strong work with the management team and teaching staff led to his acceptance of the Executive Director position on a full-time, permanent basis. Just like so many others, once he spent some time within our unique building and interacted with our wonderful kids and families, he was committed to our mission (see inset below).
This past year our community and Early Childhood Education (ECE) Early Childhood Education (ECE) partners, once again, honored C.O.P. with their time, expertise and incredible funding, through grants, in-kind donations and even the collection of pennies. It is because of the many like-minded individuals focused on the importance of educating children, that C.O.P. was able to weather the recent economic downturn and modifications to programmatic funding sources. Your support and engagement are appreciated so much. We are especially grateful for the continued partnership from our neighboring school districts, long-time funding foundations and the following new friends from:
* LibertyGives Foundation, as a new corporate donor* Volunteer groups from United Launch Alliance, Arrow Electronics, and
DaVita at our annual Concerts for Kids Community Day Partner* Applewood Plumbing, Heating, & Electric, who donated a new boiler
system and installation services * McAuliffe International School’s middle school students who conducted
a penny drive fundraiser for an Eco-classroom grant and service day A most important development from this past year is a new three year strategic plan, developed by the management team and approved by the Board of Trustees.
This plan was placed into operation on July 1, 2014 at the beginning of the fiscal year, and included a new, streamlined tuition model for our families, the extension of needed therapies with Medicaid billing, additional fund raising and development initiatives and the transition to the new Colorado state quality metrics. It is anticipated that with the implementation of this new plan, coupled with the continued support from our teaching team, clinical staff and our community members committed to the provision of high quality Early Childhood Education for all children regardless of ability or socio-economic status, Children’s Outreach Project has a bright and enduring future.
Come join us. We’d love to show you our school and welcome you as a volunteer, a donor or, maybe even, a board member.
With Respect and Appreciation,
Chairperson’s Letter
T. Scott SmithExecutive Director
Danielle MeirDirector of Programming and Therapeutic Services
Danielle DickinsonDirector of Human Resources and Operations
Alisha WilliamsDirector of Development
Melanie CastroFamily Support Services Specialist
BOARD OF TRUSTEESfiscal year 2013 -2014
Cynthia Batchelder - ChairLutheran Medical Center
(Jefferson County - Golden, CO)
Nicole Johnson - Vice ChairSamuel Gary Jr & Associates, Inc.(Jefferson County - Golden, CO)
Jeffrey Kahn, CPA - TreasurerOffice of the State Auditor
(Denver County - Denver, CO)
CURRENT ADMINISTRATION
Children’s Outreach Project operates a full-day, year-round therapeutic
early childhood education program
We are open from 7:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday
Serving children ages 2.5-6 years
Lulani AntillonFirstBank Holding Company
(Adams County - Thornton, CO)
Joe HaughtonLevel 3
(Douglas County - Highlands Ranch, CO)
Laura PilcherPique Digital Marketing
(Arapahoe County - Englewood, CO)
Karen EllisExperis - Manpower Group
(Douglas County - Castle Rock, CO)
When Children’s Outreach Project was founded in 1970, it began as a unique, early childhood, special education project. The school was
initiated by the University of Colorado Medical Center’s JFK Child Development Center to fill a gap in services for high-quality child care for children with special needs. Originally the school was used as a day placement facility for abused, neglected, and at-risk children. In the 1980’s a strong demand for integrated, high-quality early childhood education (ECE) necessitated a program expansion, and Children’s Outreach Project became an independent nonprofit organization. In 1986 the organization secured deeded land and constructed the current dome-shaped building at 8000 Pecos Street. While the facility has undergone expansion and continual maintenance, the program is still housed in the same building today. In 2007, Children’s Outreach Project became the first four-star Qualistar™ rated child care facility in Adams County. We consistently maintain the highest possible rating from Qualistar™ and make it a priority of our organization every year as we continue to progress.
Today, the school continues to provide therapeutic educational programming and reaches out to parents with children of all abilities by offering quality care and support. For
44 years, Children’s Outreach Project has lived by its pledge to nurture and guide students toward a productive and positive
future. Our roots are deep. Families can sense the commitment of the teachers, aides and therapists, and our dedicated teaching staff
has been with us long term with little turnover.
