NEIGHBORHOOD OUTREACH CONNECTION

To establish a level playing field for all members of our community, so all may enjoy a better quality of life.

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Widening Academic Achievement Gap Between Rich and Poor

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Is there a relationship between family socioeconomic characteristics and academic achievement? Stanford University professor of education Sean Reardon says “yes.” As the income gap between high- and low-income families has widened, the achievement gap between children in high- and low-income families has also widened. In fact, the achievement gap between children from high- and low-income families is roughly 30 to 40 percent larger among children born in 2001 than among those born twenty-five years earlier.

To read Reardon’s study, go to

http://cepa.stanford.edu/content/widening-academic-achievement-gap-between-rich-and-poor-new-evidence-and-possible

 

Bluffton Nonprofit Faces A Costly Downsize

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An empty apartment complex at Bluffton House used to be filled with children learning on computers, and getting help with homework after school.The Neighborhood Outreach Connection (NOC) provides this service to underprivileged children in low income neighborhoods.

“We have pockets of poverty, low income minority housing here, and people need assistance. As far as education, we see it as giving people empowerment to succeed in life, and if we can do that with kids, it’s tremendous,” said Ally McNair.

However, the program will now downsize since the NOC says Bluffton House would not renew their lease.

“NOC has had to move out its two apartments and downsize into one,” McNair said.

McNair says 70 children who live in the Bluffton House complex come to their two units to get help with school work, which in turn raises their grades and improves their test scores.

“Because of the help I’m getting here, I’m getting higher grades,” said fifth grader Kevin Lopez.

Lopez’s unit is directly across from one of the NOC units which will close. He visited the now empty space in dismay on Sunday afternoon.

Brenda Deleon also reminisced in the bare unit. She is now in sixth grade, but remembers when she first came to get the help with school work.

“This is the first apartment that everything started at,” Deleon said. “When I was in second grade, my mom found out about the program and she noticed that I needed help with the grades because I had very low grades.”

The location was convenient for Deleon, too, since she says her family has no car to drive elsewhere for help. She says the computers are helpful, too, since she has no working computer at home.

Now Deleon worries that less children will get the privilege of homework help and computer access like she does, with the switch NOC will make from two units to one.

McNair says there will be 35 less children they can reach from just one apartment.

“I mean, this is going to change the outcome of the future for 35 children who won’t be able to be with us anymore, and that’s huge,” she says.

The NOC first thought they would lose the units and be unable to rent in Bluffton House, period. McNair says about 200 residents, children, and parents rallied and petitioned the new complex owners to allow the program to stay.

The deal made was to rent one unit, different from the two the NOC previously occupied, at a rate of $1,000 in rent each month.

McNair says the fee will be difficult for the nonprofit to shell out each month, since there was no charge before. However, the most difficult thing will be to decide which 35 children they can no longer help.

While McNair says the NOC is still figuring how to make that decision, they are also looking to keep expanding their services to neighborhoods that will allow them to occupy a unit for free, such as some areas in the south end of Hilton Head Island, as well as in northern parts of Beaufort County.

Posted: Dec 22, 2013 5:27 PM EST Updated: Dec 22, 2013 5:27 PM EST

By Ashleigh Holland, Reporter

Despite struggles at Bluffton House, nonprofit group model proves successful

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Neighborhood Outreach Connection plans to expand program locations

The Bluffton House apartments that Neighborhood Outreach Connection — a nonprofit that provides educational support to low-income families — once called home were empty Friday afternoon.

The posters were gone, the desks and computers absent. And most importantly, the students that normally filled the rooms after school were nowhere to be found.

The only thing that remained was a white board with various messages scribbled across it saying how much the children and families love NOC and how important the program is.

Neighborhood Outreach Connection has vacated two subsidized apartments in the complex and must downsize its program. It was a heatbreaking turn of events — according to program leaders, students and district teachers — because the program has scored some successes.

But NOC said it still will be present at Bluffton House and plans to expand its unique model to other communities in Bluffton, Hilton Head and greater Beaufort County.

“The immediate impact will be huge, especially as these kids are showing significant improvements,” NOC founding chairman Naren Sharma said. “We are losing momentum in this neighborhood when the program is having an impact — the teachers schools and parents will tell you that.”

The group has a unique model that sets it apart from many other after-school programs, Sharma said. One of the main differences is that it partners with the Beaufort County School District.

Sharma said Neighborhood Outreach Connection pays teachers to come in and work with the students outside the classroom.

The program also has the same computer programs that students use at school on the computers at the NOC apartments, said Ally McNair, vice chair of the program’s board. This allows students to continue working on classroom work after school and lets teachers keep up with their progress.

Through this additional work, Sharma said the program extends school time by more than 200 hours throughout the year. But instead of touting its own success, the program has the school district measure its progress.

“We are using the schools and the district to monitor our results and hold us accountable,” Sharma said. “From the beginning we have told the district that they will tell us how our students are doing.”

Superintendent Jeffrey Moss said the students are doing well. In their classes and on standardized tests, students are meeting — and in many cases exceeding — the average scores of Beaufort County students.

“We have a good partnership with NOC,” Moss said. “I think they do a really good job and have a really good program for the kids, especially since they are right there in the neighborhoods.”

