In response to the Listening Tour, and incorporated into our 5-year plan, Partners will focus not only on high school graduation and college preparation, but also on college graduation and beyond. We began this work by making improvements to our Summer Academy program, will continue by expanding our High School Transition Program this fall, and will then launch our College Transition Program this spring.  We are also eager to add year-round academic and social supports for our middle school students and are beginning the planning and fund raising work on that program component.

John J. Fanning, Director

Stefani Berger, Assistant Director for Leadership and Mentorship Programs

Lexy Green, Assistant Director for Curriculum and Instruction

• a Summer Academy for OUSD middle school students to help them keep learning during the summer months and to get on track early for college graduation;
• academic-year tutoring and mentoring partnerships with OUSD middle schools to increase our impact with Summer Academy students;
• a High School Transition Program for Summer Academy 8th grade students and their families, to help them navigate the increasingly complex world of high school choice and make a smooth transition to a high quality college preparatory high school;
  
• Leadership Development Programs for high school and college students; and
  
• a College Counseling Program for OUSD high school students who are not likely to receive the support they need due to the increasingly large caseloads managed by public high school counselors in this era of fiscal crisis and cutbacks. This program will help students to successfully research and apply for college admission, scholarships, and financial aid; to successfully transition to college life; and to persist through college graduation.

• Are program participants succeeding in school both academically and socially?
• Are they graduating from middle and high school and from college on time and with good grades?
• Do they and their families understand the pathway to college graduation, starting in the middle school grades?
• Do they have the support that they need to navigate this path, everything from standardized testing practice and financial aid workshops to learning college entrance requirements and how to pack for freshman year in the dorms?

The Research Basis for Our Work 

Our strategy builds on three important bodies of research about college graduation, salaries, learning gaps, and low-income urban youth in public schools.

First, in its highly referenced 2002 report "The Big Payoff," the U.S. Census Bureau documented that college graduates earn $21,800 more per year than high school graduates. Over a 45-year career, the gap is $981,000, nearly one million dollars! Add a master’s degree to the college degree, and the gap is $1,435,500! Add a professional degree and the gap is $3,564,000! In the U.S., college graduation is the gateway to earning a living (or higher) wage.

Second, in her national award-winning 2008 report "Potholes on the Road to College," University of Chicago’s Melissa Roderick documents the potholes for students in an urban district serving mostly low-income, first-generation-to-college students of color. Roderick shows that 80% of Chicago Public Schools freshmen aim to graduate from 4-year college, but only 6% do so, and the odds are twice as bad for African American and Latino boys at 3%. She shows that what students lack most is a system of structured supports built into the school day and into out-of-school programs to help students successfully complete college preparatory classes and submit college, financial aid, and scholarship applications. Comparing Professor Roderick's data with the outcomes of well-resourced suburban and private schools, we can see that the urban low-income youth of color who need the educational and financial benefits of a college degree most are the ones with the fewest structured supports to help them achieve it.

Third, since 2002 The Urban Institute has researched the academic losses suffered by low-income students relative to their middle-class peers when school is out for summer. Per one report, “Much of the observed gain (or loss) results from time in school (or lack thereof).” Per another report, the quality of the summer activity is an important determinant of whether students gain or lose ground over the summer.

Since 2007, researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the National Summer Learning Association have quantified these summer losses, documenting that up to two-thirds of the achievement gap at 12th grade between well-resourced and poorly-resourced students can be attributed to the cumulative summer learning gains for one group - and losses for the other.

Thus, providing high quality summer academic work for low-income urban youth of color is one strategy for closing the college gap; at Partners, we begin with this strategy and add structured supports to create a pipeline to college graduation, and the economic rewards and self-sufficiency that follow.

Looking forward, as we grow, we will add (1.) year-round tutoring and mentoring support for our middle school students and (2.) college counseling for our middle school alumni who enroll in OUSD high schools, to help them with college, scholarship, and financial aid applications, and the often challenging transition to college.

