YO UR PARTNER IN EDUCATIO N
ANNUAL REPORT 2017-2018 ZENITH LEARNING ANNUAL REPORT
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“After school time is a wonderful opportunity to enhance children, families and campus staff members. It’s a small window that is critical in transitioning minds, building relationships and improving social skills. We, at Zenith Learning, strive to enhance the day for all involved with our carefully designed programs and activities. It is our goal to connect the school to the home and provide peace of mind for families, as their children are well cared for, learning and having fun.” Kristina Perez, Executive Director
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ZENITH LEARNING ANNUAL REPORT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY People view the Z embroidered on my shirt and ask, “What is Zenith Learning?� and I am pleased to share that Zenith Learning is the premier company in the design and development of after-school programming. We are the largest program in Texas with a specific focus on improving the after-school time with structured, engaging activities. What do we do exactly? We enhance education, we inspire children and most of all we provide parents peace of mind. Zenith programs moved in a new direction in 2018, redesigning activity plans to include an emphasis on character, communication and team building. It is our desire for every child impacted by Zenith to find the greatness within and be moved to strive for success in life. In 2017-18, Zenith Learning grew to 52 sites across Texas, serving more than 2,100 students. It is our passion to serve families and ensure their children are well cared for while enhancing leadership skills. I am proud to announce, after observing a need for quality substitutes, Zenith Learning added a division to the company - Substitute Solutions. We partner with various child care centers and local schools to meet their needs and continue a quality education for all students involved. Our company has a unique combination of leaders with specific experience in after-school programming, motivational training for staff members, and a strong passion for caring and improving the lives of children. This is what sets us apart from the rest. The following pages will provide a glimpse of the year, and I invite you to share in the excitement of the services we provide. It is an honor to lead the Zenith Team and have the opportunity to serve children and their parents. Respectfully, Dr. John Duman, CEO
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 ZENITH LEARNING IN TEXAS
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ZENITH LEARNING IN NUMBERS
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2018 ACCOMPLISHMENTS 7 ZENITH LEARNING PROGRAMS
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CUSTOMER SERVICE 11 LEADERSHIP TEAM 13 WHY ZENITH 16 SUBSTITUTE TEACHER SOLUTION
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OUR STUDENTS HAVE BECOME OUR PRIORITY AND THE CENTER OF OUR SERVICES. WE LOVE WHAT WE DO AND THRIVE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. 4
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LEADERSHIP TEAM John G. Duman, Ed.D. Chief Executive Officer After completing a Bachelor’s of Education degree, John started to work as a math teacher in a school district. He also served as a campus administrator, area superintendent, and a district office administrator for more than fifteen years. He holds teacher, principal, and superintendent certificates. He received an M.Ed. degree in Educational Leadership from the College of Education, Texas State University and received a doctoral degree in the Educational Leadership program at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. John is a fellow of the American Leadership Forum. As an adjunct professor, he has taught educational leadership, human resources, and school law and policy courses in educational leadership graduate programs. His areas of interest are leadership development, recruiting, professional development and performance evaluation of administrators in an educational setting
Kristina Perez, M.Ed. Executive Director Often described as a highly motivated education manager with exceptional leadership abilities, Kristina Perez serves as the Executive Director of the Zenith Learning team. She is talented at facilitating change, designing new programs, evaluating systems, and can often be found inspiring others through her imaginative style. Kristina moved to the Houston area from North Dallas in 2010 and is passionate about creating programs for children and families. As a mother of four, Kristina works hard to maintain her lifelong path of learning while serving as a role model. Zenith captured her attention in January of 2018. After graduating from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and a Master’s of Education in Special Education, Kristina served as a teacher, a coordinator, a director of operations and department director. She has a history of success managing multiple programs and generating events for thousands of attendees in various communities. With state recognition, Kristina is considered a pioneer in developing new programs for districts, specifically directing the largest before/after-school program in Texas. Kristina holds more than sixteen years of combined experience in educational leadership and management and more than twenty years in education. She is involved with various community groups and continues to volunteer in her local community with youth.
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Laurie Bricker, M.Ed. Development & Strategies Laurie Bricker became a member of the Zenith Learning team to create opportunities for partnerships and expansion of the successful programs in place in many schools throughout the greater Houston area as well as throughout Texas. Along with the incredibly talented group of leaders at Zenith Learning, Laurie supports their efforts and works to strategize with them as to the best practices of creating and growing new programs that focus on the improvement of educational experiences for children. Laurie’s public service includes having been elected and served on the Houston Independent School District Board for nearly 9 years; serving twice as President of the Board. One of her top priorities both when she ran for the school board and during the time she served was to ensure a safe and secure after school location for all students who otherwise had no adult supervision after school. Zenith Learning’s after-school program exemplifies those goals. In addition, Laurie has served as a gubernatorial appointment to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and is currently in her 11th year on the State Board for Educator Certification. As educational policies and programs are her primary interest, Laurie has been a team member in creating and expanding Zenith Learning Substitute Teacher program. Having worked as a substitute teacher, Laurie remembers the struggles of onboarding teachers to new schools each day. Zenith Learning is both perfecting and expanding its success throughout the greater Houston area by providing strong substitute teachers—well-trained and prepared for the classrooms.
