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y

The PARENTS who participated in ESL classes at Mi Escuelita improved their English language scores by at least one level and 60% improved their scores by three or more levels.

z annual REPORT2009

Mi Escuelita Preschool, Inc.

Mi Escuelita Preschool4231 Maple AvenueDallas, Texas 75219www.miescuelita.org

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Caryl AberleEd AdamsLaura AdamsColleen and Eric AffeldtIris AguilarRoheen AhsanMichael S. AndersonTrey AngelAnonymousKellie ArmentroutJose ArroyoJosue AyalaManuel AybarAbby and Brian R. BachmanLeslie BakerMelissa C. BalthropeAmy U. BanksMunish BansalVirginia N. BarajasTerri BarnesElizabeth BarrigaElizabeth A. BassettRichard BestCarlos BetancourtJanet BirkhoffMark A. BlinnKatherine and Eddie BockLarry BoerderKaren BortaChristina BrandtGillian BreidenbachCandy BrownForrest C. Brown, M.D.Donna and Thomas R. Burton

Jasper ButlerChristine CahoonCynthia CampCatherine CareyW. Plack CarrBelinda CasillasCarrie L. ChavezGretchen Z. CleggJane CockrellPatricia A. CogganJudy and Bob ColemanCarroll ConnollyC.W. CooperRachel CooperCherry and Ben Cox W. Michael CoxKatherine CrowShirley W. CrowSissy CullumAna CurryClaire CurtisRosemary and Dave CurtisPierre CutlerAnn DannisValerie DavissonAngleica De Los SantosRachael DedmanMildred and James DennisPatricia K. DoreyJoe DriverJay DukeEugene DurainGeorge EllisMolli and Gary Elliston

Kimberly EltingGil EscajedaNancy FarinaEneida FiutKerrie ForbesHappy FranklinAlberto GalueKriss Gamez-FernandezCarmen GarciaDebbie GarrettKathie GautilleJoseph W. GearyPedro R. GelabertPhyllis GillyLisa GodinesG. GoldenAmanda E. GoldsteinCuiling GongMartha GonzalesDora GonzalezGus GonzalezJessica GoochJanak GoyaniKim GriffithKristin GuckianMark GuckianWilliam GuckianVirginia GunnBrenda GutierrezDavid J. HaemiseggerLaura E. HallJames R. HallamKaren HalsellMargaret A. HancockStephanie HarmonSue Vaughn Harper

Diane HeimburgerOsmin HernandezPilar T. HenryTracy HerrinJill HerzMuriel A. HeusingerDiana HightowerPat HimmelMarcia and Noe HinojosaDaniel T. HoangDr. Elizabeth HolekampShannon and Merritt HolmanJean HoweMargot and Frank HundleyKaren A. HydockHumberto IbarraLinda and Mike ImhoofMary Ann JacobKanika JainElaine and Bill JohnsonMichael JohnsonEllwood R. JonesSivasankari KadambanLaura M. KalesnikEllen M. KatzPeggy KnightBob KohlerKathryn KoorennyMartha KornmanMonica LatinBrenda LazenbyGeary LairdRobert Leal IIIHunter LeeWai LeeCindy Lefferts

Jessica LennonAdelina LewisCrystal Lockhart-SmithKay LuncefordChristina MancusoDiana MarquisAnthony MarshallHamilton MarthaAnita N. MartinezAdan Lopez-MartinezLisa MartinezPamela P. MattinglyJohn MaysAlice McCurdyCaroline McElroyJamie McKeyDavid D. McPhailDonna MeriwetherMichelle MidyetteMaryann MihalopoulosAnn MinnisLaurie MontoyaMalinda G. MoorGlenn MooreDeanna MoralesPhillip J. MoralesKathryn and Larry MoserSue and George MosierJennifer and Jon L. MosleKevin MossJune MoyerCarolyn MuellerDelaine and Daniel MuellerFernando MujicaDavid MulcathDave Munson

