The Seedling Foundation

About Us

SEEDLING FOUNDATION

"Changing the Landscape of Education"

Our Mission:

The Seedling Foundation responds to the needs of public schools in Texas by providing resources, assistance and programming. The Foundation focuses on: Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents, Campus Beautification, and College Admissions Preparation and Advising.

Our Vision:

The Seedling Foundation envisions communities that wrap their caring and capable arms around their public schools.

Our History:

The Foundation was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1998. Since that time, we have been known both as the Travis High School Educational Foundation and later as Travis Community Education Foundation, both names reflecting the scope of the organization’s work at a particular time in our history. In the summer of 2007, having touched dozens of schools and several school districts, we formally changed our name to the Seedling Foundation. Whether a small non-profit with a presence in a handful of schools or a large one with a presence that spans multiple school districts, our model has remained the same; a group of committed citizens, public corporations and small businesses working collaboratively with schools to build long-term, sustainable partnerships. These partnerships have provided computers, software and training for teachers, new facilities, Internet support, mentoring, major exterior renovations of campuses and a variety of academic enhancement programs for students ranging from math summer camps to paid summer internships in specific career pathways. Working with our school partners, Seedling Foundation has invested millions of dollars in the "Renaissance of Texas Public Schools."

Seedling Campus Beautification

The Seedling Foundation has used landscaping and exterior improvements for AISD campuses to build community in our public schools. The Foundation crafts three-year plans for the schools we support that are developed with the school leadership, parents and neighborhood representatives. "Working Saturdays" are as much about building community as they are about improving the campuses. The students, parents and faculty work side by side with friends of the Foundation resulting in a newly discovered pride of ownership in their schools. The work is varied and always challenging. Heavy equipment is ordered days before the beginning of the project to dig holes, put sprinkler lines in place and prepare the work area. Skilled professionals build flowerbeds, create lovely rockwork and borders, install sprinklers and spread topsoil before the volunteers arrive for the "Working Saturday." The fun is in the planting, and we want that to be a good experience for our community volunteers. In the weeks that follow, smaller crews work on painting, mold abatement and drainage issues. Sometimes the more challenging issues must be set aside until the summer when our contractors have provided the work crews and materials for major projects including courtyards and sidewalks. Seedling Campus Beautification projects can be seen at more than thirty AISD campuses, and are often a visible sign of the rebuilding of community at those schools. In 2008 the Austin Partners in Education organization recognized Seedling Director Chuck Borgeson and his wife Luan as "Outstanding Volunteers of the Year" in recognition of the countless hours of leadership each has provided to ensure the success of the Campus Beautification projects.

Seedling's Promise: Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents

The Foundation has expanded its mission to other areas as well. In 2005-2006, in response to the request of Austin ISD principals, the Foundation implemented a pilot mentor program at four elementary schools and one middle school. This unique program, which became known as Seedling’s Promise, matches specially trained volunteers from the community with children who are identified by their counselors as having been separated from their parents as a consequence of the parents’ incarceration. The mentors receive training that is designed specifically for the purpose of preparing them to serve this population. Additionally, they receive ongoing support throughout the school year to address urgent issues and concerns that sometimes arise in the context of the mentoring relationship. The training and support are provided by highly experienced program staff. Seedling’s Promise won the “Outstanding Program of the Year” award from Austin Partners in Education and AISD for its 2005-2006 pilot and has grown the program both in numbers and quality in the years to follow:

Major Accomplishments:

- In September of 2006, the foundation won a $381,000/three-year grant from the United States Department of Health & Human Services. During the first year of the grant, we more than tripled the scope of the program and affected more than 150 children in 17 AISD schools.
- In May of 2007 the Foundation was named a finalist by Austin Partners in Education in the "Rookie of the Year" category and Sari Waxler was nominated as "Mentor of the Year."
- In school year 2007-2008 Seedling's Promise partnered with 19 schools in AISD, piloted a school in Pflugerville and two in Round Rock ISD and affected over 200 children.
- In August of 2007, at the invitation of the Seedling Foundation, journalist and noted author Nell Bernstein (All Alone in the World, Children of the Incarcerated), renowned trainer Ann Adalist-Estrin, and champion of the children's bill of rights Dee Ann Newell visited and trained the AISD Guidance and Counseling professionals in an effort to aid this growing demographic in AISD students.
- Executive Director Sari Waxler was recognized as APIE "Mentor of the Year" for 2008 and the Seedling's Promise program was a finalist for "Outstanding Program of the Year."
- In May of 2007 the Rourke College Scholarships were offered for the first time. Since that time, a total of five eighth grade students have won $5,000 college scholarships which are being held in a trust until their graduation from high school and acceptance to a two or four year higher education institution.
- In school year 2008-2009, Seedling's Promise launched what was to become a successful pilot in two elementary schools in the Georgetown ISD. The pilot’s success provided effective leverage and the Foundation went on to win a $20,000 grant from the United Way of Williamson County in the summer of 2009 to support expansion of the program in Georgetown and in Round Rock.

Seedling’s Promise has gained national attention as a successful site-based approach to match high quality mentors with a specific group of children through a cooperative partnership with a large urban school district. AISD has been a leader in the nation, and through this partnership many children are getting the support and adult friendship they need to be successful. Supported, nurtured and encouraged, Seedling's Promise mentors have a meaningful mentoring experience as evidenced by their impressive retention rate, far above the national average. Quality mentoring, over time, has the potential to avert the intergenerational trajectory towards incarceration for children who grow up with parents who are in prison. Such is the vision of Seedling’s Promise.

