Metamorfosis Escolar
GOALS AND ACHIEVEMENTS 2 0 0 9 A N N U A L R E P O R T
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CHANA AND SAMUEL LEVIS FOUNDATION Since our founding over a decade ago, our objective has been to promote and support the social, cultural, and economic wellbeing of Puerto Rico and its communities. We are a non-profit organization committed to creating and promoting innovative projects that transform school and community environments. This transformation into spaces where people can experience a culture of peace and healthy coexistence is the key to achieving academic excellence. LIVES DEDICATED TO THE COMMUNITY Chana and Samuel Levis’ genuine interest in the common good was an inspiration for their children, David, Salomón, and Zoila. The lives of Chana and Samuel Levis were devoted to their family’s wellbeing and to supporting people who contributed to the community. Convinced that the best way to honor their parents was to invest in society, the Levis children created the Chana and Samuel Levis Foundation in 1999. The Foundation’s areas of support were established based on the importance that Chana and Samuel Levis always gave to the education and integrity of human beings. MISSION We create and promote innovative initiatives to transform, in comprehensive ways, school and community environments through healthy coexistence and social commitments that foster academic excellence. VISION To be a leader in promoting healthy coexistence in the community, so that each child is empowered for the future.
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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT We have completed the program planning phase and are implementing the project at two pilot schools in the metropolitan area. I am also very pleased to inform that the trainings conducted for school staff as well as parents is producing results and that we are increasingly being recognized as an important part This year, the Foundation entered its eleventh of the school rather than an outside player. This is year and, in line with the principles that guided an essential step to forming strong bonds with the our beginnings, our team went through a rigorous strategic planning process in which we analyzed our island’s community and overcoming the lack of trust existing in many of most urgent needs as well as the effectiveness of the initiatives our schools. we developed during the last decade. As a result, the Foundation has realigned its objectives and is concentrating exclusively on Another important achievement was the launching of a public service campaign that highlights the work we have been doing in promoting education. the past years in schools on the island. The campaign has enjoyed As part of this transformation, we decided to transfer the initiatives ample coverage in the press, radio, and TV. targeted at homeless persons to the Coalition for Continuous Support of Homeless Persons in San Juan.We understand that this All of these achievements have been possible thanks to the help organization has the capacity to manage such programs with the of our donors, the members of our Board of Directors, and the same level of dedication and commitment that has characterized volunteers who generously share their resources, talents, and our efforts. Thus we can now focus on preventing homelessness experience for the benefit of our beloved island. by concentrating our efforts and resources in the research and teaching of social and emotional skills in order to strengthen The Chana and Samuel Levis Foundation is at an important milestone in our development, and we appreciate all your support. learning in schools. The Chana and Samuel Levis Foundation is a dynamic organization that welcomes change and transformation as an essential part of its process of growth and maturity.
For the Foundation, teaching these skills means that we must Sincerely, specialize in a field that is barely addressed in our schools, but that--judging from statistics on violence and lack of academic achievement--requires urgent attention. With Metamorfosis Escolar, our hallmark project, we will not only focus in teaching emotional competencies to elementary school students, but will also be working with the other part of the equation--school staff and parents or tutors. The model we are using for teaching social and emotional skills has proven successful in improving academic achievement and reducing aggression in other sites where it has been implemented, so we expect it to bear similar fruit in Puerto Rico.
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VITAL TRANSFORMATION: METAMORFOSIS ESCOLAR Transformation is a key concept in the advancement of the Chana and Samuel Levis Foundation. During the past year, we finalized one of the most important transformational processes carried out by the foundation in its ten years of existence. From an organization with two core programs—helping homeless persons and promoting violence-free schools—the foundation has become an organization dedicated to promoting education in Puerto Rico. This streamlining of our mission answers to the complexity and specialization required by both areas in order to attain a relevant and lasting impact. With this new aim, the Chana and Samuel Levis Foundation envisions the opportunity to help develop a new generation of students who can manage conflicts without recurring to violence and to provide school communities with a health learning environment. Our reevaluation ensures that we continue offering innovative services, quality programs, and a genuine commitment to the wellbeing of society. To carry out this new mission and, as part of the process of realigning its resources, the Foundation created Metamorfosis Escolar in 2009. The program combines all the elements we have identified during the past decade as successful in yielding positive results in our schools.With this program, we seek to contribute to educating integral human beings, developing initiatives for teaching social and emotional skills, and establishing and maintaining quality educational institutions.
