Greetings, friends!
As with previous quarterly newsletters, let me begin by saying “THANK YOU”! You continue to amaze me by your heartfelt support and dedication towards the work we are doing at CAC. Your prayers and material/financial support enable us to serve the children of East St. Louis and be blessed in the process. This past quarter we welcomed both Ms. Alexes Neal as lead teacher and Mrs. Erin Neal as assistant teacher for the Busy Bees (ages 5-8). These additions give us the capacity to assist our children with meeting age-level reading and math proficiency standards within a developmentally appropriate environment.
In the first half of 2024 we were able to serve 102 students, which is a ~4% increase from 2023. Our high school attendees decreased slightly due to students working part-time and participating in extra-curricular school activities.
Nevertheless, we remain focused on the part of our mission to help children thrive academically. The chart below captures the end of year academic proficiency metrics for CAC students. Those demonstrating proficiency in math increased from ~62% in 2023 to ~68% in 2024. Our children also made gains in reading, where proficiency increased from ~69% in 2023 to ~71% for 2024.
We also believe the progress made by parents in the community have an impact on student motivation. The adult online high school diploma program continued to grow enrollment throughout the second quarter. Enrollment increased by 53 students from April 1st to June 30th (48 new enrollments and 5 re-enrollments).
At the end of the school year, we transitioned to our summer programming. We welcomed several new members who get to experience the excitement of the CAC. For example, the CAC community garden continues to thrive thanks to our partnership with Go! International. After 5 years of selling their homegrown produce in markets around St. Louis, our little gardeners got together with local growers and business owners to serve as a host site for the rotating East St. Louis farmer’s market.
An all-time favorite event for our students is swimming! We are thankful to a generous donor and the YMCA for providing water safety classes; which teaches swim lessons, water rescue, and CPR.
It is our goal to provide fun summer activities our kids. From dance to drama, or learning about the experiences of those from other nations, we want to ensure they are given opportunities to explore and be successful.
The success of our students continues to be a point of collective pride. To that end, we're thrilled to celebrate Dior's term on the Student Board of Directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis! In partnership with Go! International, she is the fourth student to serve in this capacity - and we're even more excited for our fifth student to join the Board in the coming weeks!
As I mentioned before, your support has and continues to be tremendous. The 17th Annual Golf for a Brighter Future Tournament, hosted by Northwestern Mutual Fairview Heights, raised nearly $64,000 and had 110 golfers on a beautiful Friday morning.
While we’re in full swing for summer programming, the new school year is less than a month away! We look forward to filling the backpacks and hearts of our students with our annual Back to School campaign, which allows us to provide necessary school supplies and uniforms for our children. Please be on the lookout in the next few weeks for more information on how you can contribute!
If you don’t follow us on Facebook and Instagram – you’re missing out! We’re sharing regular updates on what is happening at CAC all summer – check our pages frequently for updates on how your generosity is supporting our programming.
The Christian Activity Center continues to be blessed because of you, our donors and friends. Because of you, we are blessed and this is what I see as the favor of God. Thank you for providing access and opportunity to the next generation – I wish you could see the progress, hope, and excitement that we see day in and day out!
Blessings to you all!
Dr. Jeffrey Williams
Executive Director
Christian Activity Center
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