Pamela Redd, M.Ed., J.D. Business Development Pamela (Pam) Redd is a recently retired school principal with 30 years of experience in education. She attended HISD schools 1-12 and has worked in HISD, Cypress Fairbanks ISD, Spring Branch ISD and St. John’s School. Pam also served as PTO Secretary and then President for 4 years, at her daughter’s school in Cypress Fairbanks while working full time. In addition to teacher and principal certification, Pam Redd is a licensed attorney (on inactive status), has superintendent certification and also holds a business certificate from the Rice University Educational Entrepreneurship program. Ms. Redd became a member of the Zenith Learning team to assist with the growth and expansion of the programs currently in place. As a teacher and principal, she witnessed first-hand the creativity, teamwork and confidence building opportunities that come with successful school programs. Zenith currently has a talented and committed group of leaders, and Ms. Redd is excited about the opportunity to join them in their commitment to providing quality opportunities for educational growth for children.
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Michelle Pina Senior Director Ms. Michelle Piña has 15+ years of experience in education management and out-of-school time programs. Her background includes working as a middle school teacher, professional development coordinator, program evaluator and federal grant director. More recently, she has been involved in business development in the health and wellness industry and working with groups on developing sustainable solutions for continuation of community programs. As a native Texan, Ms. Piña enjoys connecting people and organizations to best serve the youth of the state and to ensure a great future for all. Her experiences and passion are an asset to the Zenith Learning’s Leadership Team. As Senior Director, Ms. Piña’s focus is grant writing and partnerships to enable much needed programs to exist in low-economical areas of Texas.
Journey Stroter Staffing Director Journee began her career with Zenith Learning as a substitute teacher and quickly stood out amongst her peers as a strong leader. Journee transitioned to Staffing Director and led the development of a new company division, substitute teacher services. Zenith Learning has more than quadrupled its fulfillment of substitute requests at 40 childcare centers and schools (K12) in half a year’s time. Due to Journee’s established trust with our clients, the rapid growth continues. Journee places a priority on building relationships with all customers to ensure that each expectation is are not only met but exceeded. The high quality of substitutes has played a pivotal role in the expansion of the Zenith services. Zenith’s substitutes go through extensive training before being allowed in a classroom setting, in addition to on-going training and professional development on a monthly basis. This standard is what sets Zenith apart from the rest, by maintaining a high-quality and dynamic substitute pool. Journee’s confidence in the substitutes, she and the staffing team hire, is confirmed every time a school or center asks to hire a substitute to be a part of their own team.
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ZENITH LEARNING IN TEXAS
Dallas Fort Worth El Paso Beaumont
Austin San Antonio
Laredo
Houston
Corpus Cristi
MAIN OFFICE 2900 Wilcrest Dr. Suite 230 Houston, TX 77042 Ph: (713) 988 9600 Fax: (713) 774 9603 www.zenithlearning.org info@ zenithlearning.org
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ZENITH LEARNING ANNUAL REPORT
ZENITH LEARNING IN NUMBERS
52
250
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schools
personnel
regional representatives
13 cities
2,100 students
Thank you for your generosity and that of Zenith. As I mentioned to your regional representative yesterday - I am very happy with Zenith services here at HSA Sugar Land.� AFREEN MERCHANT, M.Ed. PRINCIPAL HSA-SUGAR LAND
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2017-2018 ACCOMPLISHMENTS Increased the number of afterschool sites by 20% Offered summer camp at five different sites Began substitute teacher services for childcare centers and schools (K-12) Conducted parent satisfaction survey and campus administrator survey at the end of each semester. Increase social media visibility Began using ADP, SmartFind, and mobile student attendance program to improve the effectiveness of operation
I love the teachers and employees of Zenith, and so does my son!� PARENT ROOSEVELT ELEMENTARY HISD
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ZENITH LEARNING ANNUAL REPORT
SUBSTITUTE TEACHER SOLUTIONS SERVICES INCLUDE • Local representatives develop a rapport with each school to ensure each Substitute is a proper fit • Recruiting Substitute Teachers • Comprehensive Onboarding • Continued Professional Development • Absence Management System • Live Dispatching System • Time and Attendance Tracking • Frequent Client Feedback
RECRUIT AND TRAIN • Each potential Substitute Teacher is required to undergo an interview process
Cost Savings
• Full evaluation of each Substitute’s credentials and certifications • Every Substitute Teacher meets state requirements: - Tuberculosis Skin Test - National Criminal Background Screening - Fingerprinting - CPR and First Aid Training
Flexibility
- Sex Offender Screening and more
ABSENCE MANAGEMENT • Fully customizable to fit each school’s need • Teacher absence tracking • Designed to have a streamlined workflow • Electronic verification available for substitute approval
Guaranteed Quality
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• Ability to electronically attach lesson plans
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HOW IT WORKS 1. Request Substitute Teacher online or via text message 2. Receive confirmation from Zenith 3. Substitute Teacher reports to school for work 4. Zenith sends invoice to school
WHAT SETS US APART Dependability You can count on us to fulfill all your Substitute Teacher needs in a timely manner Flexibility Last minute, same day requests are no problem for us! Our service is also designed to handle daily changes to the number of Substitute Teachers No Lock-in You can cancel your Substitute(s) at any time with just a 24 hour notice Guaranteed Quality If for any reason you are not happy with a Substitute, we will send you a new one
WHY PARTNER WITH US Compliance We make it easy to stay in ratio Our teachers always have the required background checks and credentials Our staff meet all licensing requirements.