Metamorfosis Escolar is based on the Social and Emotional Learning model (SEL). The successful application of this model enables children and adults to develop the social and emotional skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for:
• Recognizing one’s values and emotions, as well as our strengths and weaknesses. • Managing behavior and emotions in order to attain our goals. • Showing empathy for others. • Establishing positive relationships, learning to work in teams, and handling conflicts. • Making ethical and constructive decisions. These skills are integrated into the school experience in different ways: as a program of special activities throughout the year, as an additional course, as a special training, or as activities integrated into the traditional curriculum. Metamorfosis Escolar goes beyond working with students and teaching staff, seeking to transform educational institutions so that they are able to manage their resources in integrated and coherent ways.
Studies conducted by CASEL, an organization specializing in research in the area of social and emotional learning, underscore the positive results obtained by students in schools implementing this teaching model: * 23% increase in social skills * 9% improvement in self-esteem and in attitudes towards others and the school * 9% improvement in behavior * 9% reduction in behavioral problems * 10% reduction in emotional anxiety * 11% increase in standardized test results (reading and math) (Source: Durlak, JA., Weissberg, R.P., Taylor, R.D., & Dyminick, A.B. The effects of school-based social and emotional learning: A meta-analytic review.)
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PILOT PROJECT AND SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT SURVEY The first step in developing Metamorfosis Escolar was conducting an initial survey, at the start of the school year, about school environment and social and emotional skills at República de Brasil and Luis Muñiz Souffront elementary schools. Both schools had agreed to work with the Foundation as pilot sites for the development and implementation of Metamorfosis Escolar.
The following are highlights of the results of the survey, which included a sample of nearly 200 students and approximately 40 teachers or schools staff:
• 30% of K-3 students lacked interpersonal skills • 67% felt harassed by other students • 36% did not feel safe in school • School staff perceived deterioration of the school climate
These surprising results undoubtedly substantiate the pressing need for teaching social and emotional skills. The second part of the year involved organizing work committees (Comité Oruga), conducting workshops to introduce SEL concepts, and developing the implementation strategies to be applied in 2010. Recognizing the importance of their involvement for the success of Metamorfosis Escolar, the project has included parents in meetings, workshops, and presentations and has sought their collaboration and their approval of the program.
With the goal of expanding the program, by the end of the year the Foundation was involved in discussions with elementarymiddle school Juan Antonio Corretjer to implement Metamorfosis Escolar at that site. The organization not only seeks to expand the number of participating schools, but is also considering wider strategies such as becoming involved in public policy discussions by presenting research about the impact of teaching social and emotional skills in schools. With the goal of creating a wider support group for this initiative that enables the massive implementation of the program, the Foundation has already expanded the initiative, identifying 10 community organizations to which it is offering training courses in the program. Furthermore, in order to keep strengthening staff competencies at the Foundation, a group of employees and consultants completed the Sustainable Schoolwide Social and Emotional Learning Institute training in Chicago. The training was offered by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), an organization dedicated to developing the leadership for implementing this type of program.
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MACC, MAR, FORMACIÓN DE CARÁCTER: EVOLUTION OF EXISTING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS The Chana and Samuel Levis Foundation continues to run key programs such as Maestros al Rescate (MAR) [Teachers to the Rescue], Manejo Creativo de Conflictos (MaCC) [Creative Conflict Management], and Formación de Carácter [Character Building]. The MaCC program, because of its affinity with the objectives of teaching social and emotional skills, will eventually work under the umbrella of Metamorfosis Escolar. MAESTROS AL RESCATE (MAR) Through the MAR (Teachers to the Rescue) project, the Foundation has provided technical assistance, motivation, and financial support to teachers who are carrying out educational projects proposed by them for the benefit of their students and school environment. The teacher-designed projects use innovative teaching strategies, such as:
Management) program to work with students, teaching staff, parents, and other stakeholders, training them on the definition of conflict, its causes and effects, and how to manage conflicts effectively. Last year, thanks to financial support from Medtronic and Abbott, we trained staff at two new MaCC sites, Segunda Unidad Agapito López Flores in Humacao and Rafael Quiñones Vidal School in San Juan, for a total of 15 programs operating throughout the island. Besides launching these two new sites, last year the program increased its production of statistics by 29%, allowing for better analysis of results and for the comparison of experiences at the different schools. FORMACIÓN DE CARÁCTER
• Ecological summer camps. • School journalism with individualized learning in reading and writing using puppets and toys. • Involvement of grandparents and caregivers in school activities.
Seventy-five percent of the projects that were active last year were able to document an improvement in academic achievement among participating students.
