Perspectives News December 2010

Perspectives Charter Schools College for Certain

Perspectives Charter Schools E-newsletter

December 15, 2010

Greetings!

This last month has been full of wonderful news as Perspectives continues to reap the fruits of our long-term strategy to change public education through public/private partnerships. The purpose of our work is to prepare our students to lead successful lives after they leave Perspectives. This is the time of year that we see our seniors begin this journey as their first college acceptance letters arrive in the mail. I am thrilled to report that 43 seniors have already been accepted to college and have earned over $500,000 in academic and athletic scholarships!

We couldn't achieve these results without your financial and personal support. In addition to the funding we receive from Chicago Public Schools and other governmental entities, roughly 8% of our budget comes from private sources. We are so grateful to report the following recent votes of confidence in the Perspectives model by our supporters:

Early commitments from individuals and corporations to sponsor our Annual Benefit on March 31, 2011 are already at $136,500 with Crain's Chicago Business again contributing free space in their publication for us to advertise this event. We are well on our way to achieving our goal of making this the most successful benefit in Perspective's history!
This month Lundbeck, Inc. is investing in the much-needed renovation of one of our Perspectives/IIT Math & Science labs.
Also this month, CDW generously committed to underwriting the cost of much needed technology for our schools. At Perspectives, we are continually looking for ways to use technology to support our educational, programs, and administrative goals. This grant helps us take a much needed step in adding to our technology resources.
And last week an individual contributed $250,000 to Perspectives for the second year.

Generosity like this coupled with your support helps us sustain our education model by supporting the accelerated achievement growth of our students - and results like last year's 97 percent college acceptance rate.

I thank you, as a friend and supporter of Perspectives, for your interest and investment in our students' futures. On behalf of all of us at Perspectives, we wish you the very best for the RHopps headshot holiday season and the New Year!

With my sincere regards,

Rhonda Hopps, CFA

Chief Executive Officer

Perspectives Seniors Win Four-Year Scholarships!

In early November Anthony Davis, an honor roll student at our Perspectives Rodney D. Joslin campus, accepted a full 4-year athletic scholarship to the University of Kentucky! Evidently Anthony is not just a superstar in the classroom but is also a superstar on the basketball court where he is ranked as the number 2 basketball player in the country.

Then, in late November, Stephanie Caldwell, a senior at Perspectives High School of Technology, learned that she was offered a prestigious QuestBridge full four-year scholarship to Northwestern University. In addition to being a straight-A student, Stephanie increased her ACT score by seven points in her four years with Perspectives!

Last year, 97 percent of our graduates were accepted to college, and with Anthony, Stephanie and 41 other Perspectives scholars leading the way, we're determined to do even better this year!

Sisters4Science Teaches Perspectives Middleschool Girls About Careers in Medicine

De'Andrea talks with Dr. Nicole Williams about how suturing ties into her interest in veterinary medicine.

Sisters4Science is a year-round after-school and field program that combines science exploration with leadership development for about 100 minority middle school girls at five Chicago schools including Perspectives Middle Academy and Perspectives Rodney D. Joslin.

Recently, the Sisters4Science girls at Perspectives scrubbed-up to work on sutures with OB/GYN physician, Nicole Williams, MD. Dr. Williams taught the girls about how skin heals and regenerates after it has been cut, and used a cooked pig's tail to show them some of the techniques surgeons use to stitch-up patients during surgery. The students learned how to use real-life surgeons' tools, wore surgical masks and other medical gear, and had great fun while learning first-hand about careers in the operating room.

Read more about their experience at the Sisters4Science blog.

Meet the Staff: Perspectives Profiles

Each month, we profile a few of the many dedicated people who make Perspectives a truly outstanding organization, and this month we're pleased to introduce you to Nicole Lasky and Patricia Garza of the Assessment and Evaluation Department.

Nicole Lasky and Patricia Garza.

Nicole Lasky, Data and Testing Coordinator, joined the Perspectives staff in June 2010 fresh out of graduate school at the University of Chicago. "I actually received the job offer from Perspectives on the same day I graduated!" she said. While Nicole loves data collection and analysis, doing research for its own sake doesn't excite her. "What interested me about the opportunity here is that it's about much more than just producing and presenting data. It's about using and applying the data to improve outcomes and effectiveness."

