ALMA DEL MAR’S IMPACT CAMPAIGN
An ambitious, 3 year effort focused on two overarching goals:
GROWING Alma’s impact by providing the startup support and facilities to increase our enrollment to over 1,000 kids in New Bedford within the next four years.
DEEPENING Alma’s impact by funding aspects of our model that transform the scholar, teacher and family experience.
Alma del Mar envisions a future where New Bedford families are surrounded by high quality school options, including our own schools. To bring about this future, we need to redefine what it means to be an urban public school. It’s time to put the school experience for students, teachers and families at the forefront of everything we do.
GROWING THE COMMUNITY
Alma is growing: Eight years after the founding of our successful K-8 charter public school, we’re adding a second K-8 campus that will more than double our total enrollment. By 2022, more than 1,000 New Bedford children will receive a high-quality Alma education each year.
Our future plans involve building a new facility for our Frederick Douglass scholars in another part of the city. This new facility is currently in the pre-development phase, with construction slated to begin in Spring 2020.
As a charter school, we receive virtually no public money for capital needs. That means we rely almost entirely on funders like you to provide the equity for the construction of our new scholars’ school. Every dollar you give our Impact Campaign will be further leveraged by outside financing – to the benefit of all our scholars.
Our goal is to raise $6.2 million over three years toward our new school, located in the North End of New Bedford, and toward deepening our impact in New Bedford and beyond.
DEEPENING THE IMPACT
Our Scholars
The scholar experience is bolstered by the individualized support we provide to each scholar. We do whatever it takes to remove the barriers to our scholars’ achievement. Our Impact Campaign will support this critical work:
- Counseling
- On-site dental care
- Eyeglasses
- Hearing aids
- Clothing
- On-site Physical/ Speech/ Occupational Therapy
Our Teachers
We know that our ability to lead our scholars to wild success in the future depends in large part on our ability to attract, develop and retain top teaching talent. That’s why we’re working to reinvent what it means to be an urban public school teacher.
- Our Associate Teacher program, which allows new teachers to develop their practice with a high level of support from a seasoned educator
- Our Master Teacher program, which allows our highest performing teachers to continue to hone their craft while allowing their classroom to serve as a model both within and beyond our school walls
- The Almazing Fund, a donor-supported fund which give Alma’s incredible educators the chance to experience the world around them and how it relates to their curriculum
- Alma Talks, an opportunity for staff members to share their ideas and expertise with their colleagues.
Our Families
The best schools are a hub of resources and relationships for families, ensuring that parents have ample support in the difficult and critical work of raising strong kids. Families Helping Families will draw on the existing strengths and resources of Alma families toward ensuring that all of our scholars have strong support at home.
- The full-time program coordinator will connect families with community resources related to issues New Bedford families are often impacted by, such as domestic violence, substance abuse, homelessness, and adolescent behavior and health.
- Families will build strong relationships with other families, be exposed to healthy activities around the city at no cost, and be challenged to show service to their greater community.
See the Alma del Mar Impact campaign booklet here.