Partners Summer Academy for OUSD Middle School Students

Partners Middle School Academic-Year Program

Partners High School Transition Program

Partners High School Assistant Teacher Program

Partners College Counseling Program

Partners College Internship Program

Location

In addition, we are four blocks east of the Rockridge BART station. To reach the school from BART, walk east on Keith Avenue, bear onto Broadway continuing east, and find us at the corner of Broadway and Brookside Avenue.

A printable version of directions to our campus is available here. Two maps showing the location of our campus are available here. 

Admission

Fees

Meals

Transportation

 We do not provide transportation to and from our programs. Transportation is a joint responsibility of parents, guardians, and students. We expect students to be dropped off and picked up on time, or to transport themselves on time; failure to meet this expectation may result in suspension and even expulsion from the program.

During the Partners Summer Academy, we run a shuttle before the program from the Rockridge BART station and the adjacent AC Transit bus stop. At the end of the day, we walk all students who will be traveling home via BART and bus down to the Rockridge BART station and adjacent AC Transit bus stop.

To Learn More…

To learn more about The Partners Program, visit any or all of the following links:

Five-Year Strategic Plan for Growth and Development

Photos of Partners in action!

Fundraising Brochure 

Student and Family Brochure

And if your reading and viewing brought up questions, please visit the Contact Us sidebar on the right and be in touch!

Applications for Middle School Students

PLEASE NOTE: Applications for the 2012 Partners Summer Academy will go on-line in January of 2012. The process will likely be similar to 2011; please read below for more information about 2011 admissions. Thank you!

We welcome current 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students into our Summer Academy program. Our retention rate in the upper two grades is 90%, so we have very few slots for the older students. We accept 32 new 6th graders each year. 

Our program is designed as a support for the Oakland Unified School District, so we prioritize applicants from OUSD middle schools. Students from OUSD middle schools in our extended neighborhood (Claremont, KIPP Bridge, West Oakland, and Westlake) receive additional priority consideration.

In addition, we prioritize applications from students who:

1. have siblings and/or other relatives in Partners or attending high school at College Prep;

2. come from families that qualify for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program at their middle schools (and can demonstrate this qualification);

3. come from racial/ethnic backgrounds typically underrepresented on college campuses (African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American and Alaskan, and Southeast Asian); and

4. will be among the first generation in their immediate families to graduate from college, or otherwise have an especially difficult path to college graduation. 

Summer Dates 2011

Our program dates will run 5 weeks (not the usual 4) in Summer 2011. The program will begin on Thursday, June 23 (current 8th graders only) and Friday, June 24 (all students, including current 8th graders) and will end on Friday, July 22, with no program activities on Monday, July 4. Program days run from 8:55 a.m. - 3:55 p.m. with an early start of 8:15 a.m. for families that need an early drop off.

In addition, Family Celebration Day and Graduation will be on Saturday, July 23 in the morning, with exact times to be announced later.

Applications for Summer 2011

Welcome to our admissions page! Thank you for considering The Partners Program.

If you are a returning student, this page is not for you! You should have received a letter with instructions for re-enrollment. If you did not receive this letter, please call the Partners office right away at 510/652-0111, X260.

If you are a potential new student to Partners, this page is for you!

Following is a “Top Ten List” of the basic information you might want to know “up front” for our 2011 Summer Academy:

1.     The Partners Program Summer Academy is a FREE, FOUR-WEEK, FULL-TIME academic and enrichment program for middle school students. A student must be a current 6^th grader or older to enroll.

2.     This summer’s program starts on Friday, June 24 and ends on Friday, July 22. Current 8^th graders start one day early with an all-day leadership retreat on Thursday, June 23. We expect on-time, all-day attendance every program day.

3.     Our daily hours are from 8:55 a.m. – 3:55 p.m. Students can arrive as early as 8:15 a.m. and must be picked up or be headed home promptly by 4:00 p.m.

4.     Family Celebration Day and Graduation takes place the morning on Saturday, July 23, with the exact time to be announced later.

5.     Our target audience includes students of color in Oakland’s public middle schools who qualify for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program; these students get first priority for admission. We are also very interested in working with students who will be among the first in their families to graduate from college.

Other applicants – those who do not attend public schools, are not students of color, or do not qualify for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch program - are placed on a waiting list and then admitted if there are remaining spots after April 15.

