THINK Together 2014 Annual Report

Scaling What Works in Education THINK Together ANNUAL REPORT

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CONTENTS

01

Message from our Board Chair and Founder/CEO

02

Navigating “The Gauntlet:” How We Partner to Scale Success

03

THINK Together’s Shared Learning Platform

04

Exploring our Early Learning Programs

05

Exploring our Expanded Learning Programs

06

How is THINK Together Aligning with the Common Core State Standards?

07

Engagement Matters!

Students, THINK Together & the Community

08

Our Donors and Supporters

10

Our Volunteer Leadership

12

Fiscal Year 2013/14 Financials

Celebrating 20 Years of Changing the Destinies of Kids & Families THINK Together is a nonprofit organization collaborating with schools, communities, parents and other stakeholders to transform and galvanize the K-12 education system, creating educational excellence and equity for all kids. We Teach, Help, Inspire and Nurture Kids to reach their full potential.

THINK Together incorporated in 1997 to replicate and scale a successful academic support program begun in 1994 in Costa Mesa, California. The Shalimar neighborhood had been rattled by gang shootings and mothers organized to take the neighborhood back. The result was the formation of the Shalimar Learning Center and Shalimar Teen Center, which still operate.

THINK Together now serves over 120,000 students in nearly 400 schools and 39 districts in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego counties and the Bay Area.

01 Message from Eric Boden & Randy Barth Over the last 20 years, we’ve built one of the larger organizations serving public schools in the country. We’re grateful to all who have joined us on this amazing journey. But there is still much more to do. This year, we asked ourselves, “What story of the future do we want for kids, and what unique leadership can we provide?” This prompted us to change our vision and mission to reflect greater impact: Our Vision: Educational excellence and equity for all kids.

Our Mission: Create opportunities for all kids to discover their passions and reach their full potential.

• Multiple and customized interventions.

• Longevity and consistency in programming.

• Alignment within systems.

• Engagement: student, educator, parent & community.

THINK Together is implementing programs reflecting what works in these areas across what we call our “Shared Learning Platform,” including early learning, expanded learning, and soon, core learning during the school day. Please join us in the incredible opportunities ahead to work together, grow together, serve together and THINK Together!

“Equality is providing the same thing for every child. Equity is ensuring that each child gets what they need to be successful.”

Equality is providing the same thing for every child. Equity is ensuring that each child gets what they need to be successful.

Our 2014 annual report is titled, “Scaling What Works in Education.” How do we know what works, and how has THINK Together scaled up to provide it?

Data from our school partners gives us a unique and illuminating look into what’s working. We’ve found that four things are necessary to create opportunities and support systems for kids to be successful in school:

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Eric Boden Board Chair

Randy Barth Founder / CEO

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02 Navigating the Gauntlet Through Collaboration THE GAUNTLET Why is success so hard to scale in our public schools?

Parents & Communities Parents in poverty often have the heart for their children to be successful in school but sometimes lack the skills, resources or time to make this a reality.

School Site Personnel Low-performing schools can develop a culture of low expectations, making it difficult to generate enthusiasm for making changes when it seems nothing has worked.

Scaling what works can be difficult in public education due to structural impediments, as well as political and ideological perspectives, often at odds with one another. Innovators, whether superintendents, school board members, teachers, politicians, philanthropists, community-based organizations or parent leaders, must navigate what THINK Together Founder & CEO Randy Barth, in his upcoming book, “THINK Together: How You Can Play a Part in Improving Education in America,” calls “The Gauntlet.” Learning to work collaboratively to transcend the challenges presented by “The Gauntlet” is essential to success.

Local School Boards Voter apathy toward school board elections gives narrow interests more power, and political calculation can sometimes trump putting students’ interests first.

Employee Unions Innovations are often subject to the approval of collective bargaining units which may perceive some reforms to be in conflict with the interests of their members. We must seek win-win solutions.