Convenience Request Substitutes online or via text message Everything is already done for you (background check; health screening; personnel folder; etc)
Control Change out Substitutes at any time No billing surprises (no taxes, fees or surcharges of any kind)
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ZENITH LEARNING ANNUAL REPORT
ZENITH LEARNING PROGRAMS
1 2 3 4
AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM
ENRICHMENT CLUBS
SUMMER CAMP
SUBSTITUTE TEACHER SOLUTIONS
I like Zenith because the teachers take good care of the children, and it gives me security and confidence that my child is in a good environment.” PARENT ROOSEVELT ELEMENTARY HISD
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AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM Zenith Learning began all operations originally as an after school care provider in June of 2010, in Houston, Texas. The program is licensed by the Department of Family and Protective Services. All local, state and national criteria are a critical piece of Zenith’s policies. The program includes a variety of age-appropriate, play-oriented activities, homework and reading time. In addition, the children are served snack daily.
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ENRICHMENT CLUBS The students are introduced to a variety of options that can range from: -
martial arts
- music -
legos and robotics
- soccer -
cheer and dance
These are a few number of the enrichment activities that may be offered at our locations.
I do like that when I get there to pick up my child, the Zenith staff members are always there to greet me and calls my daughter right away and knows us by first name basis.� PARENT HSA- FORT WORTH
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SUMMER CAMP Our summer camp is an all-day program, with theme-oriented curriculum and activities. We offer 1/2 day options for the convenience of parents’ schedules. Snacks, supplies and in-house events are included as well. Our camps are created with the intention to enrich the students’ summer and to also provide a safe and nurturing environment.
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SUBSTITUTE TEACHER SOLUTIONS Zenith Learning provides substitute teachers to schools (K-12) and childcare centers. The service includes all of the elements that allow for a seamless process for schools to quickly identify and secure substitute teachers. The system is reliable and complies with all of the requirements of safety, security, and training for every substitute. • • • • • •
Recruiting Onboarding Training Absence Management System Live Dispatching System Rapport with each individual school
We have nothing but great things to say about Zenith Learning. The service they provide to our center is topnotch and they always go above and beyond to ensure our substitute needs are met.” PRINCIPAL, COMPTON CHILDCARE CENTER
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CUSTOMER SERVICE Customer Inquiry or Concern
3 Channels of Communication: Regional Representative / Online Communication Form / Customer Relations Specialist
3 Hour Acknowledgement Response
24 Hour Review
48 Hour Resolution
In providing a multitude of channels to communicate with us, we create the contingency that our partner schools expect from us.
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ZENITH LEARNING ANNUAL REPORT
ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
Leigh Gee Office Manager
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WHY ZENITH?
• Strong Leadership Team • Experienced with Districts, Charter Schools, Childcare Centers and Private Schools. • Staffed Exclusively for Educational Settings • Tailored Services to Individual Campuses • High-Oualified Staff • Continued Professional Development for our Staff • Standout Incentive Programs for Partner Campuses
“Having such a service at school is a great convenience for us and low staff turnover is a plus. I know most of the staff members.” PARENT SST- SAN ANTONIO
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ZENITH LEARNING ANNUAL REPORT
Zenith Learning
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2900 Wilcrest Dr. Suite 230 Houston, TX 77042 Ph: (713) 988 9600 Fax: (713) 774 9603 zenithlearning.org info@ zenithlearning.org