Our 2015 Annual Report

We Believe All Children
Can Be Successful
ANNUAL REPORT
2014-2015 FISCAL YEAR
Letter from the board chair,
superintendent, and principal
A
s we enter into our fourth school year, we
continue to be both proud and excited
about our students and our progress.
At Stepstone Academy, we serve Cleveland’s
Central neighborhood, where residents often
face generational poverty and a lack of quality
education. We remove these barriers to learning,
by pairing an innovative academic model with
OhioGuidestone’s full continuum of treatment
and skill building programs. When children come
to Stepstone Academy, they enter an atmosphere where they are supported, nurtured and
educated. Our parents and families recognize
our unique approach, and 95% of them are very
happy with the Stepstone Academy experience.
Stepstone provides a unique educational opportunity for several reasons. Most importantly, at
Stepstone, we understand that learning doesn’t
just take place during the school day, but that
a child’s entire environment impacts his or her
ability to learn. That’s why we created Stepstone
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360°, our full circle of support and skill building services, designed to meet the specific
needs of both our students and their entire families, inside and outside of the school
environment. Through our partnership with OhioGuidestone, we provide families
access to services such as behavioral health, family support services and workforce
preparation programming. In addition to our support, our educational curriculum,
Momentum Learning, is an innovative approach to education that combines teacherled instruction with digital content to provide personalized instruction to meet every
student’s needs.
We are grateful for the continued support of our board of directors, OhioGuidestone
and our donors, who allow us to continue our mission of providing the highest quality education for students. With your help we are able to foster lifelong learning and
prepare students to graduate from college and become productive, involved citizens. As our results show, your investment is paying dividends through real learning
and boundless future opportunities.
Sincerely,
V. Yvonne Conner
Chair, Board of Directors
Susan Hyland
Superintendent
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Toni Miller
Principal
great teaching is key to student learning
W
e believe that great teaching
can have a significant, long-term
impact on all students. That’s
why Stepstone Academy is committed to
employing highly qualified teachers who are
also passionate about the work they do.
parents recognize that our teachers truly
care about our students. While many of the
adults in Cleveland’s central neighborhood
report having had negative experiences in
school as children, over 96% of parents and
guardians at Stepstone Academy feel that
their children are respected, safe and are
truly cared about by their teachers. Ninetyseven percent also feel that our teachers
assign homework in order to improve student learning, while 93% feel that teachers
regularly correct mistakes on assignments
and provide useful feedback to help students improve.
To help ensure our teachers are the best,
Stepstone Academy requires our educators
to be certified for the individual grade level
they are teaching. This certification allows
our teachers to have a better understanding of the students in their classroom and
equips them for the individual age challenges they most commonly face. We are
proud to employ Teach for America participants, who are not only some of the best
possible teaching candidates just beginning
their career, but who also receive the most
coaching and support of any early teaching program in the nation. To ensure all
our teachers are well prepared, Stepstone
Academy provides 80 hours of professional development before the school year
begins, as well as ongoing development
opportunities throughout the year.
Parents and guardians who believe
Stepstone Academy teachers:
Respect and care
about their child
Assign homework
to improve learning
We believe that passionate teachers make
passionate learners. We are proud that our
teachers not only love working at Stepstone
Academy, but have also made a personal
choice to work with students who may face
additional roadblocks. Stepstone Academy
Provide feedback to
help students improve
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96%
97%
93%
parents as partners
W
e believe that parents choose Stepstone
Academy because they want what is best
for their children. But many of our families face barriers outside the classroom that may be
blocking the way to student achievement. To help
address these ongoing needs, we created Stepstone
360°, a gateway to services and resources that can
help solve the challenges our students and their
families face. Stepstone 360° has allowed parents to
turn to Stepstone Academy as their support system.
Ninety-four percent of our families received access
to services provided as part of Stepstone 360°.
We believe that every child’s learning abilities are
enhanced by parent involvement. That’s why we
work hard to consistently engage parents in their
child’s learning. In the past year, we have begun
initiatives to help parents take ownership of their
involvement at Stepstone Academy. Parent committees have been formed that focus on important
issues like increasing involvement from male role
models, and Box Tops for Education fundraising.
