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Dear Friend,
It has been a busy year for Fight For Children,
and I am pleased to share some highlights with
you. I invite you to read below for additional
details or visit our website at
www.fightforchildren.org for the latest on
our programs and events. |
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 In
late April we hosted the successful return of School
Night, which culminated in the announcement of our
first-ever Quality Schools Initiative
awards. We recognized three outstanding schools in
DC as Champions of Quality--Strong John Thomson
Elementary, E.L. Haynes Public Charter School, and
San Miguel School. We awarded each $100,000, and
these schools will play a critical role in our
efforts to make a tangible impact in the movement
to reform and improve our local schools.
Over the past several months, we have also made
significant progress in the creation of our
Action Agenda to Improve Kids' Lives. We
hope the action agenda will foster the
implementation of high impact, proven solutions, to
create stronger families with healthier, more
successful young adults. Last month, our first group
of parents from DC charter schools graduated from
the initial phase of our Parent Leadership
Institute. We are also hard at work on the
second edition of
My School Chooser. We are
proud to be collaborating with the DC Office of the
State Superintendent to make the 2008-2009
Chooser even
more useful to parents as they determine which
school is best for their children. I am also pleased
that we are inviting several local organizations
that provide education and health care services
to apply for grants as part of our 2007-2008
grant cycle.
We are grateful for the strong support we receive
from many individuals and organizations. This allows
us to continue our education and health care
initiatives and ensure that all children in the
Nation's Capital have opportunities to learn, grow,
and succeed. To help, you can become involved in
Fight Night 2008 or a new event
benefiting Fight For Children, GEICO's
Bikers for Tykes 2008.
Please continue reading or visit our website at
www.fightforchildren.org
for additional information on our programmatic
initiatives and opportunities for you to help Fight
For Children.
Thank you and please accept my best wishes for a
pleasant summer.
With best regards,
Michela English
President & CEO
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Fight For Children Awards
$100,000 to
Three DC Schools at School Night
 Fight
For Children is proud to announce that School Night
2008 raised almost $1.5 million to support DC
public, charter, and independent schools. More than
800 education supporters filled the Washington
Convention Center to hear five-time Grammy award
winning singer John Legend and to learn the winners
of Fight For Children's Quality Schools Initiative
awards.
At the culmination of School Night, School Night
Chairman Sheila C. Johnson joined Fight For Children
Chairman Joseph E. Robert, Jr., and President &
 CEO
Michela English to announce the awarding of $100,000
grants to three DC schools: Strong John Thomson
Elementary School, E.L. Haynes Public Charter
School, and San Miguel School. These three
"Champions of Quality" - one public, one public
charter and one independent school - fit multiple
eligibility requirements for the program, including
increased student achievement and demonstrated best
practices based on quality indicators in the areas
of leadership, instruction, and professional
development.
 Four
runners-up--Cleveland Elementary School, Martin
Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, Capital City
Public Charter School, and Washington Jesuit Academy
each received $10,000 cash grants.
To see
short videos about the best practices of the
winnings schools and to learn more about the
 Quality
Schools Initiative,
click here, or contact Jeanie Lee at
jeanie.lee@fightforchildren.org or 202-772-0431.
Fight For Children is grateful to the many
individual and corporate sponsors of School Night,
including Leadership Committee members Terry &
Kathleen Golden, Donald E. Graham, Sheila C.
Johnson, Joseph E. Robert, Jr., CityBridge
Foundation, Freddie Mac Foundation, the J. Willard
and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, the Kimsey
Foundation, and Verizon Wireless.
Click here for a complete list of
School Night sponsors and supporters.
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Action Agenda to Improve Kids'
Lives
Fight For Children has received a preliminary report
of leading indicators of well-being of children in
DC.
Child Trends, a
partner with Fight For Children on the Action
Agenda, is working with the
Urban Institute to
identify and report key data. When complete in the
fall, the Action Agenda will include:
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Descriptions of programs or interventions
across the country that have been proven
effective in improving the key indicators by
addressing underlying causes;
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An analysis of which interventions return
the most cost-effective benefits to social
investors; and
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Specific recommendations for implementing
successful intervention strategies.
As part of the Action Agenda, Fight For Children is
building a broad coalition of key investors and
non-profit organizations to build momentum for
change.
To learn more about the Action Agenda,
For a
printable fact sheet about the Action Agenda,
click here. |
Parent Leadership Institute
On May 17, Fight For Children completed the last of
seven full days of parent leadership training.