District Administration The 3-year-average tenure of a large urban school district superintendent is rarely sufficient time to implement a strategic vision. This constant turnover can result in a lack of buy-in at the school site level.

Federal / State Education Policies & Procedures The US and California Departments of Education, charged with enforcing massive Education Codes, tend to be compliance-driven, rather than outcome-oriented, which is often an impediment to change.

University Systems Preparing Educators Teachers and administrators often report that their university education did not prepare them well for their jobs.

To close the achievement gaps that are damaging our kids’ futures, as well as the future of our state and country, we must work collaboratively to help scale what works. THINK Together’s Shared Learning Platform can be a place for people to come together to share what’s working so more kids win.

03 Shared Learning Platform It’s often said that “success doesn’t travel well in public schools.” THINK Together has built a collaborative delivery system we are now calling a Shared Learning Platform that can help replicate and scale many things that are working in education.

THINK Together has been building this since 1994, including programs in:

Early Learning

Expanded Learning

Evidence-based tools to ensure young children have early literacy, vocabulary, and math skills to prepare them for kindergarten.

Afterschool and summer programs for all ages, incorporating STEM, arts, fitness, character development, nutrition, English language arts and career pathways.

Learning Communities Scaling innovation by facilitating collaboration across our Shared Learning Platform through peer networks, conferences and forums.

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The future of the Shared Learning Platform includes:

Core Learning

Customized solutions for core instruction, using The Principal’s Exchange’s “Response to Systems Intervention” method, a research-validated school and district strengthening model.

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04 Early Learning THINK Together partners with the Children & Families Commission of Orange County on the Early Literacy & Math Program (ELMP), educating parents and preparing 3- and 4-year-old children to enter kindergarten. The ELMP includes a parent-focused Center-Based Program, Reach Out & Read, a clinic-based program providing books and readers in waiting rooms, Raising a Reader, which provides book bags to low income parents, and the Orange County Book Bank, which annually provides over 90,000 donated books to community groups and schools.

THE “WORD GAP”

Low income kids enter kindergarten having had nearly 30 MILLION FEWER WORDS spoken to them than their middle and higher income peers.

Parents are reading to their kids more often:

(Hart & Risley)

3- and 4-year-olds who attended more than one 15-week ELMP session in the Center-Based Program were “on track” for kindergarten readiness in the following areas:

87% in name writing

ELMP Results

A Survey of ELMP Parents Found:

Aa

70% in upper & lower case letters

65%

64%

in sound awareness

in print word awareness

“I never realized how important it is to read to your child. I feel like my child is ahead now.”

Children have an increased desire to read and be read to:

“If you have a child, you should be required to be in a THINK Together program…it should be law.”

Children from bilingual households are learning to speak English at a higher rate:

“Before the program, my child didn’t know English because I don’t know English. Now, my child learned English and he loves to read.”

05

Shalimar Learning Center & Shalimar Teen Center: 20 Years of Changing Lives

Expanded Learning

Celebrating 20 years, THINK Together has sent:

From our first expanded learning program 20 years ago in Costa Mesa, we’ve become the largest provider in California. We now serve K-12 kids in 39 school districts and 365 schools in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.

Nearly 400 kids to college from a neighborhood where the high school graduation rate is

Barely 20%

Afterschool Program Academic Outcomes Students who attended THINK Together for at least 150 days per year over three years experienced a statistically significant higher growth rate on California Standardized Test (CST) scores in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math when compared to non-THINK students.

ELA: 8.9

Math: 15.6

points higher

points higher

THINK Together delivered an innovative STEM program to over 4,000 middle school students in Santa Ana, Tustin and Orange this year. Results: Students Report That They...

Get excited about learning science.

Pre/Post Survey Differences

+7%

Like to participate in science projects.

+12%

Are interested in learning about science.

+13%

Learned something new about science.

+12%

Participated in a science project.