OUR HISTORYOUR MISSIONChildren’s Outreach Project’s mission is to offer an affordable, quality early childhood education to typical, accelerated, and developmentally delayed children in the metro Denver area.
Our school’s goals are:To provide high-quality early childhood education utilizing evidence-based programming across all classrooms.
To provide therapeutic services including occupational, speech and language, skill building and mental/social/emotional therapy for any child in need at no additional charge.
To guide all students socially and academically in preparation for school and healthy adult life
Tuition Scholarship ProgramChildren’s Outreach Project accepts government childcare subsidies through programs such as the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP) and the Colorado Preschool Program (CPP), but these subsidies do not cover the actual cost of programming. Therefore, additional funds are raised through grants, donations, and a variety of fundraising efforts in order to serve the neediest of families.
Therapeutic ProgrammingWe offer a variety of therapeutic services including weekly speech and language and occupational therapy both in individual and small group sessions as appropriate for the children we serve. Beginning in August of 2014, Children’s Outreach Project has begun offering on-site play therapy through our partnership with Deep Roots Counseling. We are thrilled to be offering this new service in order to better support our families and students in need of additional mental health support.
Parent Education ServicesWe host various educational seminars and workshops for interested parents based on relevant childhood education and developmental topics emerging in the current school climate.
Kids Connect Literacy Program Twice a month, Denver Junior League volunteers provide families with a nutritious dinner followed by interactive, play-based activities designed to encourage parents to read to their children at home.
Food/Nutrition ProgramOur school provides children with a healthy breakfast, lunch and snacks each day. This is an additional element of our commitment to help children learn healthy habits that will carry them successfully throughout their lives.
OUR PROGRAMS
According to the most recent data from the Colorado
Children’s Campaign’s Website:
“An at-risk child who attends high-quality preschool and full-
day kindergarten is less likely to fall behind more affluent peers
later in school. However, only a fraction of Colorado children
who need high-quality preschool programs can enroll. Just 15
percent of 3-year-olds and 35 percent of 4-year-olds are served
through CPP, Head Start, and Special Education Preschool.
While the number of children served through CPP has remained
stable the last five years, total program funding has declined
by 8.3 percent, or more than $6 million, since its historic high in
fiscal year 2009-10.”1
“A child’s most critical developmental and learning experiences
begin at birth and occur in partnership with parents and care-
givers. The quality of those experiences lays either a strong or
a shaky foundation for all that follows. In Colorado, there are
only enough licensed child care spots for about 45 percent
of the 256,000 kids birth to age 6 with working parents. Only
about 10.2 percent of those slots are quality rated. In addition,
in 2010 Colorado ranked as the fourth-least affordable state for
center-based infant care and the ninth least affordable state for
center-based care for a 4-year-old. With falling federal and state
support for child care assistance, many low-income families can’t
get the child care they need in order to work.”2
1 http://www.coloradokids.org/issues/earlychildhood/school_
readiness.html2 http://www.coloradokids.org/issues/earlychildhood/ensur-
ing_access.html
WHY QUALITY EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION MATTERS!
Program Highlights FY 2014Children’s Outreach Project served a total of 139 unduplicated children, with 76 percent qualifying for the free and reduced meals through the National School Lunch Program (considered low-moderate income), and over half coming from single-parent households.
Therapeutic Outcomes: The majority of our students required some level of supportive services - 35 received skill building and cognitive support, 41 received direct occupational therapy services with 246 individual OT sessions, 31 received direct speech therapy services with 182 individual speech and language sessions for our students. Additionally, 167 speech consults to our classroom teachers were completed, and 20 social-emotional/mental health conferences and 107 family conferences were held. In total, 828.25 hours of direct therapeutic service hours were completed over the course of the year.
Teaching Strategies GOLD® Outcomes: For students present for all three checkpoints, 100 percent of our students were meeting or exceeding growth standard benchmarks across six subject areas to include social-emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, and math.
The Incredible Years® Outcomes: Our students improved 11-14% across all three categories to include prosocial communication, emotional regulation, and academic skills throughout the academic school year. These outcomes are on par with the state average for the Incredible Years® Program outcomes in 2013-2014.
