How Does a Community-Based Organization (CBO) Serve Youth?

An American Youth Policy Forum Field Trip — July 18, 2002

This field trip was organized to learn about the range of services offered by a community-based organization to improve education and experiences for in and out-of-school youth. This field trip focused on:

• The role of a community based organization in adolescent youth programming, with a visit to Friendship House, a CBO founded in 1904. Friendship House began as a settlement house providing a variety of services for individuals and the community as a whole. Located on Capitol Hill and in 15 satellite community sites, Friendship House supports individuals, families and community development in South Washington, DC.
• Basic education (ABE)/GED programming, with a visit to the ABE/GED Program, a division of the Family Strengthening and Employment Resources program of Friendship House. This program helps DC residents increase their basic academic skills with a goal of passing the GED.
• Workforce Investment Act Youth Opportunity Grant programming, with a visit to the Friendship House Youth Opportunity Drop-In Center. There are five federally-funded Youth Opportunity (YO) Centers in Washington, DC, which provide comprehensive services to young people between the ages of 14 and 21, primarily out-of-school youth. Services include tutoring; literacy instruction; technical skills training; dropout prevention programs, high school, GED or higher education preparation; job training; summer employment; internships; work experience; job placement; mentoring; life skills training; drug use prevention; mental health services; child care; transportation assistance; leadership development via conflict resolution, recreational programs, and community service opportunities with stipends; “drop-in centers;” and continuous follow-up of young people.
• School reform and charter schools, with a tour of Friendship Edison Public Charter School’s Junior Academy at Blow-Pierce Middle School and Collegiate Academy at Carter G. Woodson High School, both charter schools created in collaboration between the Friendship House Association and Edison Schools, Inc. Edison schools are designed to succeed with kids from all backgrounds. They set high standards for academic skills, social behavior, and physical and creative development. Teachers engage parents intensively through phones in each classroom, voice mail that informs parents of daily activities and homework assignments, and laptops for every family of a third-grader and above.
• Extended learning opportunities, with a visit to the summer school and enrichment program at the Blow-Pierce Campus of Friendship Edison Public Charter School

Friendship House

Field Trip Participants were greeted at Friendship House headquarters by Director of Development and Communications, Jerry Haley. Haley and other Friendship House staff provided an overview of Friendship House and its work to improve education and development opportunities for young people in Washington, D.C.

Started in 1904 and located on Capitol Hill, Friendship House was modeled on settlement houses such as Chicago’s Hull House. Friendship House supports individuals, families and community development, primarily in South Washington, DC. The main building, known as “Maples,” was built in 1796 and was one of the first homes on Capitol Hill. Friendship House has 15 satellite locations including public housing, churches and other community sites.

Friendship House program services include:

• supportive social services and self-sufficiency programs
• economic and community development and services
• job training
• work experience and employment services
• Edison-Friendship Public Charter Schools
• youth development
• family counseling
• child development

For decades, Friendship House has been well-known as a place to go when people needed help. In 2001, Friendship House’s Community Services staff helped over 250 people find emergency and permanent housing, helped over 300 with budget and self-sufficiency counseling, and helped another 600 elderly with free bulk food. They distributed over 300 turkeys at Thanksgiving and 500 food and 300 toy baskets at Christmas, and made dozens of referrals to other agencies. Friendship House Community Services staff have been important players in the city’s task forces and working groups on government policy towards the poor. Most recently they have participated in the development of the city’s welfare reform policy. The Child Development Center at Friendship House is the oldest early education program in Washington, DC. Since 1910, it has provided high quality childcare and education to children ages 6 weeks through 13 years of age with an emphasis on parents as children’s “first teachers.” One of many projects, Friendship House is involved in environmental restoration, improvement and expansion of the Washington, DC Navy Yard especially in the areas of increasing community pride, youth outreach, and small business development.