+11%

Of the students from the Shalimar Teen Center:

100% have gone to college in the last

6 Years In partnership with KaBOOM!, the City of Costa Mesa, Carmax Foundation and the families of Shalimar:

300 Volunteers joined THINK Together to build Shalimar Park in

1 Day

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06 Common Core Alignment We’ve heard a lot about the Common Core, but what is it? The Common Core State Standards, adopted by California, are guidelines for what students should know in Math and English Language Arts, emphasizing:

Q&A with Amy Reede LEAD STAFF FOR THINK TOGETHER’S COMMON CORE GUILD

What’s a myth you hear about the Common Core?

DEPTH OVER BREADTH Fewer topics in greater detail

MULTI-DISCIPLINARY OVER SILOS Transferring knowledge between subjects

That it’s a curriculum. A curriculum represents resources used to teach. Standards are goals to be met. Common Core leaves the curriculum used to meet goals up to the state, districts and teachers.

NON-FICTION OVER FICTION Focus more closely on expository text

COLLABORATIVE OVER AUTHORITATIVE Time and space to discuss content

What is one of the main challenges in implementing the Common Core?

PROOF OVER OPINION Factual evidence to support claims

TABLETS OVER BLACKBOARDS Technology and digital learning

How is THINK Together Aligning with the Common Core?

THINK Together has revised expanded learning and early literacy & math curriculum to align with the Common Core.

THINK Together has initiated a Common Core Guild, using a peer coaching model to educate & guide our staff.

Changing the mindset to the individual needs of the child. We train our staff in instructional best practices aligned with district initiatives, so that we are providing a coherent expanded learning program for all students.

What do you see as the primary benefit to children in using the Common Core?

Recognizing individual learners instead of “teaching to a test.” This is educational excellence and equity in action. Children take on leadership roles and practice their communication and collaboration skills. From kindergarten, students focus on college and career opportunities. Their minds are opened to new possibilities!

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Student Engagement Polls

Engagement Matters!

Community Engagement Students and schools thrive when the community engages with our kids. Volunteers provide an important resource, collecting and “repairing” books through “Book Doctor” events, tutoring at school sites, providing skills-based volunteering around STEM and putting together school supply kits for low-income kids.

Research indicates that engagement is the strongest predictor of student performance. A 2014 Gallup survey reveals that nearly half of all students are not engaged.

THINK Together’s student engagement poll yielded incredible results:

71%

THINK Together helped them understand that school is important

70%

Someone at THINK Together encourages them to do their best in school

78%

Have opportunities to learn new things at THINK Together

Volunteer Data 2013-2014 FYE

6,287 TOTAL VOLUNTEERS

203,1 48 TOTAL VOLUNTEER HOURS (7% increase from last year)

32.3 AVERAGE # HOURS PER VOLUNTEER

Parents are also positively engaged with THINK Together:

88%

THINK Together helps my child do better in school

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85%

My child is more confident since coming to THINK Together

94%

THINK Together staff cares about the success of my child

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08 Our Donors & Supporters $1 Million + The Donald Bren Foundation

$100K–$999K Annenberg Foundation Children and Families Commission of Orange County The Irvine Company W.M. Keck Foundation The David and Lucile Packard Foundation The Rose Hills Foundation Ueberroth Family Foundation Walmart

$50,000–$99,999 City of Perris JPMorgan Chase & Co. LA84 Foundation Orange County United Way The PIMCO Foundation Silicon Valley Commuity Foundation Target United Way of Greater Los Angeles

$25,000–$49,999 Charles Abbott Associates, Inc. Aetna Foundation Inc. The Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Inc.