6.     We admit 32 current 6^th graders each year. Because 90% of our students continue in the program, we have only a few spots for current 7^th and 8^th graders.

7.     Our programs take place on the campus of The College Preparatory School at 6100 Broadway in Oakland. Many of our students travel to us via AC Transit and BART. We run a morning shuttle from the Rockridge BART and bus station up the hill (4 blocks) to our campus. At the end of the program day, we walk students down to the same station. Some students are also picked up and dropped off each day, and some families carpool.

8.     Partners is a lot of fun. We work on academic subjects like math, science, and reading, because these are important to student success. And we also have art, writing, and dance classes everyday, plus 3 field trips during the program, and clubs, BBQs, and other activities.

9.     Partners is even more fun with siblings, cousins, and friends. So, spread the word!

10. We do not screen for grades and test scores. We wish to have motivated, positive, and enthusiastic students in our program, regardless of academic achievement.

If these 10 points make you think, “Hey, this is a great program for me,” then please read the following and then apply today!!!

How Do We Choose New Students for the Partners Summer Academy?

It’s important for you to know that we do not choose new students based on test scores or grades. Instead, we are looking for motivated, positive, and enthusiastic students with caring adults in their lives who will help ensure that the students get to the program on time each day – that’s it. Academically, most of our students earn mostly Bs and a few Cs, and we have a few academic standouts, and well as a few students who struggle deeply with their classes.

In order, these are the criteria by which we admit students to the program:

1.     Brothers and sisters of current and former Partners students are accepted first, as long as they apply before the program is full. We consider other relatives – cousins, nieces and nephews, and children (of former students!) – in this first priority group, too.

Also, relatives of current or former College Prep students fit into this first priority group as long as they are students of color from families that qualify for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Otherwise, they are welcome to apply but will be placed on the wait list.

2.     The next priority group includes students who come from one of our 4 priority public middle schools (Claremont, KIPP Bridge, Westlake, and West Oakland) who are students of color and come from families who qualify for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program – again, as long as they apply before the program is full. These students make up the majority of our enrollees.

3.     The next priority group includes students of color who come from these schools but do not qualify for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch program. These students will automatically be put on a waiting list and admitted late in the spring (after April 15) if spaces are still open.

This group also includes students of color who qualify for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program but who do not attend one of our priority schools. These students will also automatically be placed on a waiting list and admitted late in the spring (after April 15) if spaces are still open.

We welcome these applications and expect that at least a few of these students will be admitted.

4.     The last priority group includes students of color who do not qualify for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch program and who do not attend one of our priority middle schools. They will also be placed automatically on a waiting list, like the above groups.

Again, we welcome these applications. It is hard to know, however, if we will have open spots for these students, as they are in the lowest priority group. 

How Does a Potential New Student Apply for Partners?

There are 3 steps to the application process for new students. Potential new Students are admitted or placed on the waiting list in the order in which these steps are completed:

1.     A potential new student fills out an Emergency Information Card, which also serves as our registration card, and turns it in. The Card can be downloaded here, filled out, and then mailed in or brought to one of our open houses.

2.     A potential new student and that student’s caring adult (a parent, other relative, mentor, etc.) attend one of our open houses to make sure that this is a good program fit. Students and adults will have a chance to meet the program director, learn about the program, see the program site, and then decide if this is the right program.

The open houses for summer 2011 will be held on:

Saturday, March 12, 9:00AM – 10:30AM, and

Sunday, March 27, 1:00PM – 2:30PM.

Potential new students and their caring adults come to just one of the two open houses. Chances of admission are higher for those who attend the first open house; when we run out of program spots, then we are out of spots, and additional applicants are placed on a waiting list.

These are not “drop by” events. Potential new students and their caring adults should arrive before the start time on these days, so that we may begin and end on time.

We do note the arrival time on the sign-in sheets. Punctuality is important to us; being on time for the open house is a way for students and their caring adults to show us that they have the commitment and ability to be on time for each program day.

3.     Finally, fill out the remaining paperwork. When we know that we have a spot for a student, we will send the remaining registration materials. Once these materials are turned in, the spot is secure. If these materials are not turned in by April 15, the spot may be given to another student.

