Greetings from the Executive Director

Welcome to the Old Stone Center for Education.  The staff, Board of Trustees, and our students would like to thank you for your interest and support of the future of the student/families of greater Cleveland. We very much appreciate your on-going financial and volunteer support of our program.  With the encouragement of area foundations, corporations and individuals, we are determined to provide the best possible education in academics, parenting, and workforce skills for the mothers of Cleveland who did not complete their high school experience due to childcare issues and economic hardships. 

Our students and staff completed a very successful 2008-2009 academic year. We had 125 participants compared to the 2007-2008 academic year of 98, a 28 percent increase.  We had 73 students improve their academic standing and/or pass their GED practice or official test. We saw 22 students pass their GED test, two passed their OGT test (Ohio Graduation Test), and four others passed the GED practice test.  We had an 83 percent increase in GED graduates over the previous academic year.  Four of our graduates enrolled in Kent State University’s Life Program, a program designed specifically for single mothers.  In addition, six graduates began their college education at Cuyahoga Community College in September. 

Our community and those we serve continue to face many challenges and obstacles in their quest for a life of independence and self-sufficiency. “The data is overwhelming that teen pregnancy has a negative impact on education and employment,” says James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit.  “While that is a problem during any economic cycle, it becomes even more negative during a recession.”  The amount of students not completing their high school careers within the Cleveland School District and around the country is alarming. Nearly a third of the nation’s graduating class each year drops out of high school, affecting 1.2 million teenagers.  In Cleveland it is much worse with almost two out of every three students not earning a diploma.  The reasons for this huge drop-out rate ranges from pregnancy and poverty, to discipline problems, and for many a simple lack of interest in the curriculum.  Research shows that people who have children in their teens are less likely to get a high school diploma or go on to college. After declining for 15 years, the teen pregnancy rate is now on the rise in the United States, which has by the far the highest rate in the industrialized world.  Only 40 percent of teen moms who give birth at age 17 or earlier finish high school according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. 

The need for an education is critical.  According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, an American worker with less than a high school education can expect to earn an average salary of $19,000 a year, compared to $26,200 for a high school-only graduate, and $42,200 for a worker with a bachelor’s degree. Again the numbers in Cleveland are far worse, as data shows that without a high school diploma or a GED the average income is $11,000. Due to these results and other trends, such as greater amount of competition in the workforce, and a decrease in manufacturing positions in the Midwest, enrollment in adult education was up 21 percent from 2007 to 2008 and projected to rise another 27 percent this year.  According to Marguerite Kondracke, chief executive officer of America’s Promise Alliance, “A high school graduate could count on a factory job or a Rust Belt job, but no longer.” 

As a staff and community, we continue to search for ways to ensure greater participation and successes for our students.  We have added components to the program and to the marketing arm of the organization to best serve the families of Northeast Ohio:

• In partnership with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland we are offering a Big Sister/Mentoring Program to our students with area volunteers. The program began in the spring of 2009. The goal is to match students with area women who want to make a difference in a family’s life.  Our hope is that by providing a positive role model in our student’s lives, they will understand the correlation between attitude, attendance, education, and success! We currently have 22 Big Sister/Student matches.
  
  
• In collaboration with the Heights Parenting Center, home visits have become a piece of our Parenting Program offering.  The visits include the following topics:  Children learning through play, choosing the right toys for your children, how to transition your child from one activity to the next, language development, and black history for children.
  
  
• We presented our first ever fundraiser on March 19th, 2010.  The event was called “A Day of Caring-Volunteer Fair” (see more in the News section under WKYC/NBC) and took place at the Intercontinental Hotel.  Eighty non-profits attended and shared their missions and volunteer/mentoring opportunities with the caring community.  Following the volunteer fair we hosted a luncheon and a keynote address by the former editor-in-chief of Essence Magazine, Ms. Susan L. Taylor.  Ms. Taylor spoke about the importance of mentoring, and encouraged our audience of over 450 people to get involved and make a difference in our community.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about our program.  We hope that you get involved by volunteering or investing in our community and student’s futures. 

For further information or questions about the program please go to Contact Us.

Marc Nathanson
Executive Director
Old Stone Education Center