The Character Building program targets youths between 12 and 17 years old to prevent violence and the use of weapons, alcohol, and drugs at Puerto Rico’s public schools.
This program, which runs outside regular school hours, was able to retain 84% of its participants last year at the four schools where it is being implemented. Participant schools are located in the western region of Puerto Rico and offer services to 600 students.The program’s approach is to work through sports and artistic activities to strengthen student self-esteem, as a deterrent to involvement in drugs and violence.
The remaining projects did not measure achievement, as they targeted special education students or the school community in general. During the past year, five of the eight active MAR projects completed their work and met their objectives. MANEJO CREATIVO DE CONFLICTO (MACC) Physical and verbal aggression, vandalism, and lack of discipline are some of the ways violence manifests itself in schools. In 2004, the Foundation created the MaCC (Creative Conflict
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DONORS AND FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES
Principal Donors Puerto Rico Department of Education US Department of Housing and Urban Development During 2009, the Foundation continued its Levis Family
fundraising efforts with two main events: the Fore Education golf tournament in April and the “Up in the Air” film premiere gala event in November. Both activities were successful in meeting our fundraising goals. Aside from these special events, the Foundation receives funding from its generous individual and corporate donors and from government grants that make possible such programs as Metamorfosis Escolar, Maestros Al Rescate, and Manejo Creativo de Conflictos.
Major Donors Antonio Ortega, Jr. Puerto Rico Department of Labor Office of the Commissioner for Municipal Affairs RSM ROC & Company Scherrer Hernández & Co. The Money House, Inc. Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico Wal-Mart Foundation Donors Abbott Laboratories Bermúdez, Longo, Díaz-Massó, S.E. Centennial Instituto de Banca y Comercio IPR Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Medtronic Triple-S, Inc. Sponsors Banco Popular de Puerto Rico Caribbean Business El Nuevo Día El Vocero First Bank Greenberg Traurig Philanthropic Fund Kress Stores of Puerto Rico, Inc. MF Global Pfizer Primera Hora Scotiabank Mr. Rafael Martínez Margarida Mr. Santiago Villar The Efron Foundation Friends Santander Bancorp José A. Cuevas Segarra Law Firm Fiddler, González & Rodríguez Fundación Segarra Boerman e Hijos Metro Island Mortgage Bankers, Inc. Mr. Omar Montalvo Rodríguez Pietrantoni, Méndez & Álvarez, LLP Ranger American Sprint Vernet Contributors Mrs. Ana Irma Vila American Airlines Bacardí Mrs.Carmen Ribs Arroyo Carrión, Laffitte y Casellas
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OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mariely Rivera HernĂĄndez, Executive Director
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mariely Rivera holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the Instituto Universitario Ortega y Gasset in Spain and is a doctoral candidate at that institution. She is currently completing certification studies in the teaching of social and emotional skills at Star Factor Coaching, Inc., Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. She also holds certifications from: The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and the UPeace Centre for Executive Education of Peace at the University of Peace, Costa Rica.
The Board of Directors of the Chana and Samuel Levis Foundation is composed of renowned businessmen and women and professionals who enjoy great prestige in their fields. Thanks to their talents, our organization can rely on a wealth of knowledge and experience to help us achieve success in our initiatives. We deeply appreciate their commitment.
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MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
María Fernanda Levis-Peralta President
David Levis Vice President
María Fernanda Levis-Peralta develops initiatives that improve quality of life, education and social wellbeing for the people in Puerto Rico. Her efforts have contributed to the development of various non-profit organizations in Puerto Rico and the United States. She has also served as consultant for several public entities, including the Puerto Rico Department of Education and the Department of the Family. She is presently working as a consultant in public health, education, social entrepreneurship, data systems, and federal funding. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Health and another in Public Administration from Harvard University, where she was a Social Entrepreneurship Fellow. Ms. Levis-Peralta is founder of A World for Babies, an organization committed to raising the standards of service to families and children under three, and Mentes Puertorriqueñas en Acción, a youth movement committed to community development in Puerto Rico. She has served on the Advisory Board of the Centro para la Nueva Economía, the National Council of la Raza Kids Count Initiative, The Puerto Rico Association of Fundraising Professionals, and the Coalición de Apoyo Continuo a Personas sin Hogar, a homeless support coalition in San Juan. She has received the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Fellowship in Reducing Substance Abuse, has served as Harvard University Class Speaker, and was selected for participation in the International Academy of Achievement.