That’s it! We aim to keep this process as simple and straightforward as possible for students, their caring adults and families, teachers, counselors, and school administrators.

If you have any questions about this process, please email John Fanning at johnfa@college-prep.org or call him at 510-652-0111, X260.

Applications for "Others"

PLEASE NOTE: If you are a middle school student, this is not your page! Please go to the "Apply (Middle School Students)" tab. Thanks!

If you are a potential professional faculty member, college or graduate school intern, high school-aged assistant teacher, or nutrition program manager, you are in the right place!

We are a tightly-knit community of teachers, administrators, and graduate school, college, and high school students working together to address issues of unequal access to high quality education, nutrition, exercise, and arts opportunities.

We are passionate about our work, collaborative in our approach, creative in our delivery, and serious about learning. In addition, we think learning should be fun, hands-on, project-based, and outside the classroom as much as possible. If this sounds like you, please read on!

The dates for Summer 2012 employment begin on Monday, June 18, and finish mid-day on Monday, July 23. In addition, faculty and ATLs (Assistant Teaching Leaders) will have additional meetings during the spring, dates TBD. Please see the text below for brief information about each position.

Faculty and Staff

Each summer we hire approximately one dozen faculty members across the disciplines plus a nutrition program manager and educator. Approximately 75% of our faculty members return each year. We will post more information about Summer 2012 positions in February, 2012.  

Graduate School Interns

If you are a graduate school student interested in a summer internship with us, please email John Fanning at johnfa@college-prep.org. We do not have a set number of openings and handle graduate school intern positions on a case-by-case basis. You are encouraged to begin the process before January.

College Interns and High School-Aged Assistant Teachers

Information for prospective College Interns and high school-aged Assistant Teachers can be downloaded here, and applications can be downloaded here. Applications are due by Friday, December 16, with interviews to follow, and decisions made by early February. These are paid positions. 

While we primarily draw our College Interns from Partners alumni and former Partners Assistant Teachers, and Assistant Teachers from College Prep students and Partners alumni, we are happy to consider other applicants. We anticipate hiring 6 College Interns and 30 Assistant Teachers this summer.

Thank you so much for considering Partners this summer! If you have further questions, faculty and staff should contact John Fanning (johnfa@college-prep.org) and college and high school students should contact Stefani Berger (stefani@college-prep.org).

John Fanning

Director

John Fanning is the Director of The Partners Program at College Prep. Before coming to Partners, John was a high school teacher and counselor in Chicago Public Schools, and before that (way before that!) was a filmmaker, videomaker, and artist with screenings and gallery shows in Europe, the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

Most recently John worked as the Director of Counseling and College Counseling at Jones College Prep, where his team developed the daily curriculum College Knowledge: Your Guide to Access and Success, expressly designed to help first-generation-to-college students prepare for and complete their college, scholarship, and financial aid applications. Over two years of College Knowledge at Jones, John and his team were able to nearly double the percentage of students enrolling in selective colleges, nearly triple the percentage of students enrolling in highly selective colleges, and multiply five times over the per-pupil scholarship awards.

John holds a B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an M.B.A. in nonprofit and public management from Northwestern University, and an A.M. in Social Work from The University of Chicago. John is thrilled to join the Partners team in a position that taps his business and social work skills in the service of his passion - helping low-income, "first gen" public school students successfully pave their paths to college graduation.

Stefani Berger

Assistant Director for Leadership and Mentorship Programs

Since 1994, Stefani Berger has been a full time member of the teaching faculty at The College Preparatory School, serving the entire time as the Director of the Dance Department. In addition, Stefani chaired the Arts Department from 2003-2009 and began working in Partners in 2004. Prior to working at College Prep, Stefani was on the teaching faculty at San Francisco University High School and The Urban School of San Francisco from 1982-1987. From 1982-1994, Stefani directed dance programs for inner city youth for the City of Oakland Parks and Recreation Department, the Oakland Unified School District, and the Berkeley-Albany YMCA. Stefani also taught professionally for 10 years at Shawl-Anderson Modern Dance Center in Oakland. In 1983 she founded and directed All City Dance, a pre-professional dance company in San Francisco, and for 13 years she taught, trained and professionally prepared adolescents to have a future career in dance.

