DellsProject2020

LizettHernandez
VivianNguyen
PhillipPlymell
AlexTrevizo

TableofContents
Abstract
3
SectionI:AnIntroductiontoProject2020
4
A. Introduction
4
B. SchoolProfileatSouthOakCliffHighSchool
5
C. StandardizedTestScores

5
D. HouseholdFinancesatSouthOakCliffHighSchool

6
E. ConclusionofSectionI

6
SectionII:MissionandValues

6
SectionIV:LogisticsofProject2020
SectionIII:Partnerships
A. DallasIndependentSchoolDistrict
7
B. EducationisFreedomandCommunityintheSchools7
C. DallasCountyCommunityCollegeDistrict
7
D. UniversityofTexasatDallas

7
SectionIV:ClassroomProfile
8
SectionV:Budget

8
A. ExpenseBreakdown
8
B. SubsidizedCosts
9
C. Scholarships
9
WorksCited
10

Abstract

Intodayssociety,ahighschooldegreeisoftenoverlookedbecausemostemployersexpect
everyonetheyhiretohaveacertainlevelofhigherlevelofeducation.Thishascastaspotlight
onsomeparticularhighschools,andevenschooldistricts,fortheirlowgraduationrates.
Usually,thereareseveralfactorsthatcontributetoastudentnotgraduatingfromhighschool,but
nonelargerthanthestudentsaccessibilitytoresources.

DallasIndependentSchoolDistricthasworkedtoslowlyimprovetheirgraduationratesoverthe
years,butoneschoolinparticularhasnotseenmuchimprovement.Approximately81percentof
thestudentsatSouthOakCliffHighSchoolaredeemedatrisktonotgraduate.Thisnumber
stronglycorrelatestothesocioeconomicmakeupoftheirfamilieswithnearly90percentofthe
studentpopulationconsideredtobelivinginahouseholdonthelowestendofthesocioeconomic
scale.DellsProject2020willgivethestudentsofSouthOakClifftheresourcestheyneedto
graduatehighschool,and,notonlyprepare,butencouragethesestudentstofurthertheir
education.

Project2020isaninitiativethatfocusesonimprovingstandardizedtestingscoresandgraduation
retentionratesfortheupcomingfreshmanclassofSouthOakCliffH.S.,aswellasguidingthem
throughtheprocessofcollegeadmissionsandsecuringfinancialaid.Ourmissionistoprovidea
stimulatingeducationalenvironmentthatadvocateshighexpectationsforsuccessthrough
reinforcedinstructionthatpromotesprofessionalgrowth.

Thisenterprisewillbeverycostefficient,withSouthOakCliffH.S.offeringclassrooms
availableafterschool,laptopsbeingdonatedbyDell,andvolunteersfromtheUniversityof
TexasatDallastohelpleadtheprogram.Thecostoftheprogramwilllargelyconsistofthe
necessarycollegepreparatorybooksandofficesupplies.

Educationisnecessaryinordertosucceedintheworldwelivein,butsadlyitisnotuniversally
madeapriorityfortheyouth.Project2020willattempttorectifythemajorlackofresources
availabletoSouthOakCliffHighSchoolinhopesthattheirstudentswillonedayhavethe
opportunitytoimprovetheirsocioeconomicstatusandinturnperpetuatethecycleofeducation
byprovidingthenecessaryresourcesfortheirfamily.

SectionI:AnIntroductiontoProject2020

A.Introduction
Project2020wascreatedtoassistthestudentsofSouthOakCliffHighSchoolinimprovingtheir
academics.SouthOakCliffislocatedinthesouthsideofDallas,Texas.PartsofOakCliff
consistofoneofthemostimpoverishedareasinDallas.SouthOakCliffHighSchoolisunder
sourcedandtheschoolitself,isinshambles.Studentsacademicperformancecorrelatestotheir
learningenvironment,andwiththeschoolfallingapart,theiracademicswillfollowsuit.