Seedling Post Secondary Programs - College Admissions Mentoring Program

An outstanding academic support program began in 2004-2005 when professional SAT tutor and Princeton Review authority Chris Blazier and renowned mathematics teacher Frances Martinez joined our volunteer team and recruited a group of specialists to work with rising juniors at Akins, Travis and Lanier High Schools with the goal of achieving recognition in the National Merit Scholarship competition. The College Admissions Mentoring Program or CAMP is ongoing and has nearly tripled in size. In 2006-2007 the Foundation’s support resulted in National Merit Semi-Finalists and Commended Scholars from the original group of students, in schools that historically had had few, if any, National Merit recognitions.

Seedling Fine Arts Program

The Foundation loves arts in schools. We have formed a partnership with Zachary Scott Theatre’s Project InterACT, and each year elementary schools are chosen as sites for Zachary Scott’s children’s live theatre performances. Over the past four years, 40 schools have been the beneficiaries of the delightful performances.

School to Career Highlights

The Seedling Foundation funded the first two Career Pathway Institutes for the Austin Independent School District. At William B. Travis High School, the Foundation worked with the Hotel and Restaurant Associations in the design and construction of a 6,500 square foot state of the art teaching kitchen for the Institute of Hospitality & Culinary Arts at Travis.

The Foundation sponsored a study trip for twelve students who participated in a 3-week internship in Ireland during which they studied with great chefs and specialists in world renowned hotels.

The Foundation spearheaded the conversion of 10,000 square feet of old homemaking labs at Lanier High School into a state of the art facility for the Lanier Health Sciences Institute, now known as the W.Neal Kocurek Health Science Institute.

The Automotive & Body Repair Institute at Crockett, which opened in the spring of 2008 as a joint project of AISD and ACC, was made possible by funding leveraged by the Foundation.

Technology Support

Technology is extremely important in the education of our children. Over a three-year period working with INTEL Teach to the Future and some very outstanding technology focused instructional specialists, the Foundation made considerable progress in enhancing the computer literacy of classroom teachers. We have provided several high schools with state of the art computer labs and worked with local high tech companies to provide the technical support to sustain these systems on individual campuses. Travis High School and Reagan High School benefitted from free evening computer literacy courses featuring extensive training in areas ranging from basic word processing to network administration. Over 4,000 adults completed various programs and reported having obtained better jobs as a result. In 2005 the Foundation formed a partnership with Summitt Elementary School PTA and provided matching funds to make a new computer lab possible for their children. In 2006 more matching funds were leveraged to purchase computers for the magnet program at Kealing Middle School, which made JAVA programming classes possible. Though not an active area of support for the Foundation currently, the effects of these contributions is alive and well in Austin ISD schools.

Internet Support

In 2004-2005, the Foundation’s President, Kali´ P. Rourke stepped forward to offer a new service to our community’s public schools: customized web sites with webmaster support. Twenty-four hour turnaround on posting of new information to the site was always the goal, and we found the websites to be excellent and efficient community builders with current and potential students and their families. Smaller and less connected schools found that an "Internet Presence" could help attract new families and new teachers to their schools and involve them immediately. One of our enterprising elementary schools, Ortega Elementary, actually used their computer lab as a bilingual cafe for parents on specified mornings. Parents came in and had coffee with a teacher who then showed them how to use "their" web site and take advantage of many bilingual and Spanish language links that increased their English language skills along with their computer skills. Ortega Elementary won the "Austin Partners in Education Campus Spirit Award for 2004-2005" for their innovative use of the their donated web site and Summitt Elementary won an Outstanding Web Site award in 2005-2006 from Texas PTA. In 2007-2008 the Foundation supported 15 elementary web sites, 3 middle school web sites, the Austin Council of PTA, Texas PTA Area 6 and the St. John Community/School Alliance web sites. Software issues forced the discontinuation of this program as of the close of 2007-2008.

Summer Academic Enrichment Program

n the past, the Foundation has also facilitated Summer Academic Camps for freshman and middle school students. We have sponsored these camps on up to five high school campuses and two middle school campuses. The goal was to help those who just needed a little assistance to do well in algebra and reading. Nationally prominent educators directed the math camps initially and paid classroom teachers learned new ways to teach math concepts. Small class size was a priority, and the classes aimed for a 20 to 1 ratio. The feature of these camps that differentiated them and made them work was the small daily stipend per student, provided by Foundation donors. This stipend provided a substantial incentive for struggling and often economically challenged learners. Perfect attendance and diligence was rewarded by the stipend, but the real payoff came in their increased comprehension and passing rates in high school algebra and progress in reading.

In closing….

The Seedling Foundation is made up of people just like you, who are dedicated to making a focused and targeted difference in public schools. Public schools are ours to support or lose, as we choose. The beauty of the public school system in our society is that all are served, whether rich or poor, high or low performing, normal or handicapped, advantaged or disadvantaged. No one is turned away. Is this a purpose you can support? Think about getting involved with the Seedling Foundation, whether financially or with the gift of your time and talents.

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