Parent meetings and recognition events, such
as the perfect attendance celebration, have also
increased our ability to share information with
parents and encouraged them to celebrate their
children’s successes with us. Through all of these
initiatives, we have seen greater parent involvement at our school, leading to greater student success in the form of fewer absences and leading to
increased academic success. By making parents
partners in the learning process, we are able to
help the whole family succeed.
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Academic Achievement
W
e believe that the success of
each child is influenced, not
only by their education, but
also by their family, their community and
their background. This recognition has lead
to a commitment to closing the achievement gap, a nationally recognized disparity in academic gains between different
groups based upon a variety of identified
risk factors, such as family income, parent
education level and ethnicity. Knowing
that a large percentage of the population
served by Stepstone Academy includes
students and families who are vulnerable
to the achievement gap, Stepstone helps
students continue to strengthen their academic skills both in and out of the classroom with the use of our Momentum
Learning curriculum and Stepstone 360°.
Reading proficiency of 3rd grade
students in at-risk populations:
59%
All Stepstone Academy students are
provided with opportunities to address
their individual needs in innovative ways.
Understanding that social-emotional challenges may make it difficult for both the
student and their classmates to learn,
Stepstone Academy has developed our
Think Room, a safe place where students
can address a veriety of needs, whether
they are emotional, social or conduct
based, while continuing to work on classroom assignments. For students struggling with math and reading, Stepstone
Academy has implemented a Saturday
school program, which provides additional academic support beyond school
hours to aid in closing the achievement
gap. Stepstone Academy has also implemented the use of Toggle Talk to address
gaps in language used in informal and
formal settings. This program has been
shown to improve literacy outcomes and
to help reduce the achievement gap as
students progress in school.
Through
these
unique
strategies,
Stepstone Academy has seen great results.
Statewide
75%
Stepstone Academy Scholars
81%
Scholars who have been at
Stepstone since its founding
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Through Innovation
A critical time for measuring the influence of the
achievement gap is during a student’s third grade
school year, when reading proficiency is crucial
to maintain grade level achievement. Upon the
completion of Stepstone Academy’s first year of
third grade, 75% of our third graders were found
to be reading proficient, outperforming individuals in the same at-risk group throughout the
state by over 15%. Additionally, students in this
population who have been enrolled at Stepstone
Academy since its founding made even greater
strides, with 81% of those students showing proficiency. What’s more, 93% of our third grade students moved on to fourth grade.99%
The work done to help those vulnerable to the
achievement gap has ultimately helped all of
our scholars make significant academic gains.
Overall, two-thirds of Stepstone Academy students displayed at least a year’s worth or more
of academic growth in reading and threefourths have shown a year’s worth of growth in
math. We believe that all students are capable
of high levels of achievement, and with the continued implementation of our forward thinking
strategies we know our scholars’ successes will
continue to grow.
93%
of our third
grade students
moved on to fourth grade.
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success through support
T
he day the Department of Children
and Family Services showed up at her
door, Patrice knew she’d hit rock bottom. It wasn’t that she didn’t try to do the
best she could for her kids, but her problems
kept bringing her down. She lived in a rough
neighborhood, her daughter was being bullied, and many nights rocks were thrown
at their windows. Unable to cope, Patrice
turned to alcohol to numb the pain. But now,
drowning her sorrows meant she might lose
her children. Something had to change.
they could help her turn her life around too.
Patrice told Terri Croskey-Hurd, the Stepstone
social worker, about all the obstacles she was
facing. “We’re here to help,” Terri said. “Let’s
talk about your goals, and figure out a plan.”
One morning months later, Patrice smiled as
she walked her children into the school. She
couldn’t believe how different her life was.
Patrice was finally working towards the future
she wanted for her family. It hadn’t been an
easy climb. Her drinking had been a BandAid; but once she became sober she received
support from the many people and services
included in Stepstone 360°. With these supports, she’d created a plan for her future: to
find a good job and move her family out of
the neighborhood they lived in. Through a
referral from Stepstone, Patrice had enrolled
in OhioGuidestone’s YouthBuild program,
where she was working on getting her GED
and learning entry-level construction skills. It
wasn’t always easy getting everyone out the
door on time, or managing her own homework while helping the kids with theirs. But
the children were doing well in school, and
so far she was too.