Eric and Connie Boden Broadcom Foundation Crevier Family Fund Dito Devcar Foundation Draper Family Foundation Fund eMaxx Partners Bill Holmes Kirkorian Family Foundation Marion Knott Majestic Realty Foundation OC STEM Orange County Women Of Vision Ralphs/Food 4 Less Foundation RR Medical Services, Inc. S.L. Gimbel Foundation Second Harvest Food Bank Southern California Edison US Soccer Foundation

$10,000–$24,999 Allergan Foundation Alliance for a Healthier Generation, Inc. Doug and Cathy Antone Chevron Bill and Mary Lynn Coffee The Croul Family Foundation Dwight Stuart Youth Fund Edwards Lifesciences Just Keep Livin Foundation JUSTGIVE Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Southern California Region

Lincoln Property Company Jim McAleer Ray and Toni Mendoza Orange County Community Foundation Orange County Young Executives ORION Property Partners The Roripaugh Family Foundation Samueli Foundation Bart and Deborah Thomsen Wells Fargo Foundation Anonymous

$5,000–$9,999 Leona Aronoff-Sadacca Randy and Mary Barth Church of the Messiah Corday Kozberg Family Fund Ryan Faulkner H&R Block Intel Corporation Paul Lankford Loma Linda University Medical Center Patricia F. Mersch Gifting Fund Paula C. Moreno Donald and Carrie Nikols Santa Ana Rotary Foundation Taco Bell Foundation Julie Vennewitz-Pierce

$1,000–$4,999 Jakob and Marlene Ackermann Kareem Ahmed Kathryn Allen Sam and Susan Anderson David E. and Marseilla A. Barth Beaver Medical Group Bergman Family Foundation BNSF Foundation Christopher Ross Bourne Kent Browning Vaughn and Ann Bryan California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom Maynard and Sherri Carkhuff Nevine Carmelle The Community Foundation Serving Riverside and San Bernardino Counties Nicholas and Christina Coussoulis David Davis Beccie Dawson Deutsche Bank Sanjiv Dhawan Elba and Pablo Diaz Experian Chris and Caryn Felipe Lori Goodrich Dan and Sue Guggenheim Dr. Daniel Handysides Robert and Marti Hardesty

09 Shawn M Hochuli Glenn A. and Joyce G. Howard Ingram Micro, Inc. Intel Volunteer Grant Program Ivy Funds Edward Johnson Robert and Michelle Kargenian Russell Keenan and Dr. Anne Viricel Don and Linda Kelly Steven and Shawn Kenagy Marleen Kirkorian Erika S. Lemon Mike and Kathy Lewis Timothy and Margaret Leyden Margolis Family Foundation Metropolitan Water District Albert Moreno National Charity League, Inc., Newport Chapter National Charity League, Orange Villa Park Chapter Northwestern Mutual Northwestern Mutual Financial Network John and Patricia D. O’Donnell Pankow Builders Melanie Pedro PICOA Inc QCM Research Aimee B Richter Ben Rubin Andrew C. and Elisabeth C. Schutz Security Bank of California

Paul and Susan Shimoff Sills Foundation Richard M.F. Smith Gerry and Maclyn Somers Starbucks Foundation Ian Swanson Satoru Tamaribuchi The Don and Betsy Tarbell Fund Technos Properties LLC Thagard Foundation Trinity Law School Trinity United Presbyterian Church Truist United Way Silicon Valley Bruce and Nancy Varner Brad Volkmer Linda and Tod White Charitable Fund Candice Stack Whitten Anonymous

$500–$999 Sue K Baaden Donald Barth Linda M Beimfohr Nancy R Birkhauser Kathleen Blank Valorie Erin Brinker Michael Burns Cal State San Bernardino, University Enterprises Corporation Vito and Renee Canuso Karen Kay Carlson