Mr. David Levis Goldstein was Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Doral Financial Corporation, previously known as First Financial Caribbean Corporation and H F, Inc. He has dedicated a great part of his life to promoting the welfare of the neediest people in our country, such as child cancer patients, homeless persons, and members of school communities. He was Chairman of the Board of the Association of Mortgage Bankers of Puerto Rico. He is also a member of the following entities: The board of the Asociación de Industriales de Puerto Rico (Manufacturer’s Association), the board of Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (Aqueducts and Sewers Authority), the Office of the Commissioner for Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico, Fondos Unidos de Puerto Rico, Ponce Art Museum, Luis Muñoz Marín Foundation, and Triple-S Inc. He is an active member of the Comité Niños que Quieren Sonreir. Guillermo Nigaglioni Treasurer Mr. Guillermo Nigaglioni is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Instituto de Banca y Comercio and of the EduK Group. In the past he served as Comptroller and director of Human Resources for Celpage, Inc., and as Audit Manager of Price Waterhouse. Mr. Nigaglioni has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration Sciences from Washington University in St. Louis and has been a certified public accountant since 1990. He is an active member of the Career College Association and other entities.
Salomón Levis Vice President Mr. Salomón Levis is President of Pronto Loan Solutions and financial advisor for Senior Mortgage Bankers Inc. In the past he established, together with his siblings, HF, Inc., a mortgage company that facilitated the structuring of Doral Financial Corporation. He was president of the Association of Mortgage Bankers of Puerto Rico and the Mortgage Loan Officers Association of Puerto Rico. Mr. Levis has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Puerto Rico and is a graduate of the School of Law at that institution. He works with numerous civic and charity organizations.
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Hiram Pérez Arrillaga Secretary
Rafael F. Martínez Margarida Director
Mr. Pérez Arrillaga is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rocket Learning, Inc., a company that provides supplementary educational services in Puerto Rico and the United States. He previously served as experienced manager in business strategies consulting at Accenture. He holds two Master’s degrees in Business Administration and Education from Stanford University, where he was Arjay Miller Scholar, and a third Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from Cornell University. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Penn State University. Mr. Pérez Arrillaga is a member of the Board of Directors of Fanor, University of Brasil.
Mr. Rafael F. Martínez Margarida is committed to improving our communities through art and education. This commitment has led to his involvement in educational projects such as Sagrado Corazón University, whose Board of Directors he chaired. In his support of the arts, Mr. Martínez Margarida worked with the Puerto Rico Foundation of the Humanities (a branch of the National Endowment for the Humanities), where he served as Vicepresident of the Board of Directors. He is a Certified Public Accountant and business consultant with a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Columbia University in New York. He was Managing Partner in Puerto Rico for Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP, an international firm of public accountants and business consultants. During his career, he has served on the board of directors of numerous non-profit organizations, professional associations, and businesses. He was a member and President of the Board of Directors of the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2009.
Zoila Levis Director Mrs. Zoila Levis served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Doral Financial Corporation. She ran her own real estate company in Bogotá, Colombia from 1979 to 1989 and, previously, in Caracas, Venezuela with Forero & Levis.She has a bachelor’s degree in BusinessAdministration from the University of Puerto Rico and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Indiana University. Mrs. Levis has served as President of the Chana and Samuel Levis Foundation, Inc. and is a member of the Board of Directors of Fundación Amigos del Hospital Cardiovascular, the Puerto Rico Art Museum (MAPR) and the Opera of Puerto Rico.
Jorge L. Rodríguez Director Mr. Jorge L.Rodríguez González is the founder, President,and Chief Executive Officer of PACIV (Process Automation— Controls. Instruments. Validation.), a company offering services in Puerto Rico, the United States, and England. PACIV is known for the culture of commitment shared by its associates and the quality and excellence of its services throughout the company’s ten years of existence. The firm is used as a case study by the Harvard University Business School. Mr. Rodríguez previously worked for Eli Lilly & Co. As a business leader, he strongly believes in Corporate Social Responsibility programs and works closely with non-profit organizations such as the Chana and Samuel Levis Foundation, the Historical Foundation of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, and Fondita de Jesús. The young entrepreneur has received numerous awards for his outstanding accomplishments as a business leader.
She has received numerous awards and recognitions, including: the 1988 Empresaria Símbolo (Exemplary Businesswoman) award for business excellence from the Asociación Interamericana de Hombres de Empresa, the Mujer Milenio de Puerto Rico (Woman of the Millenium) award in 2000, the Alexis de Tocqueville Society of Puerto Rico Award from Fondos Unidos in 2003, the Medal for Public Service from the Felisa Rincón de Gautier Foundation in 2003, the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship in 2004, and the Exemplary Citizen Award from the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico.
