Annual Report FISCAL YEAR 2021 growth resilience impactTABLE OF CONTENTS Joint Letter from Our CEO and Chairman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Who We Are . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Where and How We Serve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Overview of Our Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Early Childhood Education (ECE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Out-of-School-Time (OST) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Family Support Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Looking Ahead to FY 2022 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 FY 2021 Financial Reporting, Revenue & Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Board of Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Appendix: ECE Developmental Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 View the Report for the Office of Head Start 2 | Dear Partners, The 2020-21 fiscal year was the first year marked from start to end by a global pandemic. After the Carole Robertson Center for Learning temporarily closed its doors in March 2020 during a statewide stay-at-home order, we were among the first early childhood and youth development providers in Chicago to reopen after only three months, adapting to extraordinary conditions under COVID-19 and creating new ways of delivering our high-quality programs. Throughout it all, the Center’s leadership and staff remained focused on the tenets of serving with dignity and protecting the well-being of our children, families, and staff. Despite the tremendous upheaval and change for our organization and those we serve every day, the Carole Robertson Center was able to persevere as an anchor for the communities we serve . We have centered this year’s annual report on the themes of growth, resilience, and impact . •By remaining grounded in our core values and always asking the question “If not us, who?”, we were able to capitalize on opportunities for incredible growth over the course of the year, capped off by securing a $20 million, 5-year Early Head Start expansion grant from the federal Office of Head Start to deliver high-quality programs to nearly 200 more infants and toddlers . •The remarkable dedication, endurance, and resilience of our workforce were on display as the Carole Robertson Center adapted to meet the needs of those we serve . We opened our doors during the 2020-21 school year for our out-of-school- time youth who needed a safe, conducive space to participate in remote learning . We implemented new pandemic protocols to keep our staff and families safe and healthy while limiting program closures . Throughout the pandemic, we have stood firm in our emphasis on holistic youth development, recognizing the critical role we play in supporting academic and social-emotional learning . •The Carole Robertson Center never wavered from its commitment to providing high-quality early childhood education and youth development programs with family support and mental health services undergirding all programs . We continued to adapt and respond to the needs of our children, youth, and families . For example, after recognizing the concerns around pandemic learning loss, the Center invested in staff reading specialists to work alongside our youth participants. We know that our programs and resources have a lasting impact on those we serve through academic gains, social-emotional skill development, and more . The 2020-21 fiscal year marked the beginning of an extraordinary period of growth for the Center and our ability to serve our communities . As you read the pages that follow, we hope you will appreciate not only the facts and figures from this year, but also the amazing stories that would not be possible without our dedicated partners. To our families, staff, donors, and partners, thank you for all that you have done to make this work possible at the Carole Robertson Center for Learning. In gratitude, Bela Moté PRESIDENT & CEO Carter Culver BOARD CHAIR | 3WHO WE ARE The Carole Robertson Center for Learning was founded in 1976 on the principle of being by, for, and with the communities we serve. The Carole Robertson Center is a nonprofit organization serving approximately 2,000 children, youth, and their families across Chicago, with a significant presence in the North Lawndale, Little Village, and Albany Park communities . The Center is one of the largest early childhood organizations in the City of Chicago, serving linguistically and culturally diverse populations across 27 communities . Our programs reach children at every stage of development, from prenatal to age 17 . The Center is a recognized leader in early childhood education and is accredited and recognized through national and state entities, including the National Association for the Education of Young Children (since 2004) and ExceleRate Illinois Gold Circle of Quality (since 2008) . OUR MISSION To educate, enrich, and empower children and families. Our mission is rooted in the legacy of Carole Robertson, one of four little girls killed in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. We commit to this mission so that all