FREE Partnerships News
December 2011: Interim Superintendent Bolgen Vargas has agreed to be the Keynote Speaker at the FREE Partnerships Annual Meeting on April 24, 2012.
The RCSD and FREE Partnerships hosted the second volunteer training webinar on December 12. Two more training webinars are planned for January 19 and February 29, 2012.
December volunteer stats: 330 volunteers providing 972 hours of support per week.
FREE Partnerships participated in the ROC the Day fundraising event on December 8.
November 2011: The RCSD – FREE MOA amendment to include the School 39 – Church of the Transfiguration Partnership has been approved by Superintendent Vargas. The FREE Coalition now has 10 schools.
The RCSD and FREE Partnerships hosted a volunteer training webinar on November 14. This on-line training gave FREE volunteers more insights into the fundamentals of learning and techniques they can use to promote learning with the students they support.
FREE Partnerships held an orientation session for the Rochester Police Department (RPD) on November 17 and recruited 3 more officers to work with students in city schools. Each partnership is reporting volunteer metrics each month. In November there were 317 volunteers providing 948 hours of support per week for Rochester city students.
October 2011: RCSD Interim Superintendent Vargas approve the RCSD – FREE MOA amendment to include the School 15 – Unitarian Church Partnership. The FREE Coalition now has 9 schools.
FREE Partnerships schools have 256 volunteers providing 791 hours of support per week.
October 2011 Stats |
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| Number of Vols. | No. of Hrs/Wk | |
| School 7 | 13 | 28.8 |
| School 10 | 11 | 21.5 |
| School 12 | 17 | 51.5 |
| School 15 | 31 | 52.3 |
| School 20 | 24 | 85.7 |
| School 22 | 44 | 107.8 |
| School 34 | 28 | 93.4 |
| School 50 | 45 | 189.0 |
| School 52 | 43 | 161.3 |
| All FREE Schools | 256 | 791.2 |
FREE Partnerships attended the Strive / Rochester organizational meeting at MCC on October 28 hosted by Anne Kress, MCC President. Dr. Bolgen Vargas, RCSD Interim Superintendent, presented five objectives for the Strive initiative. Dr. Kress proposed that Strive / Rochester be called “ROC the Future”.
September 2011: FREE Partnerships held an orientation session at SUNY Brockport on Sept. 1. Forty-seven college students have been recruited for the fall semester:
- 40 SUNY Brockport fieldwork students
- 2 MCC fieldwork students
- 5 St John Fisher College community service students
This does not include 20 SUNY Geneseo students placed at School 34 that were recruited by Terry Riordan, SUNY Geneseo field placement coordinator and the School 34 volunteer coordinator.
Rochester police officers recruited in May returned to FREE schools to read with students.
FREE Partnerships participated in the MCC Education Forum on September 6 sponsored Anne Kress, MCC President, and Nancy Zimpher, SUNY Chancellor, to engage the support of Rochester community leaders to launch a Strive / Rochester initiative to coordinate Rochester organizations that support children to succeed in school.
August 2011: Even in the summer, there was a lot of activity to get ready for the new school year - many meetings with community partners, school principals, and teachers.
SUNY Brockport students submitted applications for their fieldwork assignments in FREE schools.
July 2011: The FREE Partnerships WAVE for Success article is published in the D&C online.
The Rochester City School District (RCSD) - FREE Partnerships Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was approved by RCSD Interim Superintendent, Dr. Bolgen Vargas, for the 2011 – 2012 school year. The renewed MOA includes School 10, a new FREE Partnerships school that is partnering with the Community Christian Church. School 10 is the 8th FREE Partnerships school.
The FREE Partnerships Summer Dessert Party celebrated the individuals who have supported FREE Partnerships over the past year.
June 2011: FREE Partnerships schools had 126 volunteers providing 342 volunteer hours of support per week.
The FREE Coalition meeting was held at Starry Nites Café to discuss how to have a bigger impact on overall student performance in the next school year.
The Rochester Police Department has recruited 15 officers to work in the seven FREE Partnerships schools. FREE Partnerships has provided an orientation session for all of these RPD officers.
FREE Partnerships is featured in this Inc. Magazine article: How I Used Social Media to Raise $10,000
May 2011: FREE Partnerships hosted an exhibit at the ROC City Rising event in the George Eastman House.