Patricia Garza, Director of Assessment and Evaluation, echoes Nicole's sentiments. "I was attracted to this position because Perspectives does a really good job of understanding and trying to implement best practices, and is always looking for tools to measure and evaluate their impact. That's where I come in," she says. With a post-graduate degree and more than a decade of professional experience in educational research and assessment, Patricia plays a key role in Perspectives' effort to focus on positive student outcomes, and ensure that every student is prepared for success in college and in life.

Lundbeck, Inc. Awards Grant to Rehab Science Labs at MSA

Perspectives is excited to announce that Deerfield, Illinois-based Lundbeck, Inc. recently awarded Perspectives/IIT Math & Science Academy (MSA) a $50,000 grant to help complete the renovation of a science lab classroom! Lundbeck is a pharmaceutical company that specializes in innovative therapies that fulfill unmet medical needs of people with severe, and often rare, diseases for which few, if any, effective treatments are available. Thanks to Lundbeck's very generous gift, MSA students in grades 6 through 12 will be using this lab every day starting with the 2011-2012 school year!

A Disciplined Life©: Random Acts of Kindness

Holiday light bulbs celebrate Random Acts of Kindness.

"Our goal this holiday season is to light up the hallways with Random Acts of Kindness!" says Perspectives Middle Academy Assistant Principal, Sauda Porter. As part of the school's commitment to promoting peace and the A Disciplined Life© (ADL) principle Resolve Conflicts Peacefully, they have started a fun new program they named Random Acts of Kindness.

Perspectives Middle Academy students prepare and hang the light bulbs.

Students in ADL classes write brief examples of actions performed by others that have positively impacted them. The stories are written on colorful, light bulb-shaped pieces of paper, and displayed in the school hallways for all students to view. The project also reinforces other ADL principles such as Be Positive and Supportive of Each Other, and Show Gratitude. "We just started this last week," Sauda added, "and already there must be at least 50 light bulbs up!"

Ways to Give This Holiday Season

With the end of the year fast approaching, many people start thinking about their charitable giving, and the year-end gifts they'd like to make to organizations that are important to them. We are very grateful for the support we receive from individuals, corporations, and foundations throughout our community, and if you are considering a year-end gift to Perspectives, you can donate online. You can also download a contribution form if you'd prefer to give by mail. If you have questions or would like more information, just call the External Affairs office at (312) 604-2190.

Internships Still Needed for Juniors with Special Interests

Ernst & Young is a long-time partner of the Perspectives Leadership Academy mentor program.

In spite of having more student interns to place than ever before, Program Director, Jane Esser, is pleased to report that she has successfully placed most of our 375 juniors with mentors. Thanks Jane for this heroic effort! "At this point, my focus is on finding internship opportunities for students with special interests," she says. These include internship placements in the fields of dance and theater, architecture, animal medicine and care, game design, graphic arts, law, pharmacy, construction, and engineering.

Internship mentors commit to having Perspectives junior year students work with them on five dedicated Wednesdays in the spring when they are not in school. The dates this year will be February 2, February 16, March 9, March 23, and April 13, 2011. There is no cost to the mentors, and the structure of the days is as flexible as possible to accommodate mentor schedules.

If you or anyone you know works in one of these fields and might be interested in mentoring a Perspectives student, Jane would love to hear from you. She can be contacted at jesser@perspectivescs.org.

Save the Date: Annual Benefit on March 31

If you haven't already marked your calendars, please save the date of March 31, 2011 to attend Perspectives Annual College for Certain Benefit at the Westin Chicago River North hotel. Chaired for the second year by Tony Anderson, Vice Chair and Midwest Managing Partner of Ernst & Young LLP, and for the first time by James Reynolds, CFA, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Loop Capital Markets and James Bell, Corporate President and Chief Financial Officer, The Boeing Company, we look forward to another successful evening where you'll meet our students, hear their stories, and enjoy dinner, a live auction, and a raffle for a brand-new 2011 BMW328i or $25,000 in cash. Raffle tickets are on sale now, and are available by mail or by phone. For more information, please visit the benefit page or contact External Affairs at 312.604.2190.