EXL Portfolio
Leadership
Leadership Skills
The following paper "The Algebra Club" was written in my Communication in Communities class. For this paper I developed and implemented a nonprofit organization called the Algebra Club for a local elementary school. I began the program with just the hope of making a difference in one childs life, and over time it developed into a very successful program that helped many students. My idea worked and before I knew it I had become a leader, mentor, and friend to many of the wonderful students I worked with.
Selection
The Algebra Club
Introduction:
The nonprofit organization I created was called the Algebra Club. The organization was designed to give special educational opportunities to local children who were highly advanced or gifted in the area of mathematics. I have always felt that public schools spent most of the available classroom time in helping to bring less advanced students along, but there were no specific programs to help the more advanced student. This organization would be tailored to the special learning abilities of advanced students, which would help develop their special abilities. They should not be penalized by holding them back to become bored or lose interest all together, because they already understand basic math concepts.
The first of the three organizations I chose that interested me is the Springfield School Volunteers, which is a “non-profit organization dedicated for 38 years to marshalling the resources of the community to benefit the children, teachers and principals of the Springfield Public Schools. In alignment with Step Up Springfield, our focus is to provide academic support for students in grades k-12 to promote academic proficiency among Springfield Public School students” (Springfield, 1). The second is the Colorado Parent Information Resource Center, which “focuses on increasing meaningful parent involvement in education” (Colorado, 1). The third organization is the Fairfax County Association for the Gifted. They “monitor legislation and regulations affecting the education of all students with an emphasis on gifted/talented programs” along with providing educational programs for these students (Fairfax, 1).
Comparison of Mission Statements:
Springfield School Volunteers:
Of the three organizations, my favorite mission statement is from the Springfield School Volunteers. It says “The Mission of Springfield School volunteers is to promote and facilitate learning focused community involvement in support of the Springfield Public Schools’ goal of insuring that every child attains a high level of academic achievement in a safe and supportive environment”. I chose this statement as my favorite for many reasons. “A mission statement should include…a statement of purpose for the organization, indication of line of business or specialty” (Graham, 3). This mission statement does both of these things clearly. Their purpose is to get “volunteers to promote and facilitate learning-focused community involvement”, and their business/specialty is “ensuring that every child attains a high level of academic achievement” (Springfield Mission).
According to author Marianne Talbot, “The effective mission statement is one that is actively helping everyone in the organization to live up to the values it expresses” (Talbot, 9). This mission statement tells anyone inside or outside the organization exactly what it expects its volunteers to do when they are working for the organization, which is to “promote and facilitate learning-focused community involvement” (Springfield Mission). Effective mission statements should also express the organizations values clearly (Talbot, 10). The Springfield Schools mission does this as well. They clearly define their values as education/learning, community involvement, and academic achievement. This allows all their volunteers to know what the organization stands for so they can all “strive for the same goals, work in accordance with the same principles, and adhere to the same standards” which are all important parts of what an effective mission statement should allow (Talbot, 10).
The final reason I chose this mission statement as my favorite is because I feel it “fosters organizational morale” (Talbot, 10). There mission should keep the morale of the volunteers high because they all know if they live up to the organizations values they will accomplish their goal of “ensuring that every child attains a high level of academic achievement in a safe and supportive environment” (Springfield Mission). They know they will be helping to better the lives of children.
Fairfax County Association for the gifted:
The Fairfax County association for the gifted states its mission as “FCAG is a non-profit advocacy group supporting educational programs for gifted and talented students enrolled in Fairfax County schