The California prison system plans capacity based on 3rd grade literacy results. What a startling statistic and dramatic demonstration of the opportunity for early intervention programs to positively impact not just the lives of children, but our community, our criminal justice system and beyond.

It has been a full and exciting year for APIE. We have our Baker Botts Early Literacy, IBM After School Study Groups, Dell TechKnow, Middle School Mentoring, GACC college preparedness, Freescale Math Study Groups, and Travis Community Education Foundation campus beautification programs running on track.

Our Adopt-a-School program has been accelerated with the launch of a Volunteer Database and Opportunity Matching Website. Please visit www.austinpartners.org to have a look. A donor website and database to be launched in January will provide a comprehensive summary of all of our partners' contributions.

APIE was honored by the City of Austin for our help in integrating Katrina evacuees with tutoring, mentoring and supplies, both at the Convention Center and now at schools.

We are very excited about the launch in the New Year of our Freescale Math Study Groups. Most importantly, there has been a tremendous response from the business community to the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce College Readiness Initiative. We need more professionals to give high school seniors that last boost into a successful college experience. Please join us.

It is important for Austin Taxpayers to know that we are on track to save over $8 Million in property taxes this year through our Qualified Zone Academy Bond program. Matching donations from the community to projects renovating inner-city schools have enabled us to sell $13.7Million in interest free bonds saving 50% of the pay-back value. Part of the matching donations from an APIE coalition including Grande Communications, Goodwill, Apple, the CapMac Group, and Trifusion, supplied over 400 computers to elementary school families along with training and a year of free internet service.

We invite donations to support these programs. Sponsorship naming opportunities are available; especially for the launch of our student-run help desk in the middle schools. Though not many people are in this category, through the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act, you can give up to 100% of your allowable income until the end of the year. Help us keep kids in schools, so they can graduate and contribute positively to our community. Now it is easier than ever with our online giving. Click here to make a donation online.

Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers and partners. We wish you all the very best for the holiday season. We are grateful that you continue to help make a difference in the academic skills and self confidence of AISD's students and thereby ensure a future successful Austin workforce.

Featured Partners

Literacy Champions                   

Literacy Champions is a partnership between APIE and the AmeriCorps for Community Engagement and Education (ACEE), sponsored by Baker Botts LLC, with the goal to help struggling readers improve their reading confidence through a supporting relationship with a caring, interested adult.

Programs are currently running at Blackshear, Harris, and Allison Elementary schools. Tutors spend one hour per week with a student to improve reading fluency and comprehension. We currently have approximately 30 volunteers in each school, and we thank them and the campus coordinators for all their time and effort. This is such an important program for elementary school students because their readings skills are tested by the State (TAKS) in grades 3, 4, and 5.

Funding is needed to pay for school and program coordinators. To discuss school and program sponsorship opportunities, please contact Kathrin Brewer at 512-637-0970.

Math Study Groups       

The UT Dana Center's founder, Dr. Uri Treisman, has partnered with APIE, AISD and Freescale Semiconductor to develop Math Study Groups. Research by Dr. Treisman, has shown with strong evidence that academic isolation is a primary cause of the differences between ethnic group performance and that learning to study in groups is an important key to academic success. In fact, academic collaboration was a stronger predictor of success than SAT scores, previous grades, cultural background, or the amount of study time. The research discredits the notion that the academic achievement gap is due to factors that are out of our control. Instead, we can help create an academic community for students where they can find collaborative support for their educational challenges.

Trained volunteers will meet with students and their teacher in math class for 50 minutes once a week from January through May. Teachers will present a lesson and work with community professionals and students in volunteer-led study groups. There is no need to remember your high school studies, as volunteers are taught along with the students. Study groups average five students with one volunteer, and each class will have approximately five study groups. Groups will work collaboratively to solve a challenging math problem. This is a very positive, strengths-based model of learning.

Funding is needed to pay for school and program coordinators. To discuss school and program sponsorship opportunities, please contact Kathrin Brewer at 512-637-0970.

Our pilot schools for this program are Reagan High School, Travis High School, and Bedichek Middle School. There are several classes at each school. For more information, please go to www.austinpartners.org or contact Audrey Glaser at aglaser@austinpartners.org or 637-0974.

Featured Volunteer                                                  

Angelia McFarland is the IBM coordinator for the study groups at Reagan High School and she has done a fabulous job! Angelia has an extensive background of volunteerism working with Austin Information Radio, United Way, the Austin Black Diversity Network Group of IBM employees, Habitat for Humanity High Tech House, Kealing Junior High School Mentor Program and the National Black Family Technology Awareness Week. APIE is fortunate to have Angelia spearheading the Reagan High School Math Study Group.