Recently,theDallasIndependentSchoolDistrictreceived$1.6billiontowardsimprovements
andrenovationsacrosstheschooldistrict.Fortunately,$13millionwillgotowardsSouthOak
Cliff.Withtheschoolitselfbeingimproved,theeducationsystemneedstoimproveaswell.
Eventhoughastudentslearningenvironmentislinkedtotheirsuccess,theireducationisalso
pertinentaswell.

B.SchoolProfileatSouthOakCliffHighSchool
Everyyear,thestudentsofSouthOakCliffstrugglewiththeiracademics.Theirstatisticshave
fallenwithinthepreviousyears.Onlytwothirdsoftheteacherswhowereemployedinthe
previousschoolyear,decidedtoreturntoSouthOakCliffthisyear.Thedistricthasbeenhaving
tohireathirdoftheschoolsteacherseveryyear.Thisisduetotheworkingconditionsand
retentionrates.SouthOakCliffhascontinuedtostruggleyearbyyearandtherehasbeennohelp
forthesechildrentoimprove.Inthecurrentschoolyear,over81percentofthestudentswere
consideredatrisk.Thesestudentswereprojectstograduatelaterthantheirpeersorultimately
dropout,inwhichalmostseventypercentofthestudentsfellwithinthelatter.Onlyalittlemore
thanfourpercentofthestudentsatSouthOakCliffwereconsideredgiftedandtalented.Therest
ofthestudents,whichisaboutfourteenpercent,areconsideredsatisfactoryintheiracademics.
Theamountofstudentswhoareatriskcontinuestoincreaseeveryyearandthislinkstotheir
familyenvironment.


C.StandardizedTestScores
StandardizedtestingisahugeproblemforthestudentsatSouthOakCliffHighSchool.Alarge
partofdeterminingtheeducationalstatusofaschoolisthestudentstestscorescomparedtothe
averageforthedistrict.AtSouthOakCliffHighSchool,thestudentstestscoresforthePSAT,
SAT,ACT,APExams,andSTAARfallwellbelowthedistrictaverage.

Intherecentschoolyear,outofallthestudentswhotookthePSAT,onlyeightpercentwere
collegereadyincriticalreading.Thegoalfortheschooltoreachwasabout33%.Thesestudents
alsoaveragedat7%formathematicsandamere5%forwritin.Thegoalsis33%and30%
respectively.ThePSATisacrucialtestforthesestudentssincemostofthesestudentscome
fromlowsocioeconomicstatuses,studentswhoscoreinthetoppercentileareeligiblefor
qualificationintheNationalMeritProgramaswellastheCommendedProgramiftheirscores
th
fallrightatthe96
percentile.Theseprogramsprovidestudentswithrecognitionfromcolleges
andextrascholarshipopportunities.

StudentsstruggledevenmorewiththeSATsandACTs.TheSATsandACTsarethemost
importanttestsforcolleges.Thesetestsareevaluatedandusedforcollegeadmissionsthroughout
thenation.Inthe2015schoolyear,outofallthestudentsatSouthOakCliffwhotookeitherthe
SATsorACTs,only2%ofthetesttakersweredeemedcollegereadywiththegoalbeingat
40%.The2%ofthetesttakersmadetheminimumscoreneededtobeconsideredcollegeready.
Mostcollegesrequireamuchhigherscoretobeevenconsideredinthecompetitivepool.

Asforadvancedplacement,orAP,courses,noneofthestudentswhotookanyoftheAPtests
qualified.Theaveragetestscorewasalittleoveraoneinwhichascoreofatleastathreewould
beconsideredqualifying.TheAPexamsmeasureswhoqualifiedthestudentsareinmastering
thecoursematerialofaparticularsubjectovertheschoolyear.APExamsareimportantfor
collegesbecausestudentscanusethesescorestocreditoutoftherespectivecollegecourses.