children, regardless of their zip code, will have the opportunity to thrive in school and life—an opportunity denied to our namesake . OUR VISION To help build a just and equitable society, the Carole Robertson Center for Learning, in partnership with families, will be a beacon of best practices, innovation, and impact in early childhood and youth development. OUR CORE VALUES OUR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES COME FIRST COMMIT TO EMPOWER AND SUPPORT OUR STAFF LISTEN WITH OPEN HEARTS AND CARING MINDS WORK RESPECTFULLY, TRANSPARENTLY, AND WITH INTEGRITY SEEK INNOVATION, COLLABORATION, AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TAKE JOY AND PRIDE IN OUR WORK 4 | WHERE AND HOW WE SERVE The Carole Robertson Center provides an array of options so that families have access to the high-quality care and enrichment that will allow children to thrive in school and life . FY 2021 MILESTONES As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the Center achieves a series of unprecedented milestones. In June 2020, our sites are among the first to reopen to provide services after the COVID-19 stay-at-home order. The Center invests in a variety of resources and technology platforms for learning, to stay connected with and support families, and to maintain a safe environment. These include digital platforms for town halls and check ins, and learning tech platforms to foster home/school connections. To prioritize the health and well-being of our staff and families, we invest in technology and resources that allow effective health monitoring and protection. We provide home learning materials and essential supplies to all families. FALL 2020 The Center receives community saturation funding from Illinois Action for Children. We are one of three organizations selected for the Community Parenting Saturation Project Award, designed to saturate the North Lawndale community with parenting and family supports aimed to best prepare children for kindergarten. OCTOBER 2020 The Center expands service hours for school-age youth in response to pandemic. To address the needs of families, we begin expanded hours to provide our out-of-school-time learners with all-day services for remote learning during CPS closures. PROGRAM LOCATIONS, FISCAL YEAR 2021 July 1, 2020–June 30, 2021 Flagship Sites: Directly staffed and operated by the Carole Robertson Center. Provides infant- toddler care, pre-K education, and out-of- school-time youth development, complemented by mental health and family support services. Micro Centers: Full-time preschool programs at public charter schools, directly staffed and operated by the Center. School-Based Partners: Out-of-school-time programs at CPS and charter schools, directly staffed and operated by the Center. Family Child Care Network: Independently owned and operated home-based child care settings that receive resources, training and technical supports from the Center. Center-Based Partners: Independently owned and operated early education centers that receive resources, training and technical supports from the Center. Home Visiting Communities: Communities in which services are offered by home visiting specialists who visit and coach expectant and new parents, focusing on the caregiver-child relationship. | 5EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION (ECE) PRENATAL TO 5 YEARS OLD The Carole Robertson Center for Learning is one of the only nonprofit organizations in Chicago that offers every early childhood service delivery model: flagship site-based early childhood education (6 weeks to 5 years); a network of family childcare homes (Family Child Care Network); home visiting for expecting parents and children 0–5 years; dedicated pre-K classrooms in charter elementary schools operated and staffed by the Center (micro centers); and small center- based partner sites. This array of options ensures families have choices and access to the high-quality care and enrichment that will allow their children to be ready for kindergarten, so as to thrive in school and life. Nearly all children aged 0–5 served by the Center are from families residing in under-resourced communities . Our home visiting programs focus on hard-to-reach communities that may have barriers to accessing more traditional early childhood education, including parenting teens, mothers facing perinatal challenges, immigrant communities, and formerly incarcerated fathers . OUT-OF-SCHOOL-TIME (OST) 5–17 YEARS OLD The Center provides out-of-school-time (OST) programming at our flagship sites and local schools, allowing us to serve youth ages 5 to 17 before and after school, as well as during the summer. There is a strong tie between our OST and early childhood programs: 90 percent of OST program participants also participated in the Center’s early learning programs . The Center’s OST programs foster a love of learning, build curiosity, and support young people’s academic readiness, social-emotional skills, and identity development . FAMILY SUPPORT & ENGAGEMENT Comprehensive family support is woven into programs for children of all ages and their families . As caregivers are enrolling their children and youth into a Center