Jennifer and Tom Hillman - Inspiring Youth in Missouri

Jennifer and Tom Hillman - Inspiring Youth in Missouri

WE SCHOOLS IMPACT REPORT Inspiring Youth in Missouri

Prepared for Jennifer and Tom Hillman Fall, 2019

Dear Jennifer and Tom,

We continue to be deeply grateful for your friendship and steadfast commitment to empowering the next generation of leaders. Your championing of our work as Co-Chair of WE Schools in Missouri has been instrumental in supporting the growth of our programs and empowering young people to take action and inspire change.

To celebrate your foundational support, the following Impact Report highlights the incredible impacts that your generosity has had on our WE Schools programming across Missouri.

Jennifer and Tom, we cannot thank you enough for your efforts in expanding our reach and deepening our impacts across Missouri and beyond—we are truly grateful for your leadership in creating positive change that will continue to empower lives locally and around the world.

Warmest,

Craig, Marc and the WE Team

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Thank You

Jackson Park Elementary School

Through your generous support, we are empowering young people in Missouri with the tools and resources to take action and make the world a brighter place.

We are pleased to share with you the incredible impact of our WE Schools programming inMissouri over the 2018-2019 school year, delivering world-class resources for students and educators and creating transformational experiences for youth. Without your support, none of this would be possible. Thank you.

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WE Schools

WE Schools is a year-long educational program that empowers young people to be leaders of social change, challenging them to act with intention and compassion and lead with the conviction that together we can transform communities locally and globally.

WE Schools is implemented in classrooms and after-school clubs. It is a movement of youth and educators who believe that some of the most powerful learning experiences happen when you make a meaningful difference in your communities and for the world.

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In the United States

Thanks to your support, we have scaled the reach of WE Schools across the United States to support diverse youth populations in becoming leaders, change-makers and problem solvers. In the 2018-2019 school year, over 2 million students from more than 6,900 school groups participated in or were impacted by WE Schools—a 18% increase in the number of schools engaged since 2017-2018, and a 65% increase since 2016-2017. In the United States during the 2018-2019 academic year,WESchools created a total social impact value of over $177 million in support of local and global issues. These impacts were created from fundraising initiatives, youth volunteerism and local food collection. As part of our cause-inclusive programs, WE Schools groups supported over 480 local organizations and 2,100 global organizations, totaling over 2,580 unique organizations.

Our WE Schools team has been able to improve engagement with schools and has developed a host of new opportunities, creating positive outcomes for American youth around academic engagement, workplace and college readiness and active citizenship. Of the participating WE Schools educators in the 2018-2019 school year: 85% agreed that their students demonstrate increased leadership among their peers. 84% agreed that their students are more capable of effectively voicing their own opinions. 84% agreed that their students feel a greater connection to their local community. 84% agreed that their students have developed stronger communication skills. 82% agreed that their students are more able to work effectively and respectfully in diverse teams.

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WE Schools

KIPP High School

In the 2018-2019 school year, WE Schools groups in Missouri created a total social impact value of over $1.5 million in support of local and global issues.

This impact was generated from three major streams: fundraising initiatives, value of youth volunteerism and value of local food collection.

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In Missouri

In Missouri during the 2018-2019 school year, there were 195 WE Schools groups , involving more than 45,000 youth and over 580 educators . The most frequent local issue tackled by WE Schools groups in Missouri was hunger and the most frequent global cause supported was ensuring access to clean water . To take action on these issues, the most common initiatives

led by students were food drives, coin drives, class presentations to educate and inform their peers and volunteering within their communities. As part of our cause-inclusive programs, youth supported both local and global organizations through their actions. 64% of WE School groups volunteered , while 38% undertook fundraising initiatives . More than 57,000 volunteer hours were registered. Additionally, program participants from school groups across Missouri had the opportunity to participate in action planning sessions with WE motivational speakers to inspire, explore issues, develop their talents and identify ways to engage their community.

“Students showed their ability to have their voices heardbytheirschool,communityandbyprominent leaders, funders and political figures in St. Louis. They were able to articulate their message and stand firm in their dedication to create a network of service learning for our program to be carried on for years to come” - Educator, St. Louis, Missouri For educators, professional learning sessions provide resources, tools, coaching and opportunities for collaboration, to share best practices for engaging youth in service-learning. In the 2018-2019 school year, the WE Schools team facilitated seven in-person professional learning sessions, reaching over 150 educators . In 2019-2020, WE Schools Missouri will convene young people from across St. Louis for our Youth Leadership Summit . Students will engage in skill-building and action planning while their educators learn and collaborate together. Groups will return to their communities feeling energized and equipped to create impacts on the issues that matter most to them.

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Missouri Educator Builds Bridges to Inspire Healing

A lifetime of bringing people together to change communities makes Dr. Art McCoy of Jennings, Missouri, a stand-out educator.

Creating connections has been a central theme in Dr. Art McCoy’s life. He was 15 years old when he first discovered that he could speak out and that others would listen. His spark came in 1991, during a time of upheaval in Los Angeles following the historic Rodney King trial. After the verdict in 1992, angry protests erupted across the city. Watching the violence from his home in the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, nearly 2,000 miles away, McCoy saw the seeds of similar protests all around him. He wondered if there wasn’t some way to build a bridge across the racial divide in his community before it too exploded into violence. McCoy started a youth mediation group with some of his friends, and soon they were intervening in fights among their classmates, stopping disagreements before they could escalate.“That’s when I really felt that calling and I said: ‘Okay, this is what I think I want to do for the rest of my life.’”

