08.04.2009 - 

08.04.09

Have you heard of the Community Alliance to Promote Education (known as CAPE)?  From 2002 to May 2009, it was funded through several grants - $4.8 million in project funds from Lilly Endowment and a $1 million endowment in the Community Foundation. With the grant just formally ended, we’d like to celebrate some of what was accomplished and the progress our community has made in serving children and families for better educational outcomes.

Our community helped determine our educational focus and compete successfully for these funds in two rounds of grants. There were some dollars regranted locally to a variety of community projects and organizations to build the 40 developmental assets for youth; the Asset Building Coalition and others continue their work. The ongoing focus of CAPE staff and dollars, in the past three years especially, has been

1.     enhancing parent engagement in our schools, and

2.     improving children’s readiness for school through family literacy programs and Family Resource Centers that support parents and children in the zero-to-five years.

Here are some facts and quotes that reflect the results of these efforts. Three numbers about the Family Resource Centers (FRCs), from the evaluation, that give us a sense of how much has gone on there. Since July 2005:
     The FRC directors coordinated and provided 9,778  individualized services to families based on their needs
     987 family-based activities were offered at MCCSC and RBB’s schools in collaboration with the FRCs
     Among Families Participating in School-based Activities in Collaboration with the FRCs, were almost 30,000 children and over 20,000 adults

CAPE staff receive occasional notes of appreciation from families. One mother wrote the following to an FRC director:  “My sons and I have been enjoying our visits to the Banneker Center all summer. We just bought a home north of the city, I am originally from New York, and I just love Bloomington and am happy and blessed to raise my sons here.  I am an RN and work first shift on the weekend at [a hospital] and am a single mom. Sometimes it gets lonely. I am tired at times. So it is a really nice break for us during the week to just come down, I can meet and talk to other moms with toddlers and the kids get to play with other kids and all the great toys. Thank you very much for being there – you are a fantastic resource.”

On the parent engagement work, one administrator from MCCSC told the evaluator that CAPE “created parents who were not going to stay outside the schools.”  This person said that with this transformation of parent involvement, schools “…had to redefine parent engagement. We did activities in the periphery [before], but when you have parents who are partners that looks different.” 

One of the most exciting aspects of the CAPE collaboration is its legacy - work that is continuing beyond the Lilly Endowment grant, reflecting that these were not just activities of a limited time period but a positive shift in the way our community is including and supporting parents and families.

·         MCCSC and RBBCSC have found such value in the parent engagement work that both districts will keep Parent Engagement Coordinator positions and help fund them.

·         The Born Learning initiative that has been a partnership of United Way, Bloomington Parks and Rec. and CAPE will carry on with the work of informing parents of young children on ways to include “learning” in every day activities. 

·         Bloomington Parks & Recreation has taken over the Family Resource Center (FRC) at Banneker, hiring the former CAPE FRC director full time to increase opportunities for families of young children. Late June was the first Baby Fest – an opportunity for parents of young children to come together to exchange gently used clothes, toys, and other goods needed by children birth to three. 

·         The Family Resource Center at Edgewood Primary is open throughout the school day. Parent volunteers now plan for activities for play groups two days a week.  Parents sustain that program. 

·         The Touchpoints Collaborative will continue to provide information and professional development on building relational models between practitioners and parents. This is a wonderful train-the-trainer approach for working with young children. Step Ahead is the fiscal agent with funds provided through the CAPE endowment. The Prosecutor’s Office is the holding agency.

·         The Community Conversations, begun in April, 2007 continue with task forces focused on school readiness, parent mentoring and family-friendly workplace. 

·         The Free Family Market held at Templeton Elementary every Friday, initiated by CAPE Family Literacy, is now completely staffed by personnel and volunteers from the Shalom Center.

·         You can also look for continued Say It In Spanish programs at Monroe County Public Library as well as other community based story hours and play groups. 

Thank you to all the people who have helped make this happen:  those who participated in focus groups and community input to shape the grant proposals, the community members who served on the CAPE Advisory Board, the talented people who have served on its staff, its active community partners (including Community Conversation participants), and of course, the families who participated in these programs to help children succeed in learning.

Our community will continue to reap the benefits of the cultural changes and sustained programs that developed during the CAPE funding period. And a new Monroe County Birth-to-Five Coalition will build on the groundwork laid in CAPE.