program, family support specialists work with them to make benchmark assessments, develop goals and care plans, and determine if the family has needs that could be addressed through referrals to partner agencies. As their children’s first teachers, parents are our partners in their children’s growth and success . FY 2021 MILESTONES, cont’d JANUARY 2021 The Center initiates remote OST programming at partner schools KIPP Ascend Primary and Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy. This expands the geographic growth and diversity of our OST programs. FEBRUARY 2021 The Center launches its Program Learning, Evaluation, Scale, and Dissemination (LESD) department. The LESD team codifies and scales best practices of learning and evaluation, grounded in the strengths and opportunities of each community served and each service delivery model we implement. MARCH 2021 The Center receives a $20 Million, 5-year Early Head Start (EHS) Expansion Award. Through this grant, the Center begins a partnership that leads to the acquisition of our third flagship site later in the year. Our partner network grows from 12 family child care providers to 23 over the course of the year, and the center-based partner network grows from two to seven. For the full story of our growth in calendar year 2021, read our report Deepening Our Roots & Impact Across Chicago. OVERVIEW OF OUR PROGRAMS JANUARY2022 6 | AGES OF CHILDREN SERVED RACIAL & ETHNIC IDENTITY OF CHILDREN SERVED *Includes both Latino and Non- Latino individuals. Birth–3 years (295) 37% 2% 4% 7% 15% 17% 55% 46% 17% 3–5 years (375) 5–17 years (135) Unspecified Black or African- American and Not Latino White and Latino Other* Asian* Multiracial* 41% 34% 13% 5% 4% 3% WHERE SERVICES WERE DELIVERED (with numbers served) Flagship Sites (591) School-Based Partners (183) Home Visiting Communities (158) Micro Centers (80) Family Child Care Network (48) Center-Based Partners (22) | 7TEACHERS AND FAMILY SUPPORT STAFF are the bedrock of our ECE programs, providing early education, health and nutrition, and innovative strategies to build school readiness. Whether services are provided directly by the Carole Robertson Center (flagship sites, micro centers, home visiting) or through partners (family child care providers, center-based partners)—children receive responsive, high-quality care and education that promotes their cognitive, social-emotional, and physical growth. Partners in the communities we serve benefit through professional development opportunities, mentorship, access to curricular and enrichment resources, and critical COVID-related supplies . In March 2021, the Carole Robertson Center was awarded a $20 million, 5-year Early Head Start (EHS) Expansion Award from the U.S. Administration of Children and Families, nearly doubling early childhood services for our youngest learners . EHS is a federally funded program that promotes school readiness for children aged 0-3 from low-income families . The award allows the Center to serve an additional 185 infants, toddlers, and expectant mothers each year . For metrics on the developmental outcomes of children in our early childhood program, see the Appendix on pp. 22–23. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION (ECE) PRENATAL TO 5 YEARS OLD 8 | Monica Pierce’s House of Huggz is one of the 23 independent provider homes that comprise Carole Robertson Center’s Family Child Care Network (FCCN), which offers high-quality early childhood education options in homelike settings . Family child care providers are both educators and entrepreneurs: businesses, owned largely by women of color, that strengthen their neighborhood’s economy while helping the next generation to succeed in life . As a member of Carole Robertson Center’s FCCN, Monica receives mentorship, training and technical assistance, a food program, COVID supplies, business coaching, and learning resources that she would otherwise need to pay for out-of-pocket . As an educator with more than 30 years of experience in the early childhood field, Monica provides full-time day and after school programs for a dozen or more children a day, ranging in age from 6 weeks to 12 years. She considers herself blessed to have years of longevity with many children and families in her care, and believes her program format is successful because of the close-knit environment: “I open myself, my home, my family . I take on families as if they’re my family .” Most of her parents work as essential workers, and weathering COVID has been easier with the Center’s support . Funding from the Center has helped her increase her assistant’s wages and purchase art supplies and Creative Curriculum, a premier early childhood curriculum. The Carole Robertson Center is “constantly asking what I need,” said Monica. “I get excited when I talk about how they’ve helped me become a better provider. Chicago Public School teachers tell me that my kids—Carole Robertson Center kids—are more advanced, compared with others .” Monica Pierce’s House of Huggz: Just Like Home EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION (ECE) I OPEN MYSELF, MY HOME, MY FAMILY. I TAKE ON FAMILIES AS IF THEY’RE MY FAMILY. – MONICA PIERCE | 9Next >