In an effort to have the greatest impact on the community, Friendship House focuses on children and education through the following:

• Edison-Friendship Public Charter School, a comprehensive K-12 public school chartered in 1997
• DCKids, a comprehensive year-round academic and enrichment program designed to provide opportunities for children in the exploration of leadership, education, technology, adventure, and teamwork, supported by the Department of Technology and Extended Learning Programs
• A Youth Opportunity Drop-In Center, which exposes youth to a variety of careers and real-life experiences, academic and work-based learning, leadership development activities, and support systems that empower youth to move into self-sufficiency
• The Computer Technology & Extended Learning program, which includes the Friendship Community Technology Resource Center at the Blow Pierce Junior Academy and the Friendship 21st Century Community Learning Center
• A Child Development Center on-site at Friendship House headquarters, with accompanying Parenting Plus Program
• An Adult Basic Education/ GED Preparation program

Vonelle Middleton, Chief Academic Officer of Friendship House and Acting Principal, Blow-Pierce Junior Academy, described the different campuses of the Friendship Edison Public Charter School. Friendship Edison PCS has two Primary Academies for grades K-5, one Junior Academy for grades 6-8, a Senior Collegiate Academy for grades 9 and 10, and a Collegiate Academy for grades 11 and 12. The K-12 curriculum is rigorous and academically challenging. The Friendship Edison PCS academies have been very successful in raising student achievement. For example, for four years in a row the Chamberlain Campus (elementary) has raised average reading scores nine to twelve points each year. Average math scores have gone up ten percentile points per year. (Most students arrive with standardized test scores in the 15th to 19th percentile.) At the middle school level, students’ scores are rising by at least five to nine percentile points. Friendship Edison Public Charter Schools use the “Success for All” reading curriculum and the “Every Day Math” curriculum.

In partnership with the nationally recognized Edison Project, the four Friendship Edison Public Charter School campuses build upon the significant reputation of Friendship House as a long-standing human service provider in the District. The schools are organized around small academies, wherein teachers stay with the same children for several years. Technology plays an important role in the educational program, and families of students in the third grade and higher receive a home computer. The school supports a strong commitment to parents and families.

Edison schools are designed to succeed with kids from all backgrounds. They set high standards for academic skills, social behavior, and physical and creative development. Teachers engage parents intensively through phones in each classroom, voice mail that informs parents of daily activities and homework assignments, and laptops for every family of a third-grader and above.

Friendship House and Edison Schools worked together to help Friendship Edison raise over $30 million in financing to transform four abandoned school buildings into ‘bright and welcoming places to learn.”

Enrollment in Friendship Edison Public Charter Schools is open to all D.C. students by application.

Ms. Middleton described Friendship House as “the mother ship,” supporting students not only by providing an educational system, but also by providing supports for parents, something which helps kids be successful learners. For example, the Friendship House Adult Basic Education/GED program has numerous on-site locations in school buildings to involve parents in their children’s’ schools and in furthering their own education.

Danny Rose, Deputy Chief of Staff at Friendship Edison Public Charter School, discussed Friendship House’s philosophy of supporting children by supporting families. Friendship Edison PCS campuses serve families—not just students—by offering GED and family literacy programs at its schools. Key personnel at Friendship Edison schools have come through the Friendship House TANF program. This year, Friendship House is setting up an office in each of the Friendship Edison Public Charter Schools. Mr. Rose’s comments were echoed by Linette Adams, Head of School, Carter G. Woodson Collegiate Academy, who described the Friendship Edison PCS buildings as “community buildings, not schools.”

Mr. Rose explained the relationship between Friendship House, the Friendship Edison Public Charter School and the Edison Project. The Edison Project serves as a management consultant, providing curriculum and taking care of administrative matters such as payroll. Guided by the vision of Friendship House, Friendship Edison Public Charter Schools make their own decisions locally.

Field trip participants heard from Michael Watts, Program Manager, Youth Opportunity Initiative, D.C. Department of Employment Services. Mr. Watts, who formerly managed the Friendship House Youth Opportunity Initiative, now oversees the five Youth Opportunity Sites in the District of Columbia. When young people first come into the Friendship House Youth Opportunity Drop-in Center they receive an assessment of their education and professional training so an individual strategy can be designed to help them succeed. Mr. Watts reported that the D.C. Youth Opportunity Initiative is working. Participation in the drop-in centers is high and the centers are having success placing youth after they have completed the program. The District of Columbia Youth Council, which oversees the implementation of the Youth Opportunity Initiative in D.C., is chaired by Verizon President Marie Johns. The directors of the five Youth Opportunity Centers serve on that council as well.

Field trip participants toured Friendship House headquarters, visiting intake areas for youth and the childcare center (which provides childcare for children six weeks to thirteen years-old and parenting education and support for their parents).

Friendship House Adult Basic Education/GED program

Just a few blocks away from Friendship House, trip participants were greeted at the Adult Basic Education/ GED program at the Family Strengthening and Employment Resources Center by Director Jean Walker. Ms. Walker described the ABE/GED program, which helps DC residents increase their basic academic skills with a goal of passing the GED. Program staff also help participants with pre-employment skills training and job placement. Participants are generally low-income parents (working, non-working or receiving TANF funds through Welfare to Work) who are most in need of literacy and other skills.