IBM, the world's largest IT company and one of Austin's oldest technology employers, is a long-time advocate of education improvement. Angelia McFarland, a marketing manager in IBM's Systems Technology Group, recruited and organized the approximately 15 IBM employees to initiate the program. "IBM works at many levels to encourage students to succeed in school today to become young engineers and IBM employees of tomorrow," said Tony Befi, IBM Vice President and Austin Site Location Executive. "Angelia McFarland and her IBM colleagues are putting encouragement into action, and we wish these students much success."

Other IBMers mentor or tutor at Barrington Elementary, Ridgetop Elementary, and Kealing Middle School in AISD and at River Oaks Elementary in Pflugerville ISD.

IBM is the largest contributor of volunteers during National Engineers Week each year. It conducts a summer science camp for middle school girls and hires high school and college students as summer interns. Thank you Angelia and thank you IBM - without such dedicated individuals and organizations, these programs would not be possible.

APIE is recruiting adult volunteers to provide academic mentoring to Austin seniors who want to go to college but need help raising their SAT scores.

Low SAT scores not only impact whether and which colleges students attend, but may also determine whether students will be required to take expensive and time-consuming non-credit remedial college courses.

Low-income students cannot afford SAT-prep courses that are commonplace for other students. Participating as a volunteer in College Readiness Academic Mentoring will give you an opportunity to have a tremendous impact on the future of students.

All students accepted into this program have signed a commitment acknowledging the work and effort they must put forth to realize success. Help them attain their goals.

Five volunteers will meet with students and their teacher in an SAT-prep class for 50 minutes once a week from January through May, either in the morning or late afternoon. Is your schedule unpredictable? Not a problem. Classes meet every day, so you can vary the date of your visit when you have unavoidable conflicts.

Volunteers learn a new way of working collaboratively with students, helping them gain confidence in their academic skills by building on their strengths. Training is provided at work or at the school. Teachers present the lesson and help volunteers work with students.

Funding is needed to pay for school and program coordinators. To discuss school and program sponsorship opportunities, please contact Kathrin Brewer at 512-637-0970.

The pilot schools for this program are:

Austin High School-Loop 1/MoPac at 1st Street
Travis High School-IH-35 at Oltorf
McCallum High School-IH-35 at 290/Koenig

Help the next generation of Austin youth rise to the challenge of college. Go to www.austinpartners.org or contact Audrey Glaser at 637-0974 or aglaser@austinpartners.org.

Data shows that mentoring keeps students engaged in the learning process, militates against the dropout rate, and helps students graduate. Having an adult take an interest in a child is a primary reason for that child staying in school.

Traditional mentoring occurs weekly during the student's lunch hour. Mentors are asked to visit the student at their school once a week for 30 minutes to one hour during the school year.

The new situations that arise for students as they begin middle school make middle school mentoring especially relevant. Mentors are trained for one hour and receive instruction on adolescent development, building a good mentor/mentee relationship, activity ideas, and how to deal with difficult issues. Mentors receive a handbook to assist them during the relationship.

Mentoring is a fun and easy way to volunteer. The mentor/mentee relationship can develop into a lifelong friendship and is an ideal opportunity to help students and to learn about oneself. Most mentors say that they get more out of the relationship than the student does!

We need mentors at the following middle schools: Webb, Mendez, Pearce, Martin, and Fulmore. To volunteer, click here or contact Christi Caballero at 637-9083 or ccaballero@austinpartners.org

Tech Corps is a technology training program which has been piloted at Bedichek, Martin, and Paredes Middles Schools over the past year. This wonderful program provides a complete Student Help Desk program, including student training and certification, help desk management software, and mentoring of all participants.

APIE is working with Texas Tech Corps to expand this program beyond the initial group of pilot schools. In order to make this available at all AISD middle schools, APIE is seeking school and program sponsors. For more information, please contact Kathrin Brewer at 512-637-0970.

To help close the technology gap, Dell and the Austin Independent School District (AISD) in October announced the expansion of the Dell TechKnow program to all 17 middle schools in the district. APIE was selected to serve as district coordinator for the expanded program, which is expected to graduate over 500 students this academic year.

Dell TechKnow is a 40-hour, after-school program providing underserved middle school students with an opportunity to earn a home computer and learn technology skills that promote self-esteem and academic success and help prepare students for today's technology-driven world.