Natural Foods Program: We served a total of 29,140 nutritious breakfast and lunch meals, and a total of 18,330 healthy snacks.
C.O.P. participated in the annual “One Book 4 Colorado” attending a Reach Out and Read reading of the 2014 Book
of the Year, “Grumpy Bird” By Jeremy Tankard at Clinica Campesina with guest reader Belen De Leon
Reach Out and Read Fieldtrip
“Everyone here is so committed to the children. It’s obvious when you walk in that they’re the main focus” – C.O.P. Grandparent
Natalie is a single mother of two children - daughter Anna age 5, and son David age 4. She struggles every day to make ends meet and provide for her children. Children’s Outreach Project works with Natalie to help link her to public assistance programs, child care assistance and cover 35% of the tuition for her children to attend our program.
Since Anna and David have begun at C.O.P. our staff has watched them blossom into inquisitive and motivated young students. The family attends our twice-monthly family education night Kids Connect led and sponsored by Denver Junior League volunteers. At every session families are served a healthy dinner, participate in literacy based activities and re-ceive a book to take home. Natalie, Anna and David are some of our most loyal participants. Last year Anna won second place in the reading con-test, reading a total of 390 books over the course of the year. Even though Natalie works full time and has limited free time, she acknowledges that this will give her children a better start to their education and help them see that literacy should be a priority in their lives.
Natalie is not alone. Over half of our families annually are single moth-ers, from young mothers working to get their GEDs, to graduate student mothers working on their dissertations. C.O.P. is there to help them provide a future of possibilities for their children.
Natalie says of our program, “It’s like a home away from home. It’s the truth. All of the teachers keep me up to date with everything and help me learn how to use the techniques at school at home as well. I’ve seen them grow so much, learning to write their names and improving their relationships socially as well. This is where my children began their lives; we’ll always remember our time at Children’s Outreach Project.”
“...it’s like a home away from home”for Anna and David
Corporate DonorsLiberty Media Corporation
Applewood Plumbing, Heating & ElectricDarden Restaurants
King Soopers- Federal HeightsThe Westin Westminster
Michael’s of Denver CateringWal-Mart Neighborhood Market
Soulplantation & Sweet Tomatoes WestminsterStarbucks
Wishbone Family Restaurant
Adams County Community Services Block Grant
Adams County Mill Levy Funding City of Thornton
City of WestminsterThe Denver Foundation
Dwyer Family FoundationHarry W. and Louise L. Vicksman
Charitable TrustHelen K. and Arthur E. Johnson
Foundation
Jared Polis Foundation Gift FundJohn G. Duncan Charitable Trust
Mile High United WayRollie R. Kelley Family Foundation
Temple Hoyne Buell FoundationThe Denver Active 20-30 Foundation
The Sam. S. Bloom FoundationVirginia W. Hill Foundation
Westminster Legacy Foundation
Bal Swan Children’s CenterColorado Department of Education
Colorado Preschool ProgramConcerts for Kids
Adams County School District: 12, 14, 27J, & 50
Community Reach CenterCommunity Shares of Colorado
Denver Bar Association Denver Preschool ProgramEarly Learning Ventures
Early Childhood Partnership of Adams County Firefly Autism
Junior League of DenverMetro Volunteers
Mile High United WayNorth Metro Community Services
PIMA Medical InstituteQualistar ™ Early Learning
Tri-County Health
Foundation and Government Donors
Community Partners
Caring Support
Benefiting Children’s Outreach Project
Benefiting Children’s Outreach Project
Str kes Tykes for
Thank You to Our Sponsors!
Avenue TheaterCasa BonitaCherry Creek TheaterThe Cherry CricketChildren’s MuseumCore Power Yoga
The KitchenLathrop & Gage LLPLowry Beer GardenMiners Alley PlayhouseOmni InterlockenPink Fog Photography
Denver Athletic ClubDenver Center for Performing ArtsDenver ZooEarl’sFrontier Airlines
Pure Barre HighlandsRackhouse PubSipping n’ PaintingWestin Denver DowntownWoodhouse Day Spa
The Community Action Network of the Denver Bar Association’s Third Annual
Concerts for Kids Community DayApril 26, 2014
The Concerts for Kids Community Day brings hundreds of volunteers together one day a year. Concerts for Kids pro-
vides all the necessary materials to much needed projects for nonprofits in the Denver Metro Area.