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Vivian López Llamas Director
Fernando Scherrer Director
Vivian López Llamas is Vice-president of Advertising and Public Relations at Triple-S Salud, Puerto Rico’s main health insurance provider.
Mr. Scherrer is co-founder, stockholder and President of Scherrer Hernández & Co., a certified public accounting and business consulting firm. In 2006, he was named Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of FirstBank. For three years, Mr Sherrer assisted the bank in the process of re-issuing its financial statements. Mr. Scherrer brought to FirstBank a unique combination of financial, investment, and industry knowledge. His skills and integrity proved to be a major asset in helping the bank obtain its final objective.
Her work there includes managing advertising, promotions, and public relations for the other five companies that make up the Triple-S Group. Her awards and recognitions include the Top Management Award from SME, the Arturo Torres Brachi Award from the Asociación de Productos de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Products Association) and the Distinguished Public Relations Professional Award from the Asociación de Relacionistas Profesionales de Puerto Rico (Association of Public Relations Professionals), among others.
Before co-founding Scherrer Hernández & Co. in 2000, Mr Scherrer worked at the international firm Price Waterhouse (now Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP or PwC) for nine years, where he was promoted to Senior Audit Manager in 1999. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Institute of Internal Auditors y and the Colegio de Contadores Públicos Autorizados de Puerto Rico (Association of Certified Public Accountants). He holds a Master’s degree in Finance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a major in Accounting from Washington University in St. Louis.
She has a Bachelor’s degree in Socio-economic Arts from the University of Navarra in Spain, where she also carried out post-graduate studies in History. Lucila Fuller Marvel Director Lucila Fuller Marvel, PPL, has over 36 years of experience in social and urban planning and community development in Puerto Rico and was a professor at the Graduate School of Planning of the University de Puerto Rico. She has authored numerous publications, most recently the book titled Listen To What They Say: Planning and Community Development in Puerto Rico, published by Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico in 2008. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a Master’s in Planning from the University of Puerto Rico. Besides serving on the board of the Chana and Samuel Levis Foundation, she is a member of the board of directors of Centro para la Nueva Economía, Habitat for Humanity of Puerto Rico, and the Buckminster Fuller Institute.
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Dra. María Teresa Margarida Juliá Director Dr. María Teresa Margarida Juliá obtained a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and was later a post-doctoral fellow in the Clinical Neuropsychology Program at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Harvard School of Medicine. Since 1990, Dr. Margarida is a professor in the neurology section of the Department of Medicine at the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico, where she is part of the faculty of the Neurology Residence Program and leads the Clinical Neuropsychology Program. Besides teaching, she conducts neuropsychological research and evaluation in children, adolescents, and adults at the UPR School of Medicine.
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Viviana Mercado Director
Ing. Francisco Díaz Massó Director
With a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Sagrado Corazón University in Santurce, PR, Vivian Mercado joined Walmart Puerto Rico in 2004 as Community Relations Manager. During the last five years, she has been responsible for Fundación Walmart and has led that foundation’s Advisory Council. Fundación Walmart contributes over $3.5 million a year to various causes promoting individual and community development, including those of customers and associates. Through contributions, donations, or volunteer work, Fundación Walmart supports initiatives that target four important areas: education, workforce development, environmental sustainability, and heath and wellness.
Francisco Díaz Massó has over 18 years experience as an engineer in the electromechanical construction industry.A graduate in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University in New Jersey, he has stood out from the beginning of his career for his vision, dedication, and responsibility. After graduating, he joined the team at Bermúdez & Longo S.E., where he had worked during summers in his student years. During his first five years in the construction field he was promoted to important positions at Bermúdez & Longo, S.E. Díaz Massó later decided to create his own company, DíazMassó Inc., were he advanced successfully in the areas of administration as well as construction, with projects totaling over 150 million dollars. In 2007 Díaz-Massó Inc. and Bermúdez & Longo S.E. merged to form Bermúdez, Longo, Díaz-Massó, S.E. with the aim of better supporting and serving the industry, with Mr. Díaz Massó serving as President.
Before her experience at Walmart,Viviana Mercado served as traffic manager at the Corporate Communications, Inc. advertising agency.
In 2009, Mr. Díaz Massó was named Distinguished Mechanical Engineer by the Colegio de Ingenieros y Agrimensores de Puerto Rico (College of Engineers and Surveyors).
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¡Gracias! . a í d a a í d s o m a r g o l Lo
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