"The Dell TechKnow program is one of the many ways our district is helping to get technology into the homes of underserved children," said AISD Superintendent Dr. Pat Forgione. "Providing 21st-century skills and technology training can give students a better chance at succeeding in school while helping promote digital literacy within their families."

In North America, more than 7,200 students have graduated since the program's inception four years ago, including 4,662 from 42 school districts during the last academic year -- a 50 percent increase from the previous year.

The program was launched in Austin in 2001, and by the end of Spring, 2005, more than 450 students from 10 middle schools had graduated. With the expansion of the program to all 17 AISD middle schools, more than 240 students will graduate this semester alone.

All student participants are from low-income or underserved populations with minority children representing more than 87 percent of graduates and females comprising about 47 percent of graduates.

"This effort is a wonderful example of how partnerships between schools and businesses can have a positive outcome for students," said Charles Barnett, board chair, APIE, and chief executive officer of the SETON Healthcare Network. "Collectively, we are transforming our students by providing a valuable program that supports student achievement and can help to produce lifelong learners able to succeed in an information society."

Teachers from AISD serve as the instructors for the Dell TechKnow program, while the APIE staff works with each of those teachers and Dell to help ensure a quality experience for both the student and the district. Dell provides the teacher training, curriculum and refurbished systems for APIE to manage. In addition, more than 100 Dell employees have participated as volunteers in the classroom through APIE.

The program is a self-paced course in which students use a free refurbished Dell desktop computer and work in teams for hands-on learning of computer basics. Students learn how to take apart and rebuild a computer, install and use software, upgrade components and diagnose and fix basic hardware problems. Students also learn valuable skills such as teamwork, collaboration and communications.

Upon completion of the course, and if they meet attendance requirements, demonstrate good citizenship and sustain or improve their grades, students take home a refurbished Dell desktop computer loaded with Microsoft® software. Students receive one year of Internet access at no charge through a nationwide partnership with America Online. For more information, click here.

By the end of December, seven AISD elementary schools will have completed the process for the Computer for Families project. After the holidays, the remaining elementary schools in the program will receive their computers and training. When this project is completed in the Spring of 2006, it will save AISD taxpayers over $4 million dollars in interest payments from the Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) initiative. Moreover, it will have provided families who did not have the means to purchase a computer with a re-imaged iMac to help in the education of their children. It is very exciting to see the many happy faces of children who have received a computer and to hear comments like "I'm going to be able to read better now that I have this computer!"

APIE is truly grateful for the partners who are contributing to the Computer Redistribution project. Each of the following organizations has played a unique role in making this program successful. APIE would like to thank each of these organizations for their role in making this holiday season a little brighter for the families who have received the iMac computers:

Grande Communications - Libby Malone, Lauren Newton and the Technical Support Staff for the donation of 1 year of dial-up internet service and providing great technical support to ensure the families are able to access the internet.

Capitol Macintosh User Group (CapMac), the local Mac User Group, for helping with the training portion of the project. Nancy Gravely, the CapMac contact person, has done a fabulous job of organizing a group of MAC volunteers to assist APIE with the trainings at several of the AISD elementary schools. Their individualized attention to each family has made a difference in the training outcome.

Trifusion for re-imaging these computers.

Goodwill Industries - Rebecca Hayes & Joel King from the Transportation Dept. for donating time and resources to pick up and deliver the computers to the different elementary schools.

Discount Electronics for donating the mouse pads and 250 mice for this program.

Happy Mac for helping us troubleshoot and solve a modem problem, thus saving 80 computers for distribution to families instead of being recycled.

APIE needs approximately 140 additional iMacs, keyboards and mice in order to complete this QZAB program. To contribute, please contact Karolyn Gutierrez at 512.637.0982 or kgutierrez@austinpartners.org

APIE is excited to announce a new web-based volunteer recruitment and coordination system for our school district. Volunteers click here to register as a volunteer, to identify interests and skills, and to search for opportunities based on interests, zipcodes, schools, or programs. Opportunities are posted by APIE or directly by the schools.

The comprehensive system will help APIE and schools recognize and communicate with participants, as well as keep track of participation levels. Volunteer hours and partner contributions are collected in an annual report and used by Austin ISD to show community support during grant applications and bond sales. This system replaces the extensive paperwork process and creates an instant annual summary.

As schools come on line, the school volunteer coordinators will eliminate End of Year report paperwork by entering volunteer hours during the year. Each school will have ready access to their volunteer contact and placement information, including background check results. APIE is currently training school coordinators to get the most benefit from this system and expects to have all schools transferred to the system by the end of the school year.

For information, please contact Audrey Glaser at aglaser@austinpartners.org 637.0974