Gayle NaveMaria A. NealRay NeffJohn NeillJan and Tom NewsomeW. Bruce NewsomeSteve O’ConnorLanjay OommenCatherine B. OrsakYvette OstolazaCameron OwenHeather PaineOscar PalominoSarah PantojaGillian ParrilloJennifer PayneElizabeth PenaJoseph PenaCarrie PhaneufEleanor PiccagliRoxanne and Patrick PittmanRex L. PolandFoster M. Poole, Jr.Glenys M. QuickHeather RattanJill ReedKay ReevesJessica ReichRuben ReynaMary RicharteAugustina RiveraAnn RobertsStacy J. RodriguezShirley RollinsSherry W. RomanoBetty and Brent Rosenthal

Lenora RougeouElizabeth R. RylandLedee SachsNicolas SalaminaSamuel R. SalazarVineeta SalviIsabella Sanchez Rhonda SanchezRamona SandovalBeth SavoldelliCraig L. SchwimmerTomas SclarLee ShaftoeJulie H. SheederTricia ShimerLisa SilverLori SirmenCaroline C. SmileyCynthia SmileyDorothy SmithAlison SolomonNorma SosaGeorge H. SpencerRichard SquiresSandra F. StallingsMark T. StoryDawn StoutDr. David StreitmatterCarolyn StricklandSybil StricklandNancy SullivanJane SungNita Mae and Samuel Tannebaum LuAnn and Ken TarangoBarbara Taylor

Michelle TencleveLydia TestMadhan ThirukondaGraham & Carrie ThomasMartha L. ThompsonSherri ThurmanPatricia TolottaElizabeth F. ToudouzeKathryn TownsendEmily TramutoLori TrentTrude Van Horn and Will DavisJosie B. VasquezCarol D. VeseyMarcelo ViquezDr. Manik VoraSuzanne WadaMichelle and Tom WalkerJohn WangermannAmy WareAmanda WeareRachelle WeathersbyRegina WeaverSusanne B. WebbWanda WebbJane M. WhitneyCarmel B. WoodSarah M. WoodJulie A. ZanuttoJan ZeiglerLynn A. ZentnerLisa C. ZimmermanChristy Zirnheld

2 0 0 8 - 2 0 0 9 I n d i v i d u a l D o n o r sThey say that you never appreciate the mountain top unless you have spent some time in the valley. Personally, I have always appreciated both. I love the dramatic vistas from the mountain summit and the calm beauty of a peaceful valley. But I think it is all in your perspective.

The 2008-09 school year at Mi Escuelita was filled with mountain top “highs” and a few visits to the valley. Our children had an amazing year. Based on standardized testing, they scored higher nationally than ever with our children testing in the 63rd percentile nationally in English language skills. They also scored in the 93rd percentile in their pre-writing skills. Over 95% of the children qualified for English language kindergarten classrooms. These dramatic results were a combination of countless hours from our dedicated teachers and educators, incredible commitment by our parents and unyielding support from our community and partners. We stood on the mountaintop in terms of educational services to our children.

But we visited a few valleys over the last year too. The economic downturn has affected almost everyone and Mi Escuelita is no exception. Donations are down but the need for services has increased. Parents struggle with tuition and that has an effect on enrollment. Maintaining our extremely high quality of education isn’t cheap. But I often wonder what makes us think that education should be a low-budget item? We have struggled with the economy but have managed to maintain and even improve the quality of our program. And that is thanks to

you, our donors, patrons and friends. Yes, we have spent more than a few days in the valley, staring up at the mountain top asking ourselves “How are we going to do this?”

The time spent in the valley this year has taught us a few things. First, we just keep walking. We come to work each day and give our children the very best we have to offer. They deserve it. Secondly, we stay out of the muck. We don’t get caught up in politics or controversy. We just focus on providing our children with educational experiences that will change their lives. Lastly, we keep our eye on the mountaintop. We know the goal is to provide our children with the skills they will need to climb all of those mountains they will face in the future. We kneel down, buckle their climbing boots and show them the way.

