Closing the Opportunity Gap
There is much research available that exposes the lack of opportunity that lower-income students have compared with their wealthier classmates. Therefore, the BHP Foundation Board has made a strategic decision to focus on closing the opportunity gap for the children who live in BHP properties. Invaluable partners in these efforts are Boulder Valley School District (BVSD), Impact on Education (BVSD Foundation), the Boulder Public Library, and the I Have a Dream Foundation (IHAD).
This Campaign for Grade-Level Reading video shows why that gap occurs and how we can close it.
The Foundation’s funding focus areas are:
Internet Access
Today, having access to the internet is one of the key predictors of educational attainment and future income. In the Fall of 2012, the BHP Foundation launched a campaign to provide internet access at all of our housing sites. Already we have made access to wifi free and available to students at Red Oak Park, Broadway East, and Broadway West.
Third Grade Reading Level
Our 2013 summer pilot literacy program was developed to address the need of advancing the reading level of BHP resident students. Our pilot program brought bi-lingual teachers from Columbine Elementary and Foothills Elementary to our Kalmia public housing site up to four days a week. When the teachers were not on site, the children had access to the technology like iPods and iPads to continue improving their literacy skills.
The Summer “Slide”
Lower-income students tend to lose proficiency in math and reading over the summer at a greater rate than their more affluent peers. This phenomenon is called the summer “slide. In 2013, the Foundation and its partners sponsored a pilot program that brought bi-lingual teachers from University Hill, Columbine and Foothills Elementaries to our Kalmia community up to four days a week. The goal was to address this slide.
We're very pleased to report that, based on student testing at the start of this school year; the Kalmia students averaged a positive growth of 0.01 grade levels. While this growth is small, this data tells us that the Kalmia students not only resisted the summer slide but they progressed by 0.01.
With this data, the program expanded to three of BHP’s public housing sites in summer 2014.
To make a donation and support BHP's commitment to closing the Opportunity Gap, please click on the "Donate" button.