The next morning, Patrice went to the only
place she could think of. She never felt like
teachers really cared when she was in school,
but she knew that Stepstone Academy was
different. Patrice had first enrolled her daughter, Shatrice, at Stepstone two years ago, but
ensuring her daughter got to school daily was
another responsibility that felt insurmountable. The staff at Stepstone had talked to
her about how missing school would impact
Shatrice’s future, and helped create a plan to
improve her attendance. Now, Patrice hoped
Patrice knew there were more struggles
ahead. She still needed to pass her GED
test and finish training before she could find
a job. But even though the path was long,
Patrice was gaining control of her future,
and she had Stepstone Academy to thank.
“Stepstone truly does provide 360° of support,” Patrice thought, as she proudly sent
her children off to school.
Patrice’s children, Pierre and Shatrice,
are thriving at Stepstone Academy.
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Generous Support is Critical
We acknowledge and thank the following individuals, groups, foundations and businesses
for their support in giving our Stepstone Academy Scholars a quality education and
bright future! For more information about charitable gift opportunities please contact
Cindy Naegele, Vice President of Advancement, OhioGuidestone at 440.260.8341 or
[email protected] or visit www.StepstoneAcademy.org.
$10,000 and Above
Anonymous (2)
Dr. and Mrs. John D. Diekman
Eva L. and Joseph M.
Bruening Foundation
Graffiti, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Jarrett
Jochum-Moll Foundation
John G. and Marjorie W. Sayler
The Cleveland Foundation
The Finch Group - Arbor
Park Phase One, Inc.
The Fred A. Lennon Charitable Trust
The George Gund Foundation
The Higley Fund
The Reinberger Foundation
The Sauerland Foundation
The Treu-Mart Fund, a supporting
organization of The Cleveland
Foundation and the Jewish
Federation of Cleveland
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Zanglin
$5,000 to $9,999
B’nai Jeshurun
Mr. and Mrs. Paul E. Hanna
Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts
The Frank Hadley Ginn & Cornelia
Root Ginn Charitable Trust
Trend Consulting Services, Inc.
Mr. David S. Zentkovich
and Ms. Patti Host
$2,500 to $4,999
Brecksville United Methodist
Church on the Rise
Dr. V. Yvonne Conner
Dollar General Literacy Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. James Dombrowski
Thomas and Susan Hyland
Improve Consulting and
Training Group
John Robert’s Spa
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Kickel
Ms. Caroline M. Koran
Ohio Council of
Community Schools
Mr. Timothy Synk
Mr. and Mrs. Jefferey L. Thompson
Westlake United
Methodist Church
Dru and Gary Whitaker
$1,750 to $2,499
Blue Technologies
Cohen & Company, Ltd.
Dr. Linda F. Crowell
Fitzgibbons Arnold &
Company Agancy Inc.
Richard R. and Mary-Alice Frank
Mr. and Mrs. Mark J. Powers
Revival Tabernacle
Mr. Jeffrey Sadar
Smart Business Network
Southwest Airlines Company
Superior Roll Forming
Company, Inc.
The Progressive Insurance
Foundation
TPI Efficiency
Vantage Financial Group, Inc.
$1,000 to $1,749
Fairport Asset Management
First Federal of Lakewood
Kaczmar Architects, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lewis
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony L. Manning
Mark & Cynthia Bacon Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Phillip M. Martino
Mr. James Mason
Massa Financial Solutions LLC
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Mr. and Mrs. Rick Puzzitiello Jr.