Neighborhood Outreach Connection currently has three locations, one on Hilton Head and two in Bluffton. But it has plans to expand to reach more low-income and in-need families, McNair said.

NOC will open another location at the southern end of the island in January, Sharma said, and is looking at some other locations in Bluffton and northern Beaufort County.

The group tailors its programs to each specific site to make sure they are reaching the community and have maximum success, Sharma said. For example, some sites like Bluffton House needed to address the digital divide between the schools and homes.

Others might need more emphasis on students and families who need to improve their English.

“No one knows the neighborhoods we are in better than us,” Sharma said. “We have to adjust to meet the needs and priorities of that community.”

At Bluffton House, the group is trying to figure out how to cut its program — and the number of children it serves — in half as it moves in to a single apartment. Several students said they hope they can still be a part of the Neighborhood Outreach Connection.

“NOC is a really good place to learn and get help, and I’m really doing a lot better in my classes,” said Kevin Lopez, a fifth-grader at Red Cedar Elementary School. “I think it’s a really bad idea that they have to move and squeeze because a lot of people come here to learn.”

BY SARAH BOWMAN

December 21, 2013

 

 

Message from the Chair (January 1, 2014)

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I am happy to report that the health of NOC is excellent as it enters 2014. 2014, b

NOC is on a trajectory of expansion in keeping with its strategic goals and priorities for the next five years. Clearly, NOC’s development approach and business model for empowering individuals, families, and communities are showing positive results. By maintaining financial integrity and high quality, demand driven programs, and programs that are cost effective and replicable, NOC has established a solid track record and credibility. The NOC model has recently received national attention for its success, with its results covered in the Wall Street Journal Market Watch, “Making an Investment in At-Risk Kids,” and Real Clear Markets, “Unlearning World Bank Lessons to Fix Local Poverty.” But NOC’s greatest asset continues to be its strong presence in low income neighborhoods, connection with people in these neighborhoods, and introduction of important service providers into these neighborhoods through its programs.

NOC’s commitment to its mission, outreach programs, and the people it serves was put to the test as it addressed the problem of eviction by the new owners of Bluffton House (Aspen Square Management) in mid-2013. Because of its integrity, commitment, and perseverance, NOC was able to renegotiate a contract to stay at Bluffton House by renting one apartment. NOC’s aim is to add another apartment in 2014. NOC is highly indebted to the residents of Bluffton House, the local media, the Town of Bluffton, Lowcountry Presbyterian Church, and the Bluffton community for their support to help NOC retain its program center at Bluffton House. The Bluffton House case shows that together we can make a difference.

In the next five years, NOC will continue to bring educational programs, technology, and health screenings to people with limited pathways to academic and economic success. At the outset of 2014, NOC will focus on the following strategic goals over the next five years:

goal one: Expand NOC’s Program Centers from 3 to 7 to include additional neighborhoods in Beaufort and Jasper counties. Neighborhoods for expansion will be identified in collaboration with local school districts. (Add another 300 students.)

goal two: Improve pre-school (< 5 years) children’s readiness to enter pre-K, improve academic performance outcomes of children in K through Grade 8, and empower non-English speaking individuals in low-income neighborhoods to become functional in English language. (Supporting outcome goals set by BCSD and United Way)

goal three: Improve the health of people living in low-income neighborhoods through outreach, health screenings, referrals, education, and case management. (Target 500 persons annually.)

goal four: Increase NOC’s annual budget from $375,000 in 2013/2014 to $500,000 in 2014-2015, and sustain an average 25% annual growth rate through FY2020.

goal five: Promote NOC’s brand, business model, and results through aggressive marketing, especially in support of fund raising.

In close, I want to thank Ally McNair, NOC’s Vice Chair for her hard work and commitment to NOC’s mission. She has strengthened NOC’s leadership significantly. I also want to extend my special thanks to NOC’s Board of Directors, NOC staff and volunteers, funding agencies, private donors, and friends for their support of NOC. Each day, my personal commitment to NOC’s mission and programs grows as I witness success stories of children and adults from low income neighborhoods, as well as when I see the struggles of people, including children and women, in neighborhoods such as Cordillo Courts, Hedges, and Woodhaven.

Again, together we can make a difference.

Best wishes for 2014.

The NOC Story

 

Neighborhood Outreach Connection is a registered 501(c)(3)
non-profit community development organization.

 

 

NOC – 10 Year Impact Video_Final.mov from Neighborhood Outreach Connection on Vimeo.

NOC – FULL UPDATED VIDEO.mov from Neighborhood Outreach Connection on Vimeo.

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Contact Info

Email

[email protected]

Office Address
4 Dunmore Court
Bldg. A, Suite 102
Hilton Head Island
SC 29926

Phone
843-681-4100
Mailing Address
Neighborhood Outreach Connection
PO Box 23558
Hilton Head, SC, 29925

Program Centers

Beaufort:
Marsh Pointe Center
Waters at Ribaut Center

Bluffton:
Lowcountry Presbyterian Center

Hilton Head Island:
St. Luke’s/Cordillo Center
Island Lutheran Center
New Oaks Center