Publicolor Inc

Programs: In 2017 publicolor again received charity navigator's 4-star rating - the fourth year in a row with this recognition. Publicolor achieves huge success serving youth who are at high risk of dropping out. In 2016-2017, not one student dropped out of school, and 100% of 8th and 9th graders matriculated on time to the next grade. 98% of high school seniors graduated on time compared to a citywide average of 64% for a similar demographic, and 100% of graduates went on to college compared to 46% of low-income peers nationwide. Publicolor empowers its students with focus, determination and a sense of belonging to prevent them from dropping out and becoming a burden to society. [see continuation on schedule o] they graduate and become productive members of their communities. Publicolor has been recognized both nationally and locally throughout its over 21-year history. Publicolor won the national arts + humanities youth program award (nahyp) in 2014 from michelle obama at the white house. Mayor michael bloomberg declared october 8, 2006 publicolor day citywide in honor of the tenth anniversary of the organization. Publicolor received the president's service award in 2000 from the points of light foundation from president clinton at the white house. Other organizations that have recognized publicolor include mayor bloomberg's serve our schools, the walt disney voluntears award, the donna hanover cool school award, the community action network service award. Guidestar awarded publicolor its gold level status. Paint club, publicolor's introductory program, engages at-risk students in the revitalization of low-performing middle and high schools. Participants learn commercial painting skills as well as strong, transferable work habits such as time management, attention to detail, and teamwork. Fy2017 saw the transformation of 12 schools and 18 additional community sites bringing the total to over 450 schools, playgrounds, and community facilities transformed since its inception. Color club meets 3 days a week (2 weekday afternoons and all day saturday), from september to june. Color club is dedicated to career/life skills workshops and academic tutoring and served 81 students in fy2017 from grades 7-10. Upon completion of the paint club program, 6-10 students most in need of intervention are invited from each school to join the continuum beginning with color club. Students attend weekly workshops exploring life skills, design careers, financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and health and wellness, plus weekly academic tutoring and saturday community service at painting sites. Guest presenters and cultural enrichment trips augment workshop learning. Next steps also meets 3 days/week (2 weekday afternoons and all day saturday), form september to june. Next steps is a college and career preparation program that served 51 11th and 12th graders in fy2017. Building upon the color club model, it offers weekly college and career prep workshops and academic tutoring, plus saturday participation at school and community paint sites. College planning, aligned with career interests, features sat prep, financial aid guidance, college search and application support, and two multi-day, multi-campus college tours. Students have daily access to a computer lab for research and writing. To help students navigate the transition to college, volunteer mentors are paired with all seniors and college freshmen. Publicolor college scholarships for community service are offered to next steps graduates in college and post-secondary accreditation programs to help bridge the gap between the financial aid they are helped to access and the full cost of college. Publicolor provided 132 college students with scholarships in fy2017, up to $6,000 per year. Summer design studio is a seven-week program that immerses students in math and literacy through design and fights summer learning loss. It served 74 students in fy2017. It is deliberately held at pratt university so students experience life on a college campus and learn from design educators. Product design workshops included mastering the adobe suite in computer lab as well as hands-on product design. In fy2017, the s. A. T. Classwork for 11th graders registered an average 27% rise in pre-to post-diagnostic s. A. T. Scores after their summer classes (a 31% increase in math and a 24% increase in critical reading). This year all 74 students were given a pre- and post-diagnostic test to measure summer learning loss. The sds cohort evidenced no learning loss over the course of the seven weeks. In fact, their reading scores improved by 3% and their math scores improved by 5% from the pre-diagnostic to the post-diagnostic. Fresh coat is publicolor's semi-professional painting crew comprised of up to 17 active next steps students, and in fy2017 they transformed 18 community sites, deepening their knowledge of commercial painting. Each year publicolor students receive their first job experience through one of these programs, and get the opportunity to work next to one of the 1,120+ volunteers who informally mentor them by describing their jobs and the education needed to do them.