Ms. Walker told trip participants the program is currently serving 300 adult DC residents per year with a very high rate of success. Three recent graduates have just finished their first year of college. Many go on to vocational education programs or self-sufficiency through employment. The program has recently teamed up with the AFL-CIO Construction Trades to offer those who pass the GED exam the opportunity to enter a construction trade apprenticeship program. Ms. Walker reported her biggest difficulty is retention. Her staff works hard to build students’ self-esteem, working with individuals one-on-one to keep them on track. The average age of students in the program is 28, and program participants are, on average, on their fifth attempt at trying to get their GED.
Friendship House is planning to add on-line GED courses soon, so people can work toward the GED from home. This will be especially useful for the parents of the Friendship Edison PCS students who each receive an internet-ready computer in third grade.

Friendship House Youth Opportunity Center

Field trip participants met with Johnnie Philson, Program Manager of the Friendship House Youth Opportunity Initiative, at the Youth Opportunity Drop-in Center. The Friendship House Youth Opportunity Drop-in Center is one of five Youth Opportunity Centers in Washington, DC, funded under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. The YO Centers serve primarily out-of-school youth between the ages of 14-21. Center services are comprehensive, including: high school, GED or higher education preparation, tutoring, literacy instruction, dropout prevention programs, job training, internships, community service, leadership development, and “drop-in centers.”

The Friendship House Youth Opportunity Drop-in Center, as with all of the D.C. YO sites, is charged with serving 125 out-of-school and 40 in-school youth per year. The Center features a GED preparation program, a drop-in homework center, a teen-led “Way Too Cool to Smoke” campaign, and an in-school group at the Friendship Edison PCS Collegiate Academy at Woodson High School. Newly arrived Program Director of the Friendship House Youth Opportunity Initiative, Jim Riddick, explained to trip participants that the Drop-in Center provides students with a stipend of $10 per day to come for homework assistance and help dealing with life issues. At the time of our visit the Center was halfway to their goal of 40 students per day “dropping in” for homework assistance.

Trip participants visited the Friendship House YO Center GED classroom, where we met with two students and the GED teacher. (Due to extreme heat and an air conditioning system in need of repair few students were in attendance the day of the field trip; normally GED classes are comprised of 6-8 students.) Twenty year-old GED student Tiffany Parker described her initial motivation to come to the Center as wanting to learn and to get a job. Her continued participation, she explained, was due to the kindness of the Center staff and the opportunities to travel. Tiffany had left high school at age 17, because she felt no support from her teachers. She now plans to go to college, get a job, and “move forward.” Twenty year-old Yancy Smith described dropping out of high school at age 16 because he felt disconnected from school and his friends were dropping out. Now he wants to complete his GED so he is eligible for an apprenticeship program. Ultimately, Yancy would like to work for Verizon.

The GED teacher described the class atmosphere as “collaborative competition.” Students, he told us, set goals of the number of months they will take to complete their GED, and this keeps them motivated to finish. While the YO Center provides basic education as an alternative to high school, Jim Riddick noted that it provides much more support to youth than a traditional school setting. In the future he would like to see youth opportunity centers also offer help with homelessness and more recreational activities.

Most participants in the GED program are literate but have dropped out of school in the 10th or 11th grade. Of the 23 Center students who took the GED last year, 17 passed.

Friendship Edison Public Charter School Collegiate Academy at the Carter G. Woodson Campus

Upon arriving at the Collegiate Academy at Woodson, trip participants were greeted by Head of School Linette Adams. Although school was not in session, trip participants were able to see the lovely, state-of-the art facility. While touring participants through the school, Ms. Adams described the mission of her school as “to provide a world class education for all of our children.” Staff at Woodson have a big challenge and really pull together to encourage the children to attend school and succeed. (Even office staff attend basketball games at Woodson.)

The Collegiate Academy at Carter G. Woodson is one of the Friendship Edison Charter Schools. Enrollment is 800 students in grades 9 through 12. The school opened in September of 2000. In just one year of operation, from fall of 2000 to spring of 2001, the Collegiate Academy raised scores six percentile points in reading and 15 percentile points in math. In 2001 10.7 percent of the students at the Collegiate Academy scored “proficient” or “advanced” in reading. In the spring of 2001 23.6 percent of Woodson students scored above the national average in reading and 33.8 percent scored above the national average in math on the Stanford Achievement Test.