Lexy Green

Assistant Director for Curriculum and Instruction

Lexy Green has more than 20 years of experience teaching in public and independent schools and more than 25 years of experience coaching speech and debate.

Lexy is a former public school teacher at Pinole Middle School who student taught at Skyline High School and Oakland Tech High School while earning her secondary teaching credential at Mills College. Lexy has also taught at Contra Costa Community College and is currently the Director of Debate at College Prep since 1998.

Lexy is a National Forensic League Four Diamond Coach, a two-time Summer Fellowship recipient from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a current board member of the Bay Area Urban Debate League, and the District Chair of the San Francisco Bay District of the National Forensic League.

Lexy has worked in Partners since 2006 and prior to that worked for five years in Education Unlimited’s Berkeley Summer Focus program.

Support Partners!

Partners is an independent 501-c-3 organization (federal ID #20-2973102), and donations are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

While we reside on the campus of The College Preparatory School and are the very fortunate recipient of generous in-kind support from the school, we are two separate organizations, and Partners is responsible for raising its own funds.

Thus, we rely heavily (actually, entirely!) on the generosity of our supporters – individuals, corporations, and foundations alike – in order to provide our services free of charge to students and families who lack the resources to pay program fees.

How to Donate Financially

Donations can be made via check, credit card, or securities.

For check, simply mail your check to:

The Partners Program, 6100 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94618-1824.

For credit card, just click here to be directed to our donation page. (Well, almost! Stay tuned for the addition of this feature. We expect this to go live by December, 2010.)

For securities, please call or email the Partners office at 510/652-0111, X260 or partners@college-prep.org.

What Will Your Generosity Support?

Donations of all sizes are greatly appreciated. We welcome your inquiries and are happy to earmark your gift to a specific program component of interest to you.

For example, a gift of $60,000 would help us to expand our program pipeline through college graduation, and thus support our program participants from 6th grade until they finish their college degrees.

A $30,000 contribution would enable us to complement our summer program with an academic-year component, through which we would provide mentoring and tutoring for our Summer Academy students during the school year on their public middle school campuses.

A contribution of $20,000 would help launch our College Transition Program for high school juniors and seniors and their families, while $10,000 would help us expand and improve our High School Transition Program for 8th graders and their families.

An investment of $6,000 would underwrite our nutrition program food costs for the 2011 summer program, enabling us to provide fresh and nutritious food options with accompanying nutrition internship and education components. An additional $4,000 would enable us to hire a nutrition program manager to run the program!

An investment of $3,500 would cover the costs of school supplies, program t-shirts, and yearbooks for the entire summer program.

A $2,000 gift would fund one middle school student for our summer program as well as our academic year get-togethers. We have capacity for 96 middle school students for whom to secure support.

And gifts of $500, $750, $1,000, $1,500, and $1,750 would each cover the stipend for one of our Leadership and Mentorship Program participants (our college interns and high school-aged assistant teachers), depending on their years of service with Partners. We bring on 35 – 40 interns each summer.

How to Donate Your Time, Effort, and In-Kind Contributions

We can put your time, effort, and in-kind contributions to very good use, also.

Volunteering professional skills such as graphic design, public relations, event organization, and administrative support can help us expand and improve our services without adding costs to our budget.

Donations of gift cards and certificates are terrific for our student incentive awards. Last summer we had everything from As tickets and pizza gift certificates to iTunes cards and other special prizes.

We put 100 gently used binders (1.5 or 2 inches) to use every summer, and can also make sure your new and gently used school supplies don't go to waste.

Field trip and classroom presentation ideas are also gladly considered, and we will enthusiastically incorporate those opportunities that provide a good match for our teachers' curricular goals.

Eventually we will also be able to bring on adult mentors for our College Transition Program. We’re still in the planning phases, though, so we’re not quite there yet! 

If you have other ideas, please feel very welcome to reach out to John Fanning at johnfa@college-prep.org and 510/652-0111, X260.

Thank you for your kind consideration of The Partners Program!