Greetings from the Executive Director

On behalf of myself Marc Nathanson, the staff, board of directors and our students, the Old Stone Foundation wants to welcome you to our website, and thank you for your interest in our program.

This year will be a year of transition. Our long-time and dedicated Executive Director of 13 years, Arthur Mayers, retired, and I will have the difficult task of replacing Art’s energy, dedication, and his success in turning a great idea into a great organization!

Since 1994, we have served almost 1400 students, and of those, more than 40 percent have passed their official GED test. This school year we have had more than 65 enrollees, and 42 participants, and of those, 10 students have passed their GED test and four others passed their practice tests, and are preparing to take the official test. Each of the ten students who passed their GED has participated in our SIMS (School-to Work) program, and 6 students have enrolled in college or vocational training.

As a mature program we continue to evaluate our curriculum and our student’s needs, and identify the plusses and minuses of the program, and add new pieces when needed. We currently have two major challenges/opportunities; enrolling additional students, and maintaining consistent attendance.

We are pleased to report that our relationship with Dr. Eugene Sanders, the CEO of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and his staff continues to grow and thrive. Our staff has been working with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s supportive team to find ways to increase our student enrollment. The following are some of our new initiatives:

• Create posters and flyers to market and introduce the program to the service community and the students lacking a GED certificate. The posters and flyers will be placed in buses and rapids throughout the city, in the supportive service department arms of the school district, i.e. the principals, guidance counselors, nurses, office of Adult and Continuing Education, Office of Youth and Supportive Services, and Office of Health and Supportive Services.
• Distribute flyers and start dialogue with area neighborhood centers, hospitals, and parent organizations.
• Updating the Old Stone Foundation website.

We have added a couple of initiatives to ensure a greater consistency in attendance:

• Prior to the first of the year, the schedule for the school was classes on Monday thru Thursday. We have experimented this spring with Friday classes. We will continue to monitor the attendance this school year before we permanently add Friday to our schedule.
• We have also added a Cash Award Incentive Program. This type of program has been used very effectively in other parts of the country. The program and incentives begin after the student has had 30 days of consistent attendance. Once the attendance reaches this benchmark a student will be awarded cash incentives based on increasing grade level performances on their reading and math tests which are taken each month, for passing the GED practice test, and finally passing the official GED test.
• And finally, we are exploring the addition of a Big Sister/Mentoring program next school year. You will find the details of the program in the Volunteer section of the website.

We continue to be blessed by a diversified group of community resources. Our revenues come from board members, individuals, businesses, and foundations. In a difficult economic environment we continue to find investors in our program and students that allow us to provide the services our students need to pursue their educational and employment desires and dreams. We continue to be supported by the Old Stone Church, who allows us free rent in our beautiful surroundings. The School District supports the Old Stone Center for Education by providing their expertise, and by providing funding for a portion of our teacher’s salaries.

Again, we thank you for learning about our program and considering your support as a volunteer or investor in our program and families who have as their goal a better life for themselves and their children.