Looking back, all of those challenges over the last year seem rather small in light of the accomplishments. I like the view from the valley, watching our children conquer those mountains. And I’m thankful that you are standing here beside us, sharing our perspective.

See you at the top,

Executive Director

Executive Director

Letter from the Executive Director

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deLETTER The 2008 – 2009 school year was a

whirlwind of opportunity and change. The phrase “battening down the hatches” seems to sum it up. Our world changed and we changed with it.

Even as the economic downturn last fall caused us to revise our fundraising and budget plans, the door to opportunity opened. Our search for sources of revenue led us to the North Texas Community Wealth Venture and we began the process of examining revenue generating alternatives to compliment our mission. This process will lead to future growth and funding for Mi Escuelita Preschool.

Our friends and supporters saw us through the school year. As the economic climate resulted in our families losing jobs and wages, our income from tuition dropped. Fewer families were able to pay their portion of tuition. Some of our funders including The Dallas Foundation, Highland Park Presbyterian Church, Highland Park United Methodist Church, and individual donors stepped up and helped our families keep their children enrolled through the end of the school year.

Our volunteers stepped up as well. We began to see the first response to the national call for service this spring. So many corporate volunteer groups helped

with maintenance and repair work at our sites that these costs dropped significantly. Donations of office and school supplies by young people, civic groups, and companies reduced our need for funds for these costs as well.

Through all of the turmoil the dedication of the staff ensured that children at Mi Escuelita continued to receive high quality early childhood development services. Our teachers and site managers made sure that a child’s day at Mi Escuelita continued to be filled with learning and laughter.

The leadership of our board members and executive director, the commitment of our staff, and the help of many friends has helped us stay the course this past year. Together we helped 450 children learn the skills they will need to be successful adults. With your gifts of time, treasure, and talent we fulfilled our mission. Thank you.

Best Regards

Gillian Breidenbach2009 Chair, Board of Directors

Mi Escuelita Centers

Bethany4523 Cedar Springs RdDallas, Texas 75219

Buckner5200 S Buckner BlvdDallas, Texas 75227

Cockrell Hill4031 W Clarendon DrDallas, Texas 75211

Crossover4231 Maple AveDallas, Texas 75219

St. Matthew’s1609 N Henderson AveDallas, Texas 75206

Wesley-Rankin3100 Crossman AveDallas, Texas 75212

FROM THE BOARD CHAIR

Program Costs 88%

Fundraising Costs 5.5% Administrative Costs 6.5%

Expenses

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Churches/SchoolsChurch Women United in DallasFirst Presbyterian Church, DallasFirst Presbyterian Church, RichardsonHighland Park Presbyterian ChurchThe Hockaday SchoolGood Shepherd Episcopal SchoolNorthridge Presbyterian ChurchPreston Hollow Presbyterian ChurchPreston Hollow Presbyterian FoundationUnited Methodist WomenWomen of Saint Michael and All Angels Church

Corporations/Corporate FoundationsAmerigroup Charitable FoundationBank of AmericaBarri Remittance CorporationLos Barrios Unidos Community Clinic Inc.

The Bassett Firm, P.C.Baylor Health Care SystemCW33 Kids Fund, McCormick Tribune FoundationCapital For KidsCapital One Services, Inc.Chi Omega Christmas MarketChristus HealthCima Solutions GroupComerica BankCrow HoldingsDean Foods CompanyDebra’s InteriorsEstrada HinojosaExxonmobil FoundationGlobal Aircraft Service, Inc.Huselton & Morgan, P.C.JP Morgan Chase FoundationKroger Food Stores

La PrincessaMaverick Capital Charities LTDMcDonald’sMorochNCS PearsonNeighborhood Credit UnionPizza Hut of AmericaSafeway Inc.Smile Builders Dental CenterTelemundoTexas Instruments IncorporatedTexcorp Communications, Inc. Minority Business NewsTherapyCare, Inc.Unicare Life & Health Insurance CompanyVerizon CommunicationsThe Wachovia Foundation