Parents from the following schools participated in
the initial Parent Leadership Institute:
- Academy of Learning Through the Arts (Ward1)
- Arts & Technology Elementary (Ward 7)
- Cesar Chavez Middle and High Schools (Wards
4, 5 & 6)
- Community Academy (Ward 4)
- Friendship Elementary, Middle, and High
Schools (Wards 5, 6 & 7)
- LAMB Elementary (Ward 4)
- Nia Community (Ward 8)
- Septima Clark Elementary(Ward 8)
Parents will now begin planning twelve-month
school-based projects that comprise an important
aspect of the program. Parents completing their
school-based projects will be eligible for six
continuing education units through Fight For
Children's partnership with George Washington
University's Center for Excellence in Public
Leadership. The Parent Leadership Institute is using
the curriculum from the Center for Parent Leadership
at Kentucky's Prichard Committee. Fight For Children
is grateful to the Annie E. Casey Foundation for its
support of the Parent Leadership Institute.
For more information, contact Kaye Savage at
kaye.savage@fightforchildren.org or
202-772-0425. For a
printable fact sheet about the Parent Leadership
Institute,
click here. |
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My School
Chooser
Since the launch of My School Chooser in
the summer of 2007, Fight For Children has
distributed over 10,000 copies to DC parents, and
over 2,500 copies have been downloaded from
www.fightforchildren.org. The Chooser is a
user-friendly tool that
 helps
families determine the best educational
opportunities for their children. Fight For Children
is collaborating with the DC Office of the State
Superintendent to make the 2008-2009 Chooser
even more useful to parents as they determine which
school is best for their children. The new edition
will contain student achievement data for each
public and public charter school, along with
information about specialized programs and
extracurricular activities. A completely new
introductory section of the Chooser will
give parents easy-to-use tools to make school
selections. The new Chooser will be
available in the early fall.
For more information, contact Kaye Savage at
kaye.savage@fightforchildren.org or
202-772-0425. To
download a copy of the current edition,
click here. |
Strategic Grantmaking
Each year, Fight For Children supports local
non-profit organizations that provide education and
health care services to low-income children in DC.
In May, Fight For Children's board of directors
approved making grants for its 2007-2008 cycle in
the following categories:
- Expanding Access to Quality Education
Options;
- Improving Student Achievement; and
- Keeping Kids Healthy So They Can Learn.
Fight For Children created these categories as
the first step in aligning its grantmaking
program with the results and recommendations of
the Action Agenda to Improve Kids' Lives. This
process will continue as the recommendations in
the Action Agenda become more refined.
By this summer, we expect to distribute
approximately $1.2 million in grants as part of
the 2007-2008 cycle. Fight For Children will
reach out to existing grantees, as well as new
organizations, to solicit proposals.
For more information, contact Jeff Travers at
jeff.travers@fightforchildren.org or
202-772-0436. |
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Ways You Can Help Fight For
Children
Fight For Children relies on the support of the
community to continue its work serving low-income
children in DC. If you are interested in supporting
a specific program at Fight For Children, we would
be happy to talk with you and learn more about your
priorities. Please contact Jeff Travers at
jeff.travers@fightforchildren.org or
202-772-0436.
You may also be interested in supporting two
upcoming events that benefit Fight For Children:
Fight Night
 The
19th Annual Fight Night will be held on
November 6, 2008, at the Washington Hilton & Towers.
Fred Schaufeld, Founder and Chairman of N.E.W.
Customer Service Companies, is the 2008 Fight Night
Chairman. Sponsorships and table sales are now
available. For more information, please visit
www.fightnightdc.org
or contact Liz Warnecki at
liz.warnecki@fightforchildren.org
or 202-772-0416.
GEICO's Bikers for Tykes 2008
 Fight
For Children is proud to have been selected by GEICO
as a beneficiary of its Bikers for Tykes 2008
program. One hundred percent of the proceeds raised
through Bikers for Tykes will benefit Fight For
Children and two other well-regarded charities, NIH
Children's Charities, and Boys and Girls Club of
Greater Washington.
 As
part of Bikers for Tykes 2008, GEICO is partnering
with the Washington Kastles of the World Team Tennis
League for GEICO nights on July 8, 15, and 23 in
Washington, DC. Bikers for Tykes is also raffling
off a custom-made motorcycle for only $50 per
chance. To purchase a raffle ticket or learn how you
can become involved, contact Jeff Travers at
jeff.travers@fightforchildren.org
at 202-772-0436. For sponsorship
information, please
click here. |
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