Edison-Friendship Public Charter School Junior Academy at the Blow-Pierce Campus

Friendship Edison PCS Junior Academy at Blow-Pierce Middle School
The Junior Academy at Blow Pierce is one of the Friendship Edison Charter Schools. Enrollment is 760 students in grades 6 through 8. From the fall of 1999 to spring of 2001 average scores at the Junior Academy rose 14 percentile points in reading and 10 percentile points in math. In 2001 15 percent of Blow-Pierce students scored “proficient” or “advanced” in reading.

The Summer Program at Blow-Pierce Middle School
Summer Principal James McGirt and Summer Enrichment Director Diana Hicks, met with trip participants and explained the history of the summer program. In 2001 the D. C. Public Schools ran a large, well-funded summer program. In 2002, the funding went through the Youth Investment Trust Corporation and was sub-granted to programs. Friendship House made a proposal (which was successful) for a full-day program, with traditional summer school in the mornings and enrichment activities (e.g., athletics, community service, arts) in the afternoons. Trip participants toured the summer program and observed students engaged in a community service project of making lunches for a local homeless shelter. (Students had decided what they would make and purchased the ingredients.) As they prepared the lunches, other students were videotaping the project. Participants also observed classes in chess, journalism, art, and dance.

The Friendship Community Technology Resource Center at Blow-Pierce
Trip participants toured the Community Technology Center, a nicely equipped facility, with both PC and Mac computers. The Center provides access to computers and technology to more than 2,000 low-income adults and children in NE Washington, DC. The Center is open during the school day, with evening classes for the community, including the basic introductory computer classes and preparation for the GED. The idea is to both provide services and get the community involved in the school.

How a Large Community Based Organization Can Effectively Serve Youth

Through learning about the variety of services offered to Washington, D.C. youth by Friendship House, trip participants were able to get a glimpse of a model of comprehensive, coordinated services designed to reach all youth.
Specifically, the group noted that Friendship House services for youth are:

• Holistic: Friendship House sees supporting children and families as central to its mission. Friendship House offers parenting support and workforce development education for parents as an integral part of their work supporting children. Friendship Edison schools are based on a community school model, with computer centers open to the public after school hours.
• Comprehensive and Coordinated: Friendship House can offer a student a variety of educational, developmental, nutritional, and social programs. Youth involved in one of Friendship House’s programs may learn of other relevant programs available elsewhere in the Friendship House system. Intake at Friendship House headquarters provides Friendship House staff the opportunity to acquaint youth with available programs.
• Overlapping: Friendship House offers a variety of educational programs to prepare youth for adulthood and the world of work. From Edison-sponsored charter schools to ABE/GED programming to youth opportunity programming, Friendship House is poised to pick up youth at whatever point they find themselves educationally and provide further training and development. If one setting is not working, often another is available.
• Funded in Numerous Ways to Maximize Eligibility: Because of its size and the diversity of its programming, Friendship House is able to coordinate a variety of funding streams to reach more youth. Unlike smaller programs which may have to close doors on youth who do not meet the criteria of their funders, Friendship House is often able to juggle funding to make placement possible for most youth seeking services.

Contact Information

Linette Adams
Head of School
Carter G. Woodson
Collegiate Academy
4095 Minnesota Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20019
202-396-5500; Fax 202-396-8229

A. Jerry Haley, Jr.
Director of Development and Communications
Friendship House
619 D Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
202-675-9242; Fax 202-546-9765
ajhaley@friendshiphouse.net

Vonelle Middleton
Chief Academic Officer of
Friendship House and
Acting Principal
Blow-Pierce Middle School
725 19th Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-399-2100; Fax 202-399-6157

Johnnie Philson
Program Manager
Friendship House Youth Opportunity Drop-in Center
1000 5th Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
202-675-9319

Jim Riddick
Program Director
Friendship House Youth Opportunity Initiative
619 D Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003

Danny Rose
Deputy Chief of Staff
Friendship Edison Public Charter School
619 D Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
202-285-7483; Fax 202-546-3080
drose@friendshiphouse.net

Jean Walker
Director
The Family Strengthening and Employment Resources Center
518 4th Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
202-675-9054

Michael Watts
Program Manager
Youth Opportunity Initiative
District of Columbia
Department of Employment Services
609 H Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-698-5214
Michael.watts@dc.gov

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