FREE Partnerships schools had 170 volunteers providing 536 volunteer hours of support per week. This decrease in hours is due to the departure of college students who completed their fieldwork assignments.
The FREE Partnerships Coalition met at School 52 to discuss how to measure partnership impacts and how to recognize volunteers with year-end celebrations.
Rochester Police Department (RPD) Chief Sheppard agreed to participate with FREE Partnerships and RPD Commanders started recruiting officers who will work in FREE schools one day per week to help students improve their reading skills.
School 10 Principal, Camaron Clyburn, agreed to form a partnership with Community Christian Church.
April 2011: The FREE Partnerships Annual Meeting honored the following individuals for their outstanding personal commitment, dedication, and support for their community - school partnership:
School Partnership Volunteer Coordinator Appreciation Awards
- School 7 – Principal: David Lincoln
Teacher: Beth Cross
First Universalist Church: Sarah Singal
- School 12 – Principal: Michele Liguori-Alampi
PTA: Vicki Robertson, Ruth Inzinna
Highland Park Neighborhood Association: Ruth Danis
- School 20 – Principal: D’Onnarae (Dee) Johnson
Assistant Principal: Carla Roberts
Mt Olivet Baptist Church: Paula Hansen, Val Medley
- School 22 – Principal: Clinton Bell
Teacher: Kim Mendelson
First Unitarian Church: Ann Bayley, Stuart Burke
- School 34 – Principal: Tracy DelGrego
Teacher: Cindi Shear
St. Catherine of Siena Church: Terry Riordan
Grace Urban Ministries: Jim Ryan
- School 50 – Principal: Tim Mains
Teacher: Janet Bird
St. Joseph’s Church: Patty Vermilion, Robin Valoris
- School 52 – Principal: Denise Rainey
Teachers: Tanya Homer, Rose Vercolen
Temple B’rith Kodesh: Don Ginsberg, Bruce Pollock, Michael Slade
March 2011: The seven FREE Partnerships schools had 289 volunteers providing 1031 volunteer hours of support per week.
The FREE Partnerships Coalition meeting was held on March 14 at School 50 with a good discussion about Successful Practices.
FREE Partnerships provided training to Volunteer Coordinators on the use of the FREE Volunteer Management Tool (VMT).
February 2011: The FREE Partnerships Coalition meeting was held on February 14 at The Harley School. Luis Perez, Executive Director of Horizons at Harley, presented an overview of the Horizons summer program.
FREE Partnerships has recruited and placed a total of 91 volunteers (89 college students and 2 community volunteers) in FREE Partnerships schools, representing 4701 hours of volunteer time or an average of 56.5 hours per week per school.
FREE Partnerships received funding of $10,500 from Ford Motor Company as part of the Ford Focus Global Test Drive marketing campaign. FREE Partnerships was mentioned in Ford’s press release announcing the Ford campaign to “Start More than a Car”.
As part of this marketing campaign, Bruce Pollock, FREE Partnerships Executive Director, will be driving a 2012 Ford Focus around Rochester in March and April. FREE Partnerships will also host several joint marketing events in the Rochester area to promote the 2012 Ford Focus and FREE Partnerships.
January 2011: The FREE Partnerships Coalition meeting was held on January 10 at School 12.
FREE Partnerships recruited and screened 83 college students for FREE Partnerships schools, representing 4460 hours of volunteer time or an average of 53 hours per week per school.
FREE Partnerships was part of the Greater Rochester Community of Churches (GRCC) “Faith in Action Network” Community Ministries Fair on January 24.
December 2010: FREE Partnerships Coalition meeting was on December 13 at School 20.
FREE Partnerships supports three additional schools: School 3, School 12, and School 50. These schools were added to the Rochester City School District (RCSD) - FREE Partnerships Memorandum of Understanding (MOA) by RCSD Superintendent, Jean-Claude Brizard. FREE Partnerships now supports eight schools: Schools 3, 7, 12, 20, 22, 34, 50, and 52.
A FREE Partnerships Letter to the Editor is published in City Newspsper emphasizing that we support teachers:
http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/news/letters/2010/12/EDUCATION-Were-not-waiting-for-Superman/
FREE Partnerships recruits 75 college students (50 at SUNY Brockport and 25 at MCC) to do their fieldwork in FREE Partnerships schools in the Spring semester. This represents 4200 hours of volunteer time or over 48 hours per week for each FREE Partnerships school.November 2010: FREE Partnerships Coalition meeting was on November 9 at School 22.