In 2014, Concerts for Kids and volunteers from DaVita:Painted classroom bathrooms
Completed outdoor clean-up projects Painted outdoor windows and C.O.P. balcony
5th Annual Community BreakfastMay 16th 2014
We Thank our Keynote Speaker - Jodi Hardin, Civic CanopyOur Breakfast Theme: Building a Brighter Tomorrow
IMPORTANT EVENTS
Kids Connect
Caring Community
Junior League We completed yet another successful year of Kids Connect literacy nights with The Junior League of Denver volunteers
completing 455 hours of service at Children’s Outreach Project. A total of 13 workshop nights were held, with 294 books
distributed and 369 healthy meals served.
Ms. Gloria Cefalu, Volunteer LibrarianMs. Gloria has volunteered at Children’s Outreach Project since 2010 and comes every week to organize our school library and read to classrooms.
THANK YOU to all of our dedicated Volunteers!
Applewood Plumbing, Heating, and Electric has been a community leader for generations with their impeccable service and dependable expertise. Children’s Outreach Project has been a long-time client of Applewood, but in the spring of 2014 owner John Ward in working with Applewood’s vendors, provided our school with a much needed
new boiler and covered the installation costs to replace our nearly 30 year old equipment.
With technicians like Abe and Tony, Children’s Outreach Project was provided
the utmost quality of service and truly felt the dedication of Applewood
to the communities they serve.
Thank You Applewood!
Students at McAuliffe Middle School mean business when they talk about social change. In concert with the Young Philanthropists Foundation, students at McAuliffe designated local nonprofits in the community that met the social needs they agreed were a priority for their community and raised funds to support a variety of organizations with a school-wide penny drive. Children’s Outreach Project was presented with a $750 grant to improve our eco-garden classroom.
Taking their goal to give back a step further, students then visited our school for a service day- spending time in classrooms, and repainted our eco-garden classroom
planters. McAuliffe students truly embody
the next generation of philanthropists, and we are grateful to have been a beneficiary. What an inspiring group of young people!
McAuliffe Students Give Back
2013-2014 DONOR HONOR ROLL 2013-2014 DONOR HONOR ROLL
Lualhati & Stephanie Anglo (L.P.A. Plumbing Inc.)Lulani Antillon (In honor of Edward Howe)Luis Miguel Antillon (In honor of Ricky, Demacio, Neveah, Izzy, and Braadin)Anna AragonDenise ArchuletaStephanie BaerSheri BaronsEllen BaskervilleMelanie Gilbert & Ari BlumBelinda Butler-Veytia and John BosleyBob BriggsJames CarrBud CooksonLisa DehnAnita DeshommesAllison Dorbandt-FeldmanBrenda DysingerKaren EllisAjay Kappoor & Gina FebbraroNike FlemingMark & Carrie FlynnColette GagnetRich & Karen GriffithJoe & Julia HainesElizabeth HarmsJoe & Sherri HaughtonBecky HenrekinMatt & Ali HuckinsDonald JarosakAshley JenkinsNicole & Barrett JohnsonRemola JohnsonJeffrey Kahn
Peggy KinseyElizabeth KirkpatrickRoss KlevenChristopher LaneHeather LouderJon LueckeJohns ManvilleDavid & Theresa MarieaEmily MaronThora MurphyKristopher NelsonLaura PilcherArt & Bunny PottsLorrie RayRobert SantanaGordon & Kathy SchickJurgen SchliemanJenny SchuckSarah & Josh SeedigMikel & Nancy SevernsTeva SienikiWendy Kidd & Shelly SpaldingShari StrattonMolly SvendsenCynthia Batchelder & Brian ThomasJodi ThomasKedar Nath TingrikarSheila ToddAlexandra UehlingKimberly VogtNathan WestJulie WilliamsJillian WilliamsRebecca Wilson