Today, McCoy is the superintendent of Missouri’s Jennings School District, overseeing eight schools and thousands of students. He continues to work to break the cycles of violence in his community, using dialogue to enlighten and resources, such as those provided by WE, to engage and empower.“First, you need to enlighten people to the various voices in their community,” he explains. “We need to honor voices and value what people bring to the table based on their background.” For him, this has meant creating opportunities where people can engage in honest dialogue and 2014 put this principle to the test. That year, the shooting of Michael Brown, a former student from one of McCoy’s schools, set off a firestorm of protests across the country, similar to those that followed the Rodney King trial. McCoy spent the next two years working to keep lines of communication open and, in the end, was able to bring about a reconciliation

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Press play to learn more about Dr. McCoy and the WE Teachers Program

between Brown’s mother Lezley McSpadden and the Ferguson Police Department. The two have gone on to build a community garden for the school that Brown, and his brothers attended. A natural teacher, who easily engages others, McCoy is also more than a teacher. As a superintendent, he’s championed collaborations with local hospitals to provide health care for students and encouraged his teachers to use WE’s new WE Teachers resources in their classrooms. Made possible by Walgreens, the WE Teachers program aims to support America’s teachers by providing free resources to help them address critical social issues with their students. The program has helped McCoy and his teachers talk frankly with students about bullying, pov- erty and empathy in their community. For his work as an outstanding educator, McCoy was honored onstage at WE Day California in April 2019 and presented with a surprise $25,000

WE Teachers award from Walgreens to help the educators in his district buy much-needed school supplies.“The beauty of the WE curric- ulum is that it allows for such engaging ser- vice-learning leadership, and that engagement is key,” says McCoy. “Once you’re engaged and enlightened, then empowerment occurs be- cause you feel the power of leading your space to a new place—a better place.” For McCoy, this empowerment is personal. He grew up poor; both of his parents were disabled. But his teachers stepped in to make sure he was okay and got extra help in school whenever he needed it. He credits his teachers for making him who he is today and works to make sure that the teachers in his school district are able to share that transformational power with their students. “Our teachers are empowered to change the trajectory of entire families and communities.”

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Stories of Inspiration

The WE Warriors Project Leadership class of Jennings Junior High spent the 2018-2019 school year promoting literacy and raising funds for international water projects through their participation in the campaigns WE Read Together and WE Walk for Water. In November, the group kickstarted their year by hosting a Book Cafe which featured reading tables dedicated to different genres. “Each table had a book that you had to read for a short while to get a sense of it and then you’d write down how you felt about it,” said Wade, an interventionist at the school and coordinator of the class. “It was very exciting.” In March, the group organized their second WE Walk for Water campaign. Students, staff and school administration walked 2.8 miles with containers of water, emphasizing the challenges millions of people face trying to access clean water. “I learned to not always think about myself and that when you do positive things for people it makes you feel good, like a better person,” shares Eight Grade student Jasone. “My grades have also improved. I think it’s because I’m more focused and thinking of others.” Jennings Junior High School Marian Middle School The students at Marian Middle School in St. Louis have been heavily engaged with the WE Schools campaign, WE Volunteer Now. Students and their parents were encouraged to participate in an educational workshop regarding the experiences of refugees and immigrants new to America. They participated in language courses, had guest speakers from immigrant-owned local businesses and attended the International Institute’s annual holiday market. Following the service-learning day, those involved volunteered their time to creating postcards that were shared with children in refugee camps as well as detention centers around the globe.

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WE Day Community St. Louis

WE Day is a powerful, life-changing experience with world-renowned speakers and performers, mixed with real, inspirational stories of change. Students can’t buy a ticket toWE Day; they earn their way by taking local and global actions through the WE Schools program. On April 3rd, 2019, WE Day Community St. Louis brought together 3,000 students from across Missouri, to celebrate and honor their commitment to service and creating positive change throughout the year. The full-day event featured renowned speakers, innovative thought leaders and remarkable youth who are making a positive impact. Some of this year’s inspiring guests included Millie Davis, Marcus Scribner, Madeline Domian, Larry Hughes, Martin Luther King III and Kenidra Woods. Local youth speakers also took the stage to share words of inspiration about important topics that have impacted young people across Missouri including diversity, overcoming socioeconomic barriers, homelessness, literacy and the environment.

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Scaling Our Impact

AP® with WE Service

WE has partnered with the College Board to develop enhanced Advanced Placement® Program (AP®) courses that integrate 30 hours of service-learning into the core content of each course. Our exclusive partnership combines the academic challenge and rigor of AP with WE Schools’ service learning and citizenship model. In the 2018-2019 school year, nine schools across Missouri participated in AP with WE Service. AP with WE Service creates an opportunity for students to work closely with their peers to address complex social issues, and apply content and skills from their AP courses to local and global causes through innovation, creativity and critical thinking.

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WE Well-being

WE Well-being is equipping people of all ages with the tools they need to foster social, emotional, physical and mental well-being.

When asked about their first year in WE Well-being...

We have successfully completed stage one of the WE Well-being pilot. The pilot was developed in collaboration with leading experts and world-renowned organizations to bring the cutting-edge science of well- being into classrooms across Canada and the United States. The WE Well-being pilot involved over 250 educators and impacted more than 7,000 students. The inaugural program was developed for students in grades 4-6. Modules focused on unpacking social and emotional learning, mental health literacy and the brain science behind mental health research. Educators identified increased empathy, self-awareness, leadership and improved self-image and confidence as the top areas of growth for their students participating in the pilot. One key takeaway was that 88% of educators requested access to resources online, which has allowed us to leverage technology to scale professional learning.

88% of educators said their participation has benefited them professionally. 85% of educators said their experience was positive or very positive. 80% of educators said they personally used the things they learned through the program to support their own well-being.

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Jennings School District

Together We Can Change the World

Thank you for your support of WE Schools inMissouri! Together, we are inspiring local youth to take action on issues they are passionate about and empowering them to make a difference in our communities.

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