FREE Partnerships now supports two new schools: School 7 and School 34. These schools were added to the Rochester City School District (RCSD) - FREE Partnerships Memorandum of Understanding (MOA) by RCSD Superintendent, Jean-Claude Brizard.
FREE Partnerships has been approved by the United Way of Rochester as a United Way donor agency (No. 2526) and will be part of the UW 2011 fundraising campaign.
October 2010: FREE Partnerships Coalition guest speaker: Gladys Pedraza-Burgos, RCSD Chief of Youth Development and Family Services.
On October 14, FREE Partnerships made a presentation to the Rochester Area Coordinators of Field Placement Experience Consortium (RACFEC) to facilitate more collaboration with Rochester area colleges and universities so more college students will do their fieldwork hours in FREE Partnerships programs.
FREE Partnerships Executive Director, Bruce Pollock, interview with Beth Adams is broadcast on Clear Channel Radio stations on Sunday October 17.
FREE Partnerships begins fundraising.
September 2010: FREE Partnerships Coalition guest speaker: Dr. Sam Walton, St. John Fisher College School of Education Professor and Program Director of the SJFC Ed. D. Executive Leadership Program. Sam was the leader of the RCSD Principals Leadership Training Program in 2009-2010.
Thirty-five (35) SUNY Brockport students were recruited, screened, and placed in partnership programs in Schools 52, 22, and 20.
FREE Partnerships is registered with the New York State (NYS) Charities Bureau.
August 25, 2010: Melanie Lewis, Rochester Community Services Librarian, is elected to the FREE Partnerships Board of Directors
August 16, 2010: FREE Partnerships meets with the new RCSD Chief of Schools, Shaun Nelms (NE Zone), Anne Brown Scott (NW Zone), and Deasure Matthews (South Zone) to review FREE Partnerships pilot programs.
August 2010: FREE Partnerships is working with the Unitarian Church – School 22 Partnership and the Mt Olivet Baptist Church – School 20 Partnership to launch FREE Partnerships pilots in September 2010. FREE Partnerships continues to work with the Temple B’rith Kodesh – School 52 Partnership to build on its 2009-2010 program experience as the basis for the FREE Partnership pilot beginning in September 2010.
July 27, 2010: IRS approves 501c3 non-profit status for FREE Partnerships.
June 2010: Mt. Olivet Baptist Church agrees to partner with School 20.
June 2010: FREE Partnerships Coalition guest speaker: Dr. Walter Cooper, NYS Board of Regents, and namesake for the newest RCSD elementary school, Dr. Walter Cooper Academy, School 10.
April 28, 2010: First FREE Partnerships Annual Meeting.
April 15, 2010: Rochester City School District (RCSD) approves Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with FREE Partnerships for pilot programs at Schools 20, 22, and 52 to begin in September 2010.
April 2010: FREE Partnerships Coalition guest speaker: Dr. Michael Perlson, Organizational Psychologist and Klein Steel PENCIL partner consultant at School 52.
March 2010: FREE Partnerships Coalition guest speaker: Bill Cala, former RCSD Interim Superintendent of School and former Fairport Superintendent of Schools.
February 2010: FREE Partnerships places 18 MCC students in 7 community – school partnerships:
| Universalist Church – School 7 | 2 students |
| Rochester Rotary – School 8 | 3 students |
| St. Paul’s Episcopal Church – School 9 | 2 students |
| Unitarian Church – School 22 | 3 students |
| Grace Urban Ministries – School 34 | 3 students |
| Third Presbyterian Church – School 35 | 2 students |
| Temple B’rith Kodesh – School 52 | 3 students |
February 26, 2010: First meeting of the FREE Partnerships Board of Directors.
February 1, 2010: FREE Partnerships is incorporated as a New York State non-profit corporation.
January 2010: FREE Partnerships Coalition guest speaker: Al Simon, former RIT President and Chair of the Rochester City School District (RCSD) Blue Ribbon Task Force in2005
November 2009: FREE Partnerships Coalition guest speaker: Daryl Dickson, Director of the Rochester Education and Literacy (R.E.A.L.) Commission and the Rochester Literacy Movement
September 2009: First monthly FREE Partnerships Coalition Meeting held.