Antonella A Castro Rabbi Hillel and Rita Cohn Dennis Collins Continuum Consulting Group Jerry L. and Bobbi R. Dauderman Brian and Megan Davis Bud Davis Kendra Doyel Stephen Farkas Stephen Faunce Richard Flanagan Matthew Foster Tony French Mike Galinakis Julie Gersten Fredrick K. and Betty Gleason Global Impact Gloria Macias Harrison Kevin Herbert The Hite Family Foundation Fund IBM Employee Service Center Inland Empire United Way Fran Inman Bill Jarvis Stacey and Leslie Kato Michael J. and Cristine E. LeBlanc Michael Lipsey Erika Hayflick Lowe Samantha McDermott Henry and Janet Miedema Mark Moehlman James Mosher

Riley and Rebecca Newman Kevin O’Connell John and Cynthia A. Olivier Donna J. Phebus John Picone PriceWaterHouseCoopers Jeff Radzinski John Mirau and Susan Reische Steve Robertson Troy Roe John Patrick Roth Kenneth E. and Jennifer T. Salgado Christian Scheder Scheppele Family Trust Tim and Denise Shaw David Sloan Diane D Stalder Kathleen Stauffer Mark Strauss Don Suskind United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, Inc. Phillip Henry Waller Westbound Communications, Inc. Susan Yang CynDee Zandes Anonymous

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10 Our Volunteer Leadership Board of Directors EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Eric Boden Chairman & CEO, HireRight (Ret.) *Board Chair Mary Lynn Coffee Attorney at Law, Nossaman, LLP *Vice-Chair Darrel Anderson President, Knott Anderson Enterprises (Ret.) *Secretary Glenn Howard Attorney & CPA, Law Offices of Glenn A. Howard *Treasurer Doug Antone President & CEO, Networks in Motion, Inc. (Ret.) *Strategic Growth Committee Chair Leona Aronoff-Sadacca Aronoff Capital *Inland Empire Leadership Council Chair Randy Barth Founder & CEO, THINK Together *President Ryan Faulkner VP of Human Capital, Optum *Compensation Committee Chair Fran Inman Senior VP, Majestic Realty Co. *Past Chair

Board of Advisors Paula Moreno Partner, Lankford Crawford Moreno & Ostertag LLP *Bay Area Leadership Council Chair Jeff Wahba Co-CEO, Farmer Brothers (Ret.) *Audit Committee Chair BOARD MEMBERS Steve Bilt President & CEO, Smile Brands Group Inc. (Ret.) Brigitte Bren Attorney/Education Advocate Celeste Cantú General Manager, Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority Jerry Dauderman Investor & Philanthropist Kendra Doyel Group VP, Public Relations & Governmental Affairs, Ralphs and Food 4 Less Kevin Hayes, II Senior VP, Southern California, Lincoln Property Company Gil Ivey Chief Administrative Officer, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Paolo Leon McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners

Sam Anderson Board Member Emeritus

Jayne Muñoz English Instructor, Santa Ana College

Kathy Braun-Lewis President (Ret.), Western Digital

Catherine Muzzy Principal, St. Edward the Confessor Parish School

Bobbi Dauderman Board Member Emeritus

Eric Nelson VP of Land Development, Trumark Homes John Poch Deputy Director of Athletics/External Operations, San Jose State University Athletics Steven Robertson Senior Director, Financial Planning & Analysis, Silicon Image Ken Salgado Assurance Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers Sat Tamaribuchi VP of Environmental Affairs, The Irvine Company (Ret.) Bill Tamblyn CFO, Space-Time Insight Julie Vennewitz-Pierce Senior Manager, Philanthropy, eBay Foundation

Ranney Draper Chairman, Spring Creek Investors Tony French Philanthropist Michael Kerr CEO, Bluestone Communities Marion Knott Philanthropist Don Moe Board Member Emeritus Honorable Frances Munoz Harbor Municipal Court (Ret.) John O’Donnell The O’Donnell Group, Inc. Steven Perryman Board Member Emeritus William F. Podlich Co-Founder & CEO, PIMCO Advisors (Ret.) Sat Tamaribuchi Vice President (Ret.), Environmental Affairs, The Irvine Company

