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Synergy Academies' Online Newsletter
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December 2009/January 2010
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SYNERGY SPECTRUM
Educating Students in South Los Angeles
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Greetings!
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Welcome to the first edition of Synergy Academies' online newsletter, Synergy Spectrum! Synergy Academies now has two high-performing public charter schools in South Central Los Angeles: Synergy Charter Academy (grades K-5) and Synergy Kinetic Academy (grades 6-8). In this issue, learn how Synergy's schools are defeating the achievement gap, and learn how you can partner with Synergy to help transform the American public education system. Also, mark your calendars in December to join us on a Synergy Academies campus tour. I look forward to meeting you in person and keeping in touch. We're all in this together, Meg Palisoc Teacher, Co-Founder, and Chief Executive Officer Synergy Academies |
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Synergy Defeats the Achievement Gap
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Synergy Academies' schools are national models for improving the American public education system because they are quickly defeating the achievement gap. The achievement gap is the difference in academic success between students from lower-income areas compared to their peers in other areas. Synergy has been able to catapult its students' academic achievement faster than traditional public schools. For example, it took Synergy's first school only three years to eliminate the achievement gap on its campus. With your support, we can continue to create educational equity for all students. |
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Synergy Charter Academy's
Accomplishments
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Synergy Is Hiring
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Synergy Academies is looking for a part-time Campus Assistant for its middle school, Synergy Kinetic Academy. Additional information and the application is available online at www.EdJoin.org (search for "Synergy" for the Campus Assistant position).
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STAY CONNECTED WITH SYNERGY ACADEMIES.
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Excelling Despite Existing Challenges
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 Synergy Charter Academy has been the highest-performing fully-implemented K-5 school in all of South Los Angeles for the past four years. Its students originally were performing among the bottom 10% of all students in the State of California and now its students are performing among the top 10% of all students statewide. Additionally, in just its first year of operation, Synergy Kinetic Academy became the highest-performing middle school in its neighborhood.
Even more amazing is that both of these schools have been able to obtain these tremendous results despite having to pack up their classrooms every week. Our teachers have to pack up their classrooms every week because California charter schools are not provided with their own school facilities. Instead, we have to find and pay for our own school facilities. Since it is difficult to find available facilities that are suitable for a public school in South Los Angeles, Synergy's schools currently rent facilities from two active churches that also use the same classrooms in the evenings and weekends. Synergy's Co-Founder and Chief Achievement Officer, Randy Palisoc, was recently quoted in the Los Angeles Times regarding Synergy's ability to overcome these facilities challenges.
Synergy Academies' state-funded public schools have also continued to excel academically despite being affected by the recent budget cuts. The State of California decreased our schools' budgets by approximately 20% for the past two years.
With your help, we can continue to be a national model for creating educational equity. Join our Board of Directors, volunteer at a Synergy Academies school, and/or donate to Synergy.
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Help Transform the American Public Education System
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 The majority of Synergy Academies' students live in South Los Angeles. South Los Angeles is one of the poorest communities in inner-city Los Angeles. Over 85% of our students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Approximately 85% of our students are Latino and 15% are African American.
There are no bookstores in our students' neighborhood, most of our students' parents do not speak English, and many of our students' parents did not attend college, let alone, graduate from high school. Academically, the majority of the schools in Synergy's neighborhood are performing among the bottom 10% in the entire State of California. Thus, if Synergy's schools did not exist, our students would have no choice but to attend a failing school.
Synergy Academies provides our students with an alternative to dropping out of school and joining gangs by giving them hope for their futures via free high-quality educational programs. Additionally, our middle school, Synergy Kinetic Academy, is designed to empower Latino and African American students to pursue a career in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). In Fall 2011, we will open a STEM-focused high school, Synergy Quantum Academy. Our long-term plan is to develop our three schools into professional development schools so that educators nationwide can learn from our successful instructional strategies. This way, we can help improve the American public education system by empowering staff at both new and existing schools as well as at traditional and charter public schools.
Join us in transforming the American public education system by making your tax-deductible contribution online today. Your donation can help purchase:
* One book for our schools' libraries - $5
* Art and music supplies for one classroom - $500
* One student computer and software - $1,000
* After School Intervention for one school - $36,000
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Shop
For Synergy
Cut this out
and keep it
in your wallet.
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Help raise money for Synergy Academies just by doing your everyday shopping!
Register your credit cards and grocery store rewards cards online. A portion of your purchases will be donated to Synergy.* Register your Ralphs Club Card online. Synergy Charter Academy's NPO # is 82724.* Register your Target REDcard online. Synergy's School ID # is 125533.
* Register your credit cards online with Escrip. Synergy's ID # is 164754779. * Ask for your Office Depot purchases to be credited to Synergy Charter Academy
(Back to School ID # 70204964).When you shop at The Grove and The Americana at Brand between November 19 and December 24, 2009, 5% of your purchases will go to Synergy Charter Academy. Just show your receipts to the concierge and tell them to credit your purchases to Synergy Charter Academy. Shop year-round at Great American Online and enter either 740134 for Synergy Charter Academy or 1464742 for Synergy Kinetic Academy. Or shop at stores such as The Gap, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, and more via the Box Tops for Education website (enter the zip code, 90011, and select Synergy Charter Academy). A portion of your purchases will be credited to our schools.
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Thank you for supporting Synergy!!!
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