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A Vision of Community Prep in 2015
Community Prep's mission remains the same: to nourish a wide diversity of students who value academic success and strive for leadership. In our 30 years we have become recognized for our leadership in elementary and middle-school education. From a 2015 vantage point, a chronicle of Community Prep accomplishments might include these highlights. Reach: Community Prep's ethnic and economic mix of 160 third through eighth graders reflects the demographics of Providence. Twenty percent of our students live in the neighborhoods that surround the school. We also serve parents who seek advice about the educational growth and future of their children still too young to attend the school. Such services, including workshops and consultations, help us to partner with neighborhood leaders to address educational and social issues. Achievement: More than 95% of Community Prep's 640 graduates continue to enroll in college-preparatory high-school programs. Eighty-five percent of the alumni from the first 23 graduating classes are either in college or have graduated from college. Seventy percent of those who have graduated attended four-year colleges. Graduates are business, professional, and civic leaders. They exemplify our school's ability to teach students to be successful - academically, personally, and socially - and to nurture in them a commitment to community service. CP alumni have become an integral part of school activities. They serve as mentors, advisors, and role models. Twenty percent of our trustees are alumni. Also, Community Prep serves as a model to other schools and has directly influenced the founding of five new schools through advising or consulting with school founders and start-up teams. Curriculum: In a rigorous college-prep curriculum emphasizing basic reading, writing, math, and thinking skills, every student writes an effective, age-appropriate plan for accomplishing his/her own social and academic goals, which are worked out in parent-teacher-student conferences. A weekly review is an important part of the 'portgoalios' that students keep. Volunteers and tutors rely on these reviews when assisting students who require additional help. Community Prep is a model and catalyst for enhanced middle school art and music education, integrating classroom, after-school and extracurricular activities, and forging institutional partnerships to expose and interest all CP students and foster multi-talented students. The CP Artist-in-Residence program has attracted national corporate sponsors. A parallel effort focusing on science and technology has generated similar results: more than 50 Community Prep graduates have received scholarships and diplomas from high schools ranked among the top-performing schools in mathematics, science and technology. The Community Prep Physical Fitness Program, initiated in partnership with neighboring organizations such as the YMCA, Rhode Island and Women and Infants Hospitals, and the Davey Lopes Recreation Center, is a widely acclaimed and replicated model for educating and training youth to live healthy, active lives. Community Prep Field Day, a school and family tradition, has spawned a citywide middle-school Decathlon. Student teams engage in traditional and urban events including bicycling, swimming, field sports, skate boarding, roller-skating, and jump roping. Community Prep also offers a diverse school athletic program with many varsity and junior varsity team participants. Service-learning programs, as well as our use of small instructional groups in the classrooms, are models for helping children become future leaders. Older students and alumni serve as mentors to younger students, helping the school maintain its personal, small-school atmosphere. Our teachers involve and engage students, take advantage of their prior knowledge and interests, partner with other non-profits, and enlist volunteers and new technologies to meet the learning styles of different students. The teachers excel at collecting evidence of student achievement and using this evidence to improve the curriculum and their teaching from year to year. Professional Development: Funding from corporate, foundation and individual donors has enabled Community Prep to endow three faculty positions, support innovative educational research projects, sponsor sabbaticals, and provide state-of-the-art teaching facilities. Our teachers are leaders in their field. They attend and present at local and national workshops. Close relationships with local and other universities allow our teachers to work with bright college students preparing to enter the field. Teacher training and teacher certification offer the school important sources of revenue and give us the first pick of bright and talented future teachers - the future leaders at Community Prep and those schools whose beginnings were inspired by us. The Campus: A gym that can double as an auditorium, spaces for music and art, a science lab and a small field have been added to our expanded campus. In addition, the school uses local gardens of the Southside Community Land Trust for science projects. The school has also dedicated its satellite campus, 20 acres of woods/farmland, into a multi-purpose hospitality and educational complex that also provides modest income for campus programs and operating expenses. Community Prep satellite campuses serve the Prep "Summer Wonder" Program, offer retreat space for faculty, and accommodate public guests. The "Summer Wonder" Program is a joint venture with Rhode Island arts, music, and athletic, recreational and environmental organizations. The program affords students, families and friends an opportunity to experience a wide range of educational and recreational adventures during weekly, weekend and monthly sessions. Tuition and Funding: Sixty percent of students pay minimum tuition; 16% pay one-quarter; 12% pay one-half; and 12% pay full tuition. Tuition remains at or below the Providence public-school average. Tuition and after-school fees account for about 20% of the school's income, as in 2005. Forty percent of the school's funding comes from donations, special events, grants, and government, as opposed to 60% in 2005. Annual income from endowment has grown from 20% in 2005 to 40%. In addition to funding many building projects, trustees have grown the endowment from $8 million to $26 million, largely through wise management, planned giving, bequests, and fundraising for specific enrichment programs. One hundred individuals have joined the Founders Society by including Community Prep in their estate plans. |
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Community Preparatory School •
126 Somerset Street • Providence, Rhode Island 02907 Phone: (401) 521-9696 Fax: (401) 521-9715  |