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Freddie Mac Foundation

D.C. Schools Superintendent Recognizes J.C. Nalle’s Accomplishment

September 8, 2004 — The snooze button wasn't an option on September 1 as alarm clocks rang and school bells tolled in the District of Columbia. Helping kick off the 2004 school year, Freddie Mac Foundation President and CEO and Vice President of Community Relations Maxine Baker and Foundation Giving Director Cheryl Clarke joined District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) Superintendent Dr. Clifford Janey, and J.C. Nalle Principal Tracy Wright for a first-day-of-school visit to J.C. Nalle Community School in southeast D.C.

Foundation CEO Maxine Baker and Director Cheryl Clarke discuss the Foundation's work at J.C. Nalle Elementary with D.C. Superintendent Dr. Clifford Janey.

Freddie Mac and the Freddie Mac Foundation have had a long history with the school. For more than a decade, Freddie Mac has had a business-school partnership with J.C. Nalle, where employee volunteers have supported the school through a variety of efforts that include tutoring, mentoring and pen pal programs. In addition, the Freddie Mac Foundation has supported J.C. Nalle as a signature program since 1997, investing nearly $3 million to transform it into a community school that provides comprehensive services to the children and their families.

The community school model focuses on bringing new resources and integrating them into the school to lighten the burden of teachers and students and to help children enter their classrooms ready to learn. The program includes a wide-range of services such as an extended-day program, a part-time psychologist, tutoring, health screenings and counseling, a computer lab, full-time social worker, summer programs, parent education and GED classes, and cultural and recreational programs.

In introducing Dr. Janey to the school and its students, Wright acknowledged the ongoing Freddie Mac partnership and the difference it continues to make, especially to improvements in the students standardized SAT 9 test scores. This year, J.C. Nalle showed the most progress of all the Division 3 DCPS institutions, improving from 24th to 11th out of 40 schools in the Division.

"Due in part to the Freddie Mac Foundation's financial support and the contributions of Freddie Mac volunteers, we're seeing a holistic community effort develop in support of J.C. Nalle and its students," Baker commented. "We're thrilled to see the growth that's taking place in students' lives as they pursue their dreams. Equally exciting to see is the transformation taking place in homes and families as they find hope and are strengthened through the programs the community school brings together under the leadership and vision of Principal Wright and her staff."

"Hope and opportunity are at the core of what we teach, and we're grateful to partner with Freddie Mac and the Freddie Mac Foundation, which are bringing a brighter future to our community," says Wright. "I'm grateful that Dr. Janey could see first-hand today the unfolding of our dreams though a valued partnership that makes every effort together worthwhile."

Wright also noted other areas of progress:

  • During 2003-2004, all J.C. Nalle students met the baseline scores for basic reading and math; and

  • Within Division 3 schools, J.C. Nalle is the one that parents want to send their kids to.

During his visit, Dr. Janey showed particular interest in how student performance could be enhanced throughout the school system and how that progress has been achieved at J.C. Nalle. Representatives of organizations such as the National Parents and Teachers Association (PTA), the D.C. Teachers Union, City Council and the School Board also accompanied him. Together, the group toured classrooms including a Head Start room that had recently been painted and made more user friendly during a beautification project organized by Freddie Mac volunteers.

Perhaps most dramatic for the students and their teachers on this year's first day of class, however, was the outcome of Freddie Mac's school supplies project in support of students in early childhood (Montessori, Head Start) through fifth grade. For the past several weeks, employees voluntarily purchased and donated 5,375 school items – everything from backpacks to crayons and composition books.

"The hard work and giving spirit of Freddie Mac employees and volunteers continue to make a huge difference in addressing the needs of these children and their teachers. It further demonstrates to parents and the community that a caring partnership can help strengthen both home and community," said Baker.