At PCCY we offer direct help to children – one at a time; and with the other hand we apply pressure to government officials to persuade them to do what is necessary to give every child the basic ingredients for a lifetime of success.
The success of the organization is facilitated by the work of our Directors:
- Development: writer and overseer of deadlines to raise money and protect children.
- Major Gifts: oversees major donor and volunteer relations, and coordinate special gifts initiatives.
- Picasso Project: provide Arts grants, and coordinate programs across Philadelphia.
- Administrative: primary major event coordinator, including Harrisburg rallies.
- Research Associate: provide a backbone to our research and develop annual reports.
- Health Policy: research leads the conversation in southeastern PA and Harrisburg on children’s access to health care and health insurance issues.
- Early Childhood Education Policy: oversees policy initiative, works with regional and statewide partners to expand access to high quality care for infants and toddler.
- K12 Policy: oversees policies and organizes statewide K12 advocacy events.
- Pre-K Campaign/Southeastern PA Counties Coordinator (2): in the field recruiting outreach and support to ensure organizational growth.
- Communications: facilitates dialogue for successful event turnout and advocacy.
- Child Health Watch: obtains health insurance for thousands in the Delaware Valley.
Although my time was primarily spent with the education team (Research Associate, Early Childhood Education, K12 Policy and Pre-K Campaign Directors), I also took minor roles in the development around activities organized by the Administrative, Health Policy and Development Directors.
Executive Director, Donna Cooper
Prior to PCCY, Donna was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where she led the Center’s research on early childhood education, and public infrastructure.
Donna served as the Secretary of Policy and Planning for the Commonwealth from 2003–2010 where she was responsible for the state’s education, public supports, environmental and health care policy.
Cooper also served as the City of Philadelphia’s Deputy Mayor of Policy and Planning from 1999–2002 where she designed and led the Greater Philadelphia Works Program, one of the nation’s largest and most successful efforts to help single mothers on welfare achieve self-sufficiency.
Working under Donna Cooper provided me with great insight in educational analysis and development, from government-level relations to grassroots organizations. With the credibility Donna brought into the organization, I stood near high-level government officials and organizations, and witnessed behind the scenes in policy-driving conversations.
Numbers
Pennsylvania is a Top-10 state in student per-pupil spending, outspending rates from:
- California by $5,500
- Minnesota by $3,000
- Massachusetts by $1,00
Pennsylvania: $15,300 | Average: $12,500
Education Week. June 2018.
In the 2018 midterms, education was a hot topic for discussion. Contender Scott Wagner ran on the promise of reduced taxes and the sufficiency of Pennsylvania's education funding. With analysis of data provided by Pennsylvania's Department of Education and KIDS COUNT Data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, I found the following: comparatively to national measures, Pennsylvanians are locally taxed and gather educational funding at an above average rate. The data I collected was used to fact check and support any arguments made during the midterm season.
What was not mentioned by the Wagner campaign was the means in which education funding is collected. With additional research, I highlighted the community disparities which arose as the result of an over-reliance on community-based school funds. I composed statistical documents used to individually present to individual legislators, each of which data was tailored for a specific area in Pennsylvania, in effort to gain adequate school funds. Scavenging through hundreds of schools and the numbers that characterize their dimensions was a major role in my time with PCCY and surely brought myself greater knowledge in the varying effects policy has on school districts and their students.
Pennsylvania is in a unique situation where it currently uses two separate formulas to fund its schools at the same time - each which fails to adequately support students across the state. One created the inequities we see today, and the other takes money away from one school to give to another. With such complexity, one of the few answers in choosing which formula to support is to simply increase funds.
My role in organizational achievements
PCCY's STEM Fair and STEMCraft was an event organized by the the Administrative Director. I was responsible for outreach, in which I called and emailed multitudes of STEM-promoting organizations to inquire their participation. I also was responsible for securing food businesses to cater fair attendees and organizations. Tedious work was also performed such as creating of name tags, organizing information packets, and updating and inserting software in hundreds of computers. I certainly gained effective practices and the confidence of event-planning and general outreach. During the event I took roles signing participants and volunteers into the event, or registering if they had yet to do so, and co-managing the STEM Store. With each interaction my professionalism and general peoples' skills were honed.
From the sponsorships and fundraisers collected from our STEM Fair, we input the funds back into Philadelphia schools.
With the help of Jefferson University, Wills Eye Hospital and the Philadelphia Eagles, we provided eye exams and glasses for over 1,000 uninsured children during Give Kids Sight Day.
Give Kids Sight Day was organized by the Health Policy Director. I was to translate directions and signs into Spanish for Spanish-speakers' easy navigation. My bilingual capabilities came into practice and also allowed me to refine the skill.
Over 400 education advocates convened state-wide for PA Schools Work's advocacy kickoff: Communities United for Our Students' Future Summit.
This event was spearheaded by PCCY's education team. For months my role was to organize, collect and disperse contact information and outreach to hundreds of people: PCCY's supporter list, school board members, district officials and businesses. At a point in time the only task I had was to call individuals for the promotion of our event or find contact information for specific individuals. With the increased use of text as a means for communication I have acknowledged the general lack of communication skills through voice audio.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania overruled the city of Philadelphia in 2000 when the Commonwealth no longer believed the city could successfully oversee its own students. With appointed officials from Harrisburg, the new school district was governed by the School Reform Commission. On November 27, the new Philadelphia Board of Education and City Council convened for the first time in public. I simply took in information and reported back to our organization on the development and perceived relationship with the new Board. I had been shown trust and accountability to report back to the organization.
Primary role as an intern with PCCY
- Lewis Cassidy Press Conference
- Philadelphia Bar Association: Issues Facing the School District of Philadelphia
- Meet Lower Merion Superintendent Copeland
- Atlantic: Building Opportunity for All
- Parent-Child Home Program and Read by Forth: The School Readiness Forum
- Pottstown Trauma Informed Community Connection
- Philadelphia Education Fund: Education First Compact
- Delaware County Chamber of Commerce
- Early Childhood Education Coalition
- PA Schools Work: Communities United for Our Students' Future
- Committee of Seventy: Defunding America's Future
My schedule and responsibilities varied week-to-week. The list above includes the various events I attended to with our County Coordinators during either early mornings or late afternoons. These events varied from interpersonal group settings to formal speaker settings. I was to take in information and scout for appropriate candidates to attend the PA Schools Work Summit. Event attendees included, elected representatives, organization leaders and/or community members. It was in these settings were my networking skills and confidence to collaborate with more qualified individuals had increasingly advanced.
During my time with PCCY, two reports were created. I conducted data analysis in one report. I developed illustrations and completed revisions. I spent time running through statewide data collected by Pennsylvania's Department of Education and KIDS COUNT Data. I compared variations of school funding, test scores, school expenditures, quality of childcare, etc. across the Pennsylvania's southeast counties (Montgomery, Delaware, Chester, Bucks). There was a message the organization needed to develop, and the work I completed created support for the voice to be told. The report is due to release in late December or early January. Below are two reports from the 2018 Charters focus.
Public Citizens for Children and Youth allowed me to cultivate a proficiency in data analysis, networking skills, public speaking and knowledge in the various dimensions of education advocacy. I had proven willingness to not only step outside of my comfort zone but also complete both monotonous and engaging work for overall organizational success.