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Mr. William C. Robertson
The Hoffman Group
Tom and Barbara Altman
Charitable Gift Fund
Mr. Lee C. Weingart
$500 to $999
Anonymous
Mr. John H. Banks
Brian and Carol Broadbent
Mrs. Heidi Callender
Central Cadillac & Hummer
Chromaflo Technologies
Corporation
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey L. Close
David S. and Robyn V. Barrie
Family Fund
East Ohio Area Conference of the
United Methodist Church
Ms. Leslee Elliott
Fields United Methodist Church
Fierce Fitness CLE
Ms. Stephanie Hampson
Hawken Lower School
Kiwanis Club of Cleveland
Dr. and Mrs. Danny Kretch
Ladies & Gentlemen Salon and Spa
Mr. Mitesh Manek
Mr. William McCormick
Dr. and Mrs. Peter J. Rea
Supply Technologies
Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Weinhardt
WEWS/News Desk
$250 to $499
ABC Fire Inc.
Ms. Virginia Angelo
Bay Presbyterian Church
Mr. Thomas D. Bechtel
Bon Appetit Management Company
Brookside High School/
Student Council
Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Play House
Cleveland Whiskey
Columbia Hills Country Club
Eastview Elementary
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Ferro
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Mr. Andrew Gunn
Mr. Bailey D. Herrington
Hurraw! Balm LLC
Mr. Thomas M. Hyland and
Ms. Marel Corredor
Illusion Unlimited Salon
Intercontinental Hotel Cleveland
KeyBank
Ms. Colleen Lennon
Mr. and Mrs. Spencer A. Meloun
Mr. John Motsay
Cindy and Bob Naegele
Mr. Earl Pike and Mrs.
Elizabeth Klein
Red Tail Golf Club
Sound Com Systems
Mary and Kevin Stiles
Mr. James Synk
Vitamix Corporation
Rabbi Lauren Werber
$150 to $249
Church of the Saviour
Cleveland Indians
Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Rollin A. Conway
Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Danburg
Design By DesAnn
Groupon Incorporated
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Hlavna
Holdsworth Financial Group
Hyatt Regency
Mr. and Mrs. Warren Klugman
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen J. LaMantia
Maximum Velocity
Claudia Menton, DDS
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Merten
Ms. Toni J. Miller
Philomena Bake Shop
Pier W
Pure Barre Beachwood
Ms. Amy Ross
Mr. John K. Strasser
Up to $149
Apostolic Faith Tabernacle
Mr. Chris Arnold
Mr. and Mrs. David Arredondo
Art After Dark
Mr. Wayne Auten Jr.
B.A. Sweetie Candy Company
Barden Circulation, Inc.
Ms. Pamela S. Beckford
Ben and Jerry’s
Big Fun Toy Store
Mr. Marc S. Boardman and Mrs.
Jill S. Morris-Boardman
Mr. and Mrs. John Borszcz
Brecksville United Methodist Church
Ms. Monica Brennan
Reverend John R. Butchko
and Ms. Barbara Kanary
Mr. Paul Carrington
Clementine’s Victorian Restaurant
Cleveland Botanical Gardens
Cleveland State University
Wolstein Center
Cleveland Yoga
Ms. Connie Clore
Crain’s Cleveland Business
Ms. Nancy Banister Croft
Mr. Kenneth Crumpton
Ms. Dawnn Danaher
Dante Dining Group
Ms. Shyaira Davis
Dillard’s
Mr. Jim Doan
Ms. Shannon Dorvinen
Ms. Marjorie Estela Davila
Mr. Marc Feldman
Ms. Shannon Gallagher
Mrs. Patrice Gambino
Mr. and Mrs. Bernard L. Gault
General Mills-Box Tops For Education
Ms. Rita Goetz
Ms. Eleanor Gottesman
Mrs. Kitty Gregory
Ms. Mabel Griar
Ms. Penny Grieve
Ms. Bobbi Hallahan
Ms. Lillian Hawkins
Ms. Jean Hegarty
Ms. Laura Henricks
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Hlavna
Ms. Natalie Hoffman
Mr. Bill Hogrett
Honey Hut
Hope United Methodist Church
Mr. Herbert J. Hoppe Jr.