EvenwiththeSTAARtest,thefundamentaltestthatstudentshavetotakeinordertoassesstheir
knowledgeandmoveontothefollowinggrade,studentsstruggled.Manyofthestudents
receivedextremelylowscoresforallsubjects.Onlyahandfulofstudentsreceivedpassing
scoreswithanaverageof15%inEnglish,5%inalgebraI,25%inbiology,and29%percentin
U.S.history.
4

D.HouseholdFinancesatSouthOakCliffHighSchool
Astudentsacademicshighlycorrelatestotheirfamilyssocioeconomicstatus.Mostofthe
studentsatSouthOakCliffHighSchoolcomefromalowersocioeconomicfamily.Apersons
socioeconomicstatusismeasuredusingthreemainvariableseducation,income,andoccupation.
Studentswhocomefromlowersocioeconomicstatushavebeenproventodevelopacademic
skillsmuchmoreslowlythantheirpeersduetothelackofalearningenvironmentgrowingup.
Sincemostofthesestudentsparentsareeitherilliterateorlimitedineducation,thestudents
werenotexposedtoacademics.Mostofthesestudentseducationscomefromthepublicschool
systemtheirhomeliferarelyexhibitslearning.Thisproblemisduetotheparentsinabilityto
provideforthesestudentsacademically.Theparentsarenotabletohelptheirchildrenwiththeir
schoolwork.Theylackedthefinancestosupplythesekidswithbooks,schoolsupplies,and
computerstoenhancetheirlearning.Thesestudentswereunabletoattendafterschooltutoring
programtofurtherhelptheminschool.Overtime,thesestudentscontinuetofallbehindin
schoolandtheirgradesexposethisfact.

E.ConclusionofSectionI
Basedonthesestatistics,itisevidentthatthesestudentsarenotonlystrugglingwiththeirdayto
dayclasses,butwiththestandardizedtestsaswell.Manyofthesestudentsarefallingbehind
comparedtotheirpeers.Duetothesefacts,SouthOakCliffHighSchoolwaschosenforProject
2020.ManymorestudentsatSouthOakCliffareconsideredatriskthanthesurroundingschools
intheDallasIndependentSchoolDistrict.Ahighpercentageofthesestudentscomefromlow
socioeconomicfamiliesaswell.

Project2020isheretoprovidethesestudentswiththenecessarycourseworkandattentionto
improvethesestudentsstudyhabitsandeducation.WiththehelpProject2020willprovide,the
studentsatSouthOakCliffHighSchoolwillhaveachancetomoveontohighereducationand
toonedayimprovetheirsocioeconomicstatusesaswell.

SectionII:Mission,Values,andGoals

ThevisionofProject2020istoenhancethelivingconditionsinwhichthiscommunitycurrently
livesin.Thisprojectbelievesthatinordertoachievethiswewillneedtostartwiththechildren.
SouthOakCliffHighSchoolhassomeofthelowesttestgrades.Project2020wantstochange
thefutureofnotonlythesekids,butforfuturegenerationstocome.Theplantoimprovethe
retentionrate,increasegraduationsratesandpromotecollegeenrollment.Manyofthesechildren
donothavethechancetograduatebecausetheydonothavetheguidancenecessarytosucceed.
Thegraduationrateswouldincreasewiththemorestudentsweareabletoretain.

SectionIII.LogisticsofProject2020

StudentsatSouthOakCliffHighSchoolarenotgivingthe
toolsnecessarytogotocollege.Project2020planstohave
everystudentinvolvedinourprogramtoapplyforcollege.
Theywillbepreparedandcoachedthroughouttheirhigh
schoolsophomoreandjunioryears.Therewillbepeople
availabletohelpthestudentstourcampuses,filloutfinancial
aid,guidethroughtheapplicationprocessandmotivatethem
alongtheway.

A.CollegePrepClasses
Applyingforcollegecanbedaunting,Project2020commitstohelpinganyonethatneedsthe
help.Receivingafull4yearscholarshipshouldbeeveryonesgoal.Project2020willbehelping
studentswithFAFSA(FreeApplicationforFederalStudentAid).Scholarshipswillalsobe
providedasmotivation.Everystudentdeservestofeelasifthereissomeoneinhisorhercorner.
Therewillbefieldtripsplannedtotakestudentsoncampustours.Eachstudentwillhavethe
opportunitytoapplytothecollegeoftheirchoiceandnotfeellostintheprocess.Therewillalso
beworkshopstoteachstudentshowtowritelikeprofessionals,talktoadultsanddressfor
collegeinterviews.

