President's Message

Dear Friends of the Foundation:

We are approaching the end of the 2002-2003 school year, the 38th school year for the Leary School programs and the eighth for Lincolnia Educational Foundation.

We are expecting up to 21 seniors will graduate in June, up to four students will be mainstreamed by the end of the year, up to 21 will have participated in some form of supervised work experience and up to 100 students will attend the Extended School Year session this coming summer.

I also expect that all the students will achieve some level of academic, social, and personal success, as a result of their hard work and participation in the programs we offer. We are all very proud of the programs we have been able to offer and, of course, proud of the students who are achieving so much.

However, as I write this cover letter, we are preparing for some improvements and changes in our programming.

First and foremost, we are preparing for several improvements to our instructional program. We are installing a student computer network at our Virginia campus and hope to have this system in operation by the close of this school year. Each classroom has been wired and every classroom will have at least one brand new PC dedicated to the student network; most will have two.

At the Prince George's County campus, we will be expanding the existing student network by adding one new PC to each classroom so that there will be at least two student-networked PCs in each classroom. In addition, these ten additional PCs will also be configured so that they can serve as a "mini-network", a network within a network to accommodate the new Maryland testing protocols.

The Jobsite program has two PCs for student use and has had internet access for some time.

All of our academic staff and other staff, as well, have participated in the Junior Great Books training, participating in the training applicable for the Maryland and Virginia state assessment programs while our Prince George's County staff was chosen to participate in the Positive Behavioral Intervention Systems' training this current school year. In addition, our teachers receive training and supervision in group counseling to assist in leading student groups. It is a lot we ask of the staff but they continue to rise to the occasion. We expect that our academic program will be stronger as a result of these initiatives.

The counseling staff provided substance use education and intervention programs at each of the programs this year. We expect that, from this beginning, students will be provided even more intensive programming in this area next year.

Our Jobsite, a model for the region, is a great example of realistic and effective programming for students with special needs. Students at the Jobsite program build new residential homes and complete total home renovations. For these students, this is the most meaningful educational experience they have had and possibly will have while in a school setting. We are presently negotiating to purchase building lots on Holyoke Drive to ensure this program's continuation.

Students at the other Leary School programs are eligible through the IEP process to receive individualized job coaching, job placement and job supervision while at school. Finally, we have been able to offer this service at both campuses through the use of full time job coordinators. In fact, at the Virginia campus, we have had to obtain additional part time help to assist with student transportation to jobs.

For next year, we are planning to increase job placements at both programs. There is also some planning involving expanding our vocational programming to other areas in the region.

While there is so much more that has occurred so far this school year and so much more being planned for next year, I will defer to Ms. Creo, Ms. Brancheau, and Mr. Peck who will finish reporting on each program's progress and plans for the future.

However, I do want to point out to you, all of our friends and supporters, that the Foundation needs help as it prepares ahead for the next several years.

Undoubtedly, many of you have followed the news enough to learn that the poor economy and local budget deficits will have an extremely negative effect on local education. The Foundation is also being affected by these conditions. Almost all of our funding comes from public sources, such as local and state public school agencies and, to a lesser degree, federal funding. Therefore, we cannot always provide the compensation to our staff that we would like, hire additional staff, expand our programming and/or make certain improvements we believe will advance our programming.

Eight years ago, we decided to convert the Leary School programs to non-profit in an effort to preserve the programming we believe well serves a very special population of students. We are committed to maintaining a strict allegiance to this very special group of students and to the programming we have developed over the past almost 40 years now. We are also committed to making improvements and most likely will expand or at least relocate some of our programming in the near future. However, the funding to do this has to be developed. This is where we need your help.

The Foundation has not, as yet, established a strong fund development campaign. It has certainly received some very nice donations of money, furniture, supplies, services and volunteer hours but much more is needed.

In order to expand our vocational programming in Maryland, we will need to develop some start up capital money. In order to make some needed improvements on our physical plant in Virginia, including the business office renovation, we also need additional funding.

If you are able to make a financial contribution, which is tax deductible, please do. It will be greatly appreciated and, of course, anyone is welcome to come and see how these funds are being put to use. We have enclosed an envelope that you can use to return your contribution and will allow you to designate how you would like your contribution to be used.

If you are able to help us to develop additional funding in other ways, I would love to hear from you, particularly if you are in some way associated with an organization that is amenable and willing to make charitable donations to area non-profit agencies.

You can also help by volunteering your time in the program. We love having volunteers in to offer tutoring.

You can also help by simply being part of our community. Come and visit the program. Go to a basketball game. Tell us how we are doing and what you think we could do to improve. In the end, offering the students an education and, in our case, some additional special help is something to which everyone can contribute.

Respectfully,
Ed Schultze, Ed.D.
President/Executive Director