Hospitality Restaurants
House of Blues Cleveland, LLC
Mr. Sam Hudspath
Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse
Improv Comedy Club and
Dinner Theatre
Ms. Lailah Issac
Ms. Gwendolyn Jackson
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Ms. Shannon Jarjabka
Mr. Larry Jinks
Mr. Michael Joyce
Mr. Daniel Joyce
Mr. William Joyce
Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Kanelos
Mr. Mahmud Kara
Ms. Jessica Kayse
Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Klubert
Ms. Kelly Krupa
Lakewood United
Methodist Church
James Lendvay
Ms. Victoria Liao
Mahall’s 20 Lanes
Mrs. Clarence Marek
Ms. Carley McCord
Mr. Todd Meany
Mexichef Restaturants, Inc
Dr. and Mrs. John W. Miller Jr.
Mr. Tyson T. Mitchell
Mitchell’s Ice Cream
Ms. Patricia Moore
Mr. and Mrs. George Morris
Ms. Jody Olisley
Mr. and Mrs. Alex S. Petrus
Ms. Elizabeth Petrus
Mrs. Christine Rafferty
Ms. Carla Raguz
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur V. Regan III
Mrs. Rachel Reid-Johnson
Mr. Gregory Riggs II
Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame and Museum
Ms. Peggy Russel
Mr. Lenny Schafer M.Ed., PCC-S
Ms. Tiffany Sedlacek
Sephora
Ms. Danielle Serino
Mr. and Mrs. Jason Shefrin
Mr. David Shimp
Ms. Angela Siegel
Ms. Caity Solomon
Mr. Paul Spivak
Ms. Sydney Stark
Ms. Becky Stocum
Swings-n-Things
Mrs. Jean Synor
Mr. and Mrs. John J. Tish
Trinity Cathedral
Trolley Tours of Cleveland, Inc.
Ms. Patty Walsh
Ms. Cindy Walsh
Dr. Victoria Winbush
Mrs. Barbara Wirtanen
Mrs. Laurel Wirtanen-Siloy
Ms. Monica Wright
Our Leadership
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr. V. Yvonne Conner,
Ed.D., Chairperson
Ellen Burts-Cooper, Ph.D., MBA
Carl Campbell Jr.
Linda Crowell, Ph.D.
Mable Griar
Carrie Koran, J.D.
Stanley Miller
Julie Rea, M.A.
ADMINISTRATION
Susan Hyland, Superintendant
Toni Miller, Principal
Millette Tucker, Director of Federal
and Family Support Programs
Colleen Lennon, Director of
Curriculum and Technology
Kelly Krupa, Assistant Principal
Virginia Runner, School Operations Manager
TEACHING STAFF
Beth Bartos, Second Grade
Summer Flowers, Second Grade
Jose Fontanez Jr., Third Grade Instructional Aide
Christa Ford, Kindergarten
Margot Frazier, Third Grade
Megan Gansheimer, First Grade
Samantha Hartman, Kindergarten
Sarah Helbert, First/Second Grade
Amy Iammarino, Second Grade
Shannon Jarjabka, Third Grade
Claudia Jean, First Grade
Samuel Lawrence, Third Grade
Tasheanna Martin, Fourth Grade
Lana Miller, First Grade
Courtney Newtown, Kindergarten
Zeara Pratt, Kindergarten
Tessa Scott, Second Grade
Shanise Stroder, Kindergarten
Justina Turner, Kindergarten
Brandyn Warren, Fourth Grade Instructional Aide
Elizabeth Wolpert, First Grade
11
community connections
The Ohio Council of Community Schools (OCCS)
advocates for excellence in education through its
strategic partnership with a high performing schools like
Stepstone Academy. As our sponsor OCCS assures that
the school is legally, fiscally, and academically sound.
Stepstone Academy works with the Cleveland Central
Promise Neighborhood Initiative as a high-performing
charter school option for neighborhood families.
Stepstone Academy is a partner with the
Cleveland Metropolitan School District, as a topperforming charter school option for families.
Located on our campus, Family Child Care Centers’ Head
Start preschool program gives children, ages 3-5, a chance
to get a head start and become Kindergarten ready.
Founded and managed by OhioGuidestone, Stepstone
Academy links families who need support with the
flexible, customized services OhioGuidestone offers.
3328 Carnegie Ave.
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
440.260.6400
www.stepstoneacademy.org