Charleston Promise Neighborhood

A partner with Charleston Promise Neighborhood since our incorporation in 2010, Blackbaud, Inc is a national organization that is devoted to providing nonprofits, including CPN, with software and services. Their expertise allows CPN to drive change in our neighborhood and schools. Encouraging their employees to get involved in the community, about 90% of Blackbaud employees volunteer, both in traditional and skills-based volunteerism roles, giving an estimated 100,000 hours in service in a year!

Last year, Blackbaud employees participated in CPN’s Day of Caring project at Mary Ford Elementary, where they talked with our students about their careers and education. After working with Blackbaud, we started thinking of more ways to engage their great volunteers. Blackbaud also wanted to continue supporting CPN’s CQ “College Quotient” program. CQ is designed to integrate college culture in every aspect of the education process through the environment, activities, and discussions designed to raise expectations of students, teachers, and parents.

We felt the partnership with Blackbaud was an opportunity to show our students how Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) relate to everyday life and career paths. Blackbaud’s vision was to create a network of mentors to help guide students and engage them with content focusing on hardware and software…and even create software! We each had ideas that led us down the same path to the creation of Camp Blackbaud for CPN 5^th grade students.

“As I was thinking about our skills-based volunteerism pledge to Billion + Change pledge, Camp Blackbaud came to mind. We got together with CPN and talked about it; then I got people on board here, and we made it happen.  It just seemed like a natural fit – STEM education is a hot topic right now, you’re creating this college bound culture with kids in underserved areas, we have all sorts of STEM skills in this building.  It worked and made sense,” said Sally Ehrenfried, Community Relations Manager, Blackbaud, Inc.

CPN Students at Camp Blackbaud

Five 5th grade students from each CPN school were selected to attend Camp Blackbaud based on their year-long efforts and their interest in Science. “These students strive to do their best each and every day, and we felt they deserved to be recognized for that.  These students are role models to their peers, and by highlighting them and their successes, we hope they will inspire others to be hardworking, high-performing students.” Stefanie Chambrovich, 5^th grade teacher from Chicora Elementary.

Camp Blackbaud was an amazing two-day, educational and hands-on experience. The students worked in teams with Blackbaud volunteers to build their very own Smartphone App and video documenting their experience. The teams were to create a scavenger hunt app that would teach visitors and new students about each CPN school.

CPN Students Working Hard on Creating Scavenger Hunt App

The Blackbaud leaders taught the students how to use the software, and guided them through the process from brainstorming to creation. “It was fun!  We got to mark up our plan and write our ideas for the app on the walls at Blackbaud,” said one Sanders-Clyde student. Blackbaud volunteers talked with students about what they do and other technical careers at Blackbaud. Students were able to design and easily navigate the app software. Each team was constantly engaged, asking questions and working hard to make their app the best. By the end of the camp, CPN students had developed, tested, and completed a presentation on their Smartphone App! This was a great partnership with Blackbaud; we are excited for future endeavors that will also bring exciting new friendships and experiences to our students!

The students even recorded raw footage, used for their documentary video. Check out each team’s documentary using the links below!

Chicora Team Video

Mary Ford Team Video

Sanders-Clyde Team Video

James Simons Team Video

Interview with Brian Agnew, Principal of Chicora

Like others in this fair city, some of Charleston’s teachers are soon to become film stars. I recently guided the School Improvement Network’s film crew from Salt Lake City around Charleston Promise Neighborhood (CPN), taking them to film our schools and community initiatives. The School Improvement Network contacted CPN after we purchased a license for their PD 360 database as an effort under our Achieving Classroom Excellence (ACE) program. PD 360 offers personalized professional development through an internet based platform holding over 1,500 videos on critical topics in education. Videos show how nonprofits like CPN have pitched-in to advance school reform in school districts across the country. CPN’s filming will be part of a collection of videos designed to share best practices.

“I am excited to share the great work of educators in the Charleston community, part with thousands of educators around the country!” said Marissa Bernhard, Producer from the School Improvement Network.

Image Captured from Mayor Riley’s Interview

Over the past few months, the School Improvement Network production crew filmed interviews with CPN officials and other influential people, including Mayor Joseph Riley, Mayor Summey, CCSD Superintendent Dr. Nancy McGinley, Associate Superintendent Dr. Winbush, and members of CPN’s Community Engagement Council. They also filmed classroom activities, student visits to the school-based health clinic, and interviews with principals, teachers, students, parents, and our KidsWell volunteer pediatrician.

Film Crew Captures Class at Chicora Elementary

Accompanying the School Improvement Network to CPN schools, I saw the passion and dedication teachers had for their students’ success. Sitting in the back of a classroom, I noticed the level of engagement between the teachers and students, even with distracting cameras and film crew walking around the room. It was amazing to hear the students’ feedback throughout the day. During a math class, a teacher asked a question, and while waiting for the answer she said “We’ve done this a million times”, and a student raised their hand and responded “That’s a hyperbole!” remembering figurative language they learned weeks ago. This classroom was a supportive learning environment; and I could tell the teacher developed positive personal relationships with the students.

I am proud to be a part of the CPN team, and know that our teachers’ best practices recorded by the School Improvement Network will be models for educators and communities across the nation!

This semester, Charleston Promise Neighborhood (CPN) piloted the American Lung Association’s award-winning Open Airways For Schools program at the Chicora School of Communications. Children that complete the program should be able to take more steps to manage their asthma, know how to properly use asthma medication, improve their school performance, and have fewer and less severe asthma episodes. Parents of the children participating in other schools have also reported taking more steps to help manage their children’s asthma. Anita Romeo, Chicora’s School Nurse, and our Health Literacy Specialist, Pam Willrodt, adapted this program to incorporate into the school’s P.E. class. Anita teaches children ages 8-11 with asthma how to detect warning signs of asthma, avoid triggers and make decisions about their health.

Open Airways Helping Children with Asthma

We anticipate declines in symptoms, reports of fewer absences from asthma, and other positive results! The Open Airways program will be adopted in all four CPN schools to ensure a healthier 2013-2014 school year!