Foundations/OrganizationsHarry W. Bass, Jr. FoundationThe Dallas Social Venture Partners Fund of The Dallas FoundationThe First Lady’s Family Literacy Initiative for TexasHawn Foundation, Inc.The Hoglund FoundationThe Fannie and Stephen Kahn Charitable FoundationThe Katie Foundation Fund of Communities Foundation of TexasCarl B. and Florence E. King FoundationLattner Family Foundation, Inc.McManemin Family Fund of Communities Foundation of TexasPreston Center Rotary Club Foundation

Tuition 11%Interest & Other Income 2%

Federal Grants 58%

Donations 29%

Income

2008-2009 Audited Financials

2 0 0 8 - 2 0 0 9 O r g a n i z a t i o n D o n o r s

This report recognizes gifts received from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009. Every effort has been made to correctly report these gifts. If any information regarding your gift is inaccurate or missing, we sincerely apologize. Please contact Jan Zeigler, Director of Development at (214) 526-0220 ext. 11 for questions or corrections.

o p• 217 children graduated

• All 6 sites achieved NAEYC accreditation

• Enrollment of 450 children

• 95% of children leaving after two years qualify for English speaking kindergarten classrooms

• DIAL-3 scores – During the school year children’s English concept skills improved an average of 294% and children’s English language skills improved an average of 726%

• Mi Escuelita was accepted as a participant in the 2009 North Texas Community Wealth Venture Project

• Mi Escuelita selected as the $1 billionth grant made by Communities Foundation of Texas

Sarah Hendrix brought books donated to Mi Escuelita by the Spanish Club at Episcopal School of Dallas. The club had a bake sale to raise the money to buy books for our children.

2008-2009 AccomplishmentsStudents

Site Wide

dgA case worker for Metro Care Services, Hazel Miranda is proud to be a graduate of Mi Escuelita Preschool, knowing that her head start in preschool is what led her to make a daily difference in lives of disadvantaged children. “Attending Mi Escuelita definitely gave me a step up and helped me start at the head of the class in Kindergarten,” said Hazel, who is now 25 years old

and remembers her days at Mi Escuelita fondly. Hazel attended Mi Escuelita’s Bethany Site from 1987 to 1988 and was not only shy, but also spoke very little English when she started. “Mi Escuelita helped me to better integrate into the American culture through English, while still allowing me to keep my Latino culture,” said Hazel. From Mi Escuelita, Hazel started a successful educational career, finding interests in math, science and biology. She graduated from Bishop Dunne High School in Dallas and furthered her education to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Spanish from the University of Houston in 2006. Returning home to Dallas, Hazel now advocates for children as a Services Coordinator at Metro Care Services, specializing in caring for the mentally challenged population. Hazel has come a long way from her days at Mi Escuelita, but she still believes those early years were imperative for her and for future generations of Mi Escuelita students. “Being that I now work for a non-profit, I realize the great benefits that only a non-profit can offer to children”, said Hazel. “That’s why non-profits like Mi Escuelita are important and do such good work.”

Giving Back to Her

Community

I can see the difference we make in the lives of the children and their families.

I love to see the children learn to write their names and say their colors . . . just watching

them grow.

Our children are so special and their world is amazing.

I feel I am making a difference in the lives of others.

I feel happy when I see them all grown up and they say “Look, here is my first

teacher”.

Words From Our Teachers

By Phillip Morales

f

Veronica Chavez working with a student at Mi Escuelita Cockrell Hill

nmMi Escuelita BOARD of Direc tors

BOARD CHAIRGillian Breidenbach

Bank of America

BOARD VICE-CHAIRRoxanne PittmanStructure Events

TREASURERJay Duke

BDO Seidman, LLP

SECRETARYElaine Johnson

Presbyterian Women

Brian BachmanErnst & Young, LLP

Mark GuckianBrinker International

Osmin HernandezDeloitte Consulting

Chris LangmayerVeolia Transportation

Christina MancusoAttorney

Betty RosenthalCommunity Volunteer

Ken TarangoConsultant

Carrie K. ThomasComerica

2.5% 22% 50% KNOWThe turnover rate of Mi Escuelita teachers. The industry average is 25-50%

of teachers have their ASSOCIATE or BACHELOR’S degree.