B.SAT/ACTTutoring
SchoolrecordsindicatethatmostoftheirstudentsdonottaketheSATorACT.TheSATis
madeupoftwocomponents,Section1Reading/WritingandSection2Math.Studentshave
3
hoursplus50minutesfortheEssay.Theyfocusontheknowledge,skills,andunderstandings
thatresearchhasidentifiedasmostimportantforcollegeandcareerreadinessandsuccess.
Project2020willchangethatthegoalistoimplementmoreclassesthatwillallowstudentsto
getextrahelpfortheSATs.Wewillencourageourstudentstogetenrolledintotheseclasses.
OurtutorswillbeavailabletohelpourstudentswithSAT/ACT.Ithasbeenplannedintoour
budgettogetprepbooksandlaptopsnecessarytostudythematerial.

C.AdvancePlacementReviews
APreviewswillbehostedthewholemonthofJanuary.Wewouldliketobreakdownthe
materialsothatstudentsdonotbecomeoverwhelmedwithinformation.Tutorswillbehelping
studentsachieveinthefollowingsubjectsMath,English,History,andWriting.Theywill
performseveralmockexamsandtheywillbetestedrepeatedlyuntiltheyfeelcomfortablewith
theinformation.Thisparticularexamsteststudentsonhowwelltheknowthematerial,thescore
isfrom1to5.Thehighestscoreastudentcanachieveis5thestudentsthatjoinProject2020
willguidedbycollegestudentswhoareadvancedintheirsubject.
6

SectionIV:Partnerships

Project2020willpartnerwithsixorganizations.Thesixorganizationsare:DallasIndependent
SchoolDistrict,EducationisFreedom,CommunityintheSchools,DallasCountyCommunity
CollegeDistrict,andtheUniversityofTexasatDallastheseorganizationswillplayan
importantroleinthesuccessoftheprogram.

A.DallasIndependentSchoolDistrict
TheDallasIndependentSchoolDistrictwillworkwithProject2020tosetgoals,objectivesand
actionplansforthestudents.Settingthiscriteriawillallowtheprogramtomeasuretheprogress
ofstudentprosperonasemesterbysemesterbasis.Inaddition,thiswillalsogivetheprograman
opportunitytomakeadjustmentstothecurriculumbasedontheresultsreceivedonasemester
basis.Furthermore,DISDwillassisttheprograminbuildingacommunicationchannelforthe
parents.DISDwillprovideparentenrichmenttohelpensurethestudentshavethesupportthey
needathometosucceedintheprogram.

B.EducationisFreedomandCommunityintheSchools
EducationisFreedomandCommunityintheSchoolsarecommunitypartnersthatcurrently
providestudentenrichmenttoDISDstudents.Project2020willpartnerwiththesenonprofit
organizationstocollaborateontutoringandcollegeprepcourses.

C.DallasCountyCommunityCollegeDistrict
DallasCountyCommunityCollegeDistrictwillalsoworkcloselywiththeprogram.DCCCD
employeeswillguidestudentswithcollege,FAFSAandscholarshipapplications.Inaddition,
DCCCDwillworktoenrollstudentsforDualCreditCoursesthatwillallowthestudentstoearn
collegecredithoursduringthehighschooleducation.

D.UniversityofTexasatDallas
UniversityofTexasatDallaswillalsoofferthestudentsguidanceoncollege,FAFSAand
scholarshipapplication.Theuniversitywillguidestudentstopreparethemontransitionofahigh
schoolstudenttoafreshmancollegestudent.UTDwillbeofferSouthOakCliffstudentsan
opportunitytoshadowcurrentcollegestudentsforadaythiswillcreateareallifeexperiencefor
thehighschoolstudents.

