Letter from the Interim CEO
I am excited to step into the position of Interim President and CEO of the Trust, after serving as the Vice President for External Affairs. I look forward to providing the leadership needed to support the work of our staff, grantees and partners that help our youth thrive. These are exciting times at the Trust after a successful summer that included coordinating the Mayor's One City Summer Initiative, and funding nearly 80 programs with over 3,000 youth participating in programs ranging from sports to college campus tours to arts enrichment. We are carrying that momentum into the fall as we support new learning and enrichment opportunities for youth after-school.
The One City Summer Initiative, a collaboration between District agencies and community-based organizations to provide high-quality summer programming to District youth, reached more than 40,000 youth, and served 26,000 meals daily through the DC Free Summer Meals program. Many Trust-funded organizations ran programs in the Initiative's target areas.
On September 27th, we co-hosted the One City Summer Community Conversation and Debrief with the DC Alliance of Youth Advocates and the National Summer Learning Association to highlight the One City Summer Initiative and the significant impact that summer programs have on learning and development of DC's youth. Attendees heard presentations from the Trust, Higher Achievement Program, DC SCORES and the National Summer Learning Association. For more information about how summer programs are making a difference, read our fact sheet.
We are grateful for the continued support of the District's leadership and our partners. With their support, we are committed to continuing to provide the same great opportunities for District youth to stay safe, engaged, enriched and learning in this school year. We also will continue to increase the delivery of high-quality youth programming by supporting the development of District agencies and community-based organizations that serve our youth.
Lastly, we thank Judge Mary Terrell for her service and commitment to the Trust during the recent transition period. We appreciate the energy she brought to the office each day.
We thank you for your support!
Ed Davies
Interim CEO
Trust Sets Example for Coordination of After-school Programs
The Trust was recently highlighted in a new report by the National League of Cities: Building Management Information Systems to Coordinate Citywide Afterschool Programs: A Toolkit for Cities. The toolkit offers municipal leaders a detailed guide for utilizing technology that can help organize local after-school programs.
The report featured the 2008 efforts of the Trust to replace the organization’s outdated management information system in order to more effectively oversee afterschool programs and manage outcome reporting. Part of this process included mapping out the roles of each of the Trust staff and their grantees and charting how they might interact with a new system to track student attendance, review management information, and manage grant cycles.
Thanks to a new evaluation system implemented in 2008, the Trust is now able to coordinate youth programs and track outcomes more efficiently. Read about the efforts of other organizations to update their systems in the report (pdf).
Trust Announces Out-of-School Time Grants to Keep Students Safe and Learning Outside of School Hours
School is back in session, and that means the kickoff of exciting new after-school programs that will help youth improve their academic success, open the doors to potential careers, and encourage healthy living while keeping them safe and connected to their communities.
The Trust has announced $1.9 million in grants to 43 programs, including City Dance Ensemble’s Dream Program, a dance education and service-learning program offered in Ward 7 that teaches students how to use dance as a tool for self-expression, promoting change, and community engagement. Students meet for four hours every week and will be given the opportunity to perform a half-time show at a Washington Wizards game at the Verizon Center.
Also in Ward 7, City Gate Inc. offers afterschool science activities that will teach elementary and middle school students about the world around them through hands-on activities such as “solar cooking,” using cardboard boxes to make a solar oven in order to test which one is a better conductor of solar energy. One Saturday every month, participants will be invited to attend fun, engaging field trips in the metropolitan area along with American University students.
Across the District, 1,200 youth will have the opportunity to stay safe, have fun, and remain academically engaged even after the school day lets out through Trust-funded programs.
Save the Date: Oct. 18 for Lights on Afterschool
 On Thursday, October 18, the Trust will host a 13th annual Lights On Afterschool celebration at the Wilson Building to raise awareness about the need for after-school programs to keep children safe, assist working families, improve attendance and high school completion, and inspire learning.
In the U.S., one in four youth, or 15 million children, are left alone and unsupervised after school hours. Last year, the Trust’s celebration was one of more than 7,500 Lights on Afterschool events being held across the country, bringing students, educators, and community members together to draw attention to the issue and urge lawmakers not to cut funding for after-school programs during times of budgetary constraints.
More than one million people are expected to take part in Lights on Afterschool celebrations this year. The events will give youth a chance to showcase what they learn at their afterschool programs, and send the message that these programs need to be made available to millions more children across the nation.
Trust’s CityScope Summit Brings Youth Together to Discuss the Environment
 On Aug. 15, the Trust hosted a summit for youth from 12 programs across the District to explore local environmental issues and cap off a summer of participating in the CityScope project. View our video from this inspiring event!
Through CityScope, young students discussed issues such as pollution and waste management, water and power usage, food sources, urban habitats and youth activism using a hands-on field guide called “What’s Good in My Hood,” created by environmental educator Akiima Price and the New York Restoration Project. At the summit, the youth reflected on what they had learned over the summer and heard from a panel of local environmental experts. Together, they explored ideas to promote environmental efforts through the artistic media of murals, spoken word and photography.
The Trust recently partnered with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s “Adult and Family Education” program to hold a two-day conference Sept. 10-11 with more than 200 adult students, educators, organizations and policymakers to raise awareness about the importance of adult education and discuss best practices.
The event was a culmination of recent efforts in the District to bring more attention to the importance of adult education and literacy programs. Many adult students are also parents, who are better prepared to foster the learning efforts of their children after receiving their own educational training.
In 2010, OSSE and the Trust opened the Adult and Family Education Community Resource Center, where numerous materials and resources are made available for adult students preparing for the GED, as well as DC organizations providing adult and family education services.
To learn more about the Community Resource Center, what it has to offer, and how to request materials, please call (202) 741-5531 or email tracy.winston@dc.gov.
Upcoming School’s Out shows on DCTV will highlight great local programs and discuss pressing issues in our community. Episodes will air on DCTV Focus, Comcast Channel 96, RCN 11 and FiOS 28. Click here to view the full program schedule.
New episodes will focus on adult literacy and the importance of educating parents, including footage from the recent conference for adult educators, as well the importance of the visual arts and a spotlight on Aniekan Udofia , one of the artists who took part in the Trust’s CityScope project, teaching youth how to spread awareness about environmental protection by painting a mural.
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