of teachers took college level courses to improve their skills

Three teachers at Mi Escuelita Preschool are featured in the recently published book “Exemplary Literacy

Teachers: What Schools Can Do to Promote Success for All Students.”

by Cathy Collins & John N. Mangieri

Did you

kJesuit Volunteer Returns to Mi Escuelita

Every year Jesuit College Preparatory sends a handful of their senior students to Mi Escuelita Preschool on Wednesday mornings to volunteer in the classrooms. All of these young men are very special to our children and to our teachers, but one who walked in our doors this year is extra special indeed. Osbaldo Salas is a current senior at Jesuit Preparatory and a former Mi Escuelita graduate. He was born in Ciudad Juarez and came here to Dallas when he was a child, where his mother enrolled him in Mi Escuelita because she wanted her child to have a better life. “When I think about how I was born in what is now one of the most dangerous places in the area, then I was a five year old struggling to learn English, and now I just finished applying to Ivy League colleges, it’s pretty amazing,” says Osbaldo, reflecting on how far he has come. Though Osbaldo struggled earlier in his school career, not learning to read until fourth grade, he now speaks very articulately, passionately, and without a trace of an accent though English is his second language. He credits his success to having strong basic English skills at a young

age and his perseverance to the support of his mother. Now as he spends his Wednesday mornings giving back to Mi Escuelita, he knows first-hand the struggles these children face. “I’ve been back to my own neighborhood, and you realize how much opportunity could be in each and every one of those children running around, but you can’t see that because of the shell that the neighborhood creates.” Osbaldo believes that his past has “transformed my perception of what it means to volunteer at a place like this. When I’m reading to a child I’m thinking to myself, how important is this to this child? How important was it to me?”

Ernst & Young volunteers helping

the children with their writing skills at Crossover Head

Start

KNOW Dieste and Texas Instruments donated their time and money make the holidays special for children at Mi Escuelita

Did you

h • 125 community volunteers regularly gave their time• Community volunteers averaged over 250 hours a week at our sites • Volunteers spent over 55,770 hours working in or for our schools. • 16,200 homework packets were assembled by FedEx Office,

Accenture, Nortel and Crestside Facilities volunteers. • 18 girls from Ursuline Academy and 10 boys from Jesuit College

Preparatory volunteered three hours weekly in 22 different classrooms.

• Volunteers contributed over 800 hours to our Family Fiesta Health Fair• Wreckage caused by a 200 year old tree falling on our playground

was cleaned up by high schoolers from Kansas. • 1,300 lbs. of old files were sorted, recorded, and shredded thanks to

Maya Perez.• 30 new Educator Binders were created for the teachers thanks to over

200 hours of service from Garland High students and Allison Kroiss. • The Dallas Chapter of the Hispanic Organization for Leadership and

Achievement at Bank of America, painted the classrooms at Wesley-Rankin.

• Irving Bible Church’s youth group painted the entire Bethany location. • Nursing students from TWU taught all 450 of our children about the

importance of washing their hands.

Volunteer Achievements

I definitely enjoy reading to the children. It is nice to see little minds open and receptive to learning. It is exciting to see the how they progress throughout the year. - TI Reader

I loved reading to the kids. They were so happy to see

me and they gave me lots of hugs. I was happy to read

all of their favorite books. I can’t wait to read to the

kids and see them smile again!

Harriet Hardamom, Capital One

Organizations Who Donated Their Time Over The Past Year

AccentureBank of AmericaCapital OneDeloitteEpiscopal School of DallasErnst & YoungFedEx OfficeThe Hockaday School

HPPC Women’s CircleJesuit College Preparatory NortelPHPC Women’s Circle 4Texas Instruments IncorporatedUrsuline AcademyWachovia

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