11 Bay Area Leadership Council

Inland Empire Leadership Council

Wellness Committee

Paula Moreno Lankford Crawford Moreno & Ostertag LLP *Chair

Leona Aronoff-Sadacca Aronoff Capital *Chair

Barbara Wachsman The Walt Disney Company *Committee Chair

Mark Abbott Charles Abbott Foundation

Merlin Aalborg Heritage Victor Valley Medical Group

Celeste Cantú Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority

Laura Acosta Loma Linda University Medical Center and Children’s Hospital

Rabbi Hillel Cohn Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation Emanu El

Melanie Ajanwachuku Registered Dietician

Julie Vennewitz-Pierce eBay Foundation *Vice-Chair Jen Pitzen Community Leader *Secretary Steven Robertson Silicon Image *Treasurer Bill Tamblyn Space Time Insight *Past Chair Ben Boyer Tenaya Capital Charles Faas Community Leader Tammy Gaw Omni Risk Insurance Solutions Dr. Robert Perez San Jose Unified School District (Ret.) John Poch San Jose State University Athletics Marti Remmel Applied Materials (Ret.) James Shore Sideman & Bancroft LLP John Southwell San Jose Marriott Martin Ucovich United Mechanical, Inc.

Amy Cousineau Children’s Network of San Bernardino (Ret.) Angela Eddins Education Consultant LaRonda Fisher Rogers Union Bank Carrie Gilbreth Westbound Communications Steve Kenagy City National Bank Gloria Macias Harrison San Bernardino County Community College District Board Michelle Markel Wine Purveyor & Artist Susan Shimoff Educator

Gloria Banuelos Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Dora Barilla Loma Linda University Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Marty Baum Loma Linda University Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Michael Bautista Loma Linda University Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Josh Boyd The 12 Steve Cahn California Strategies Richard Chinnock Loma Linda University Medical Center and Children’s Hospital

Rebecca Cupp Ralphs Jennifer Dusenbery Revolution Foods Patrick Escobar LA84 Jane Gates Aetna Amy Hathaway Cigna Fran Inman Majestic Realty Steve James Got Milk?

Karen Scott First 5 San Bernardino Paula Steuer Sterling Public Relations, Inc. LeRoy Touchard Healthcare Consultant Gabriela “Gabby” Tovar LA84 Cheryl Vargo Kaiser Permanente Orange County

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Historical Revenues & Expenses

Fiscal Year 2013/2014 Financials 2013-2014 was a year of transition for THINK Together. Expenses exceeded revenue for just the third time in 17 years, as we made investments in our platform to deepen future impact.

84%

92%

School District Contracts – ASES*

REVENUES

$70.1M

2014 EXPENSES

1% Early Childhood (0-5)

7%

$70.7M

Philanthropy

2009–10

School District Contracts – Other

Program Services

6% General & Administrative

2010–11

2014

2008–09

For Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2014

7%

EXPENSES

2007–08

THINK Together Statement of Activities

REVENUES

2% Fundraising

1%

Expenses

2013–2014

School District Contracts –ASES*

$58,715,181

School District Contracts – Other

$5,243,093

School District Contracts –ASES*

$59,420,110

$1,016,898

School District Contracts – Other

$4,021,510

Early Childhood (0-5) Philanthropy Other

Total Revenues OPERATING LOSS: $667,480

$4,659,533 $417,345

$70,052,050

Program Services

$65,328,758

Early Childhood (0-5)

$1,177,318

Community Sites (K–12)

$709,820

Fundraising

$1,458,266

General & Administrative

$3,932,506

Total Expenses

2012–13

2013–2014

2013–14

Revenues

2011–12

Other

$70,719,530 0M

$7

M

0 $6

0M $5

0M

$4

M

0 $3

M

* Includes recognition of In-Kind program services, such as volunteer time, and facility and snack costs contributed by school district partners.

0 $2

M

0 $1

ENDING NET ASSETS: $1,285,137

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