SectionV:ClassroomProfile

AllProject2020partnerswillprovidevolunteerstotheprogram.Project2020projectsthe
programwillneed24volunteersadayvolunteerswillworkforanapproximateof2hoursaday.
24volunteersadaywillallowtheprogramtotutorapproximately210studentsadayhalfofthe
studentsprojectedtoparticipateintheprogram.Therewillbesixclassroomswithtwotutorsper
classroom17:1studenttutorratio.
Studentswillbegroupedintotwogroups:GroupAandGroupB.Eachgroupwillattendtutoring
twiceaweek.GroupAwillhavetutoringonMondayandWednesdaysandGroupBwillhave
tutoringonTuesdayandThursdays.Afterregularschoolhoursstudentswillmovetothe
cafeteriafora15minutebreakprovidedwithasnackthatallowsthestudentstounwindandtake
amomenttosettleintothetutoringsession.Studentswillthenbeintutoringforaboutanhour
andahalfforeachsessionandthenreleasedfortheday.

TutoringSchedulePerDay
Group

TutoringHours

#Tutors

#Classrooms

#ofStudents

GroupA

430p615p

24

35

GroupB

430p615p

24

35

\
SectionVI:Budget

A.ExpenseBreakdown
Project2020isestimatedtocost$44,000initsentirety.Approximately420studentsare
projectedtoenrollintheprogram,sowehavecalculatedUsage/consumptionforeachofthe
requiredmaterialshasbeencalculatedinordertomaintainanaccurateprojectbudget.The
followingtablewilldetailhowthismoneywillbeallocated.

Allocation

Price

Amount

Total

$7

15

$150

$10

14

$100

$1

850

$850

SATPrepBook

$15

445

$6,675

PSATPrepBook

$25

445

$11,125

ACTPrepBook

$15

445

$6,675

APPrepBook

$15

445

$6,675

$5

50

$250

PrintingInk(per
cartridge)

$100

$500

Scholarships(95th
percentile)

$250

$1,000

Scholarships(9698th
percentile)

$500

12

$6,000

$1,000

$4,000

TOTAL

$44,000

Pencils(per72)
Pens(per60)
Notebooks

PrintingPaper(per
ream)

Scholarships(99th
percentile)

B.SubsidizedCosts
OneofthereasonsthatProject2020willbeaverycostefficientprogramisbecauseofthe
generousdonationsfromthefollowingentities:DellIncorporated,DallasIndependentSchool
District,andEducationisFreedom.
Dellwillbereducingthepotentialbudgetbynearly15%bydonatingover$6,000worth
oflaptopsforthestudentsandinstructors.

 DallasIndependentSchoolDistrictispartneringwithEducationisFreedominan
initiativetosupportthesuccessofProject2020bycommittingtoprovidesnacksforthe
studentsenrolledintheafterschoolprogram.

C.Scholarships
Finally,thescholarshipswillbedistributedtothetopfivepercentoftheenrolledclass.The
scholarshipamountwillvaryamongstthisfivepercentdependingontheirperformance.To
th
th
clarify,thosestudentsinthe95
percentilewillbeawarded$250,thestudentsinthe9698

th
percentilewillreceive$500,andthestudentsthatperformedtothe99
percentilewillreceive
$1,000.Basedontheestimatedclasssize,Project2020willbeawarding20scholarshipstotaling
$11,000.

10

References
Blackburn,H.Drew."ATaleOfTwoSchools:SouthOakCliffHighandHighlandParkFund
Disparity."
TheDailyPost
.TexasMonthly,10Dec.2015.Web.26Apr.2016.

"CompareSATSpecifications."
SATSuiteofAssessments
.TheCollegeBoard,27Feb.2015.Web.26Apr.
2016.

DallasISDEvaluation&Assessment."2016SchoolProfile."
SouthOakCliffHighSchool(TEA
#16)
(2015):14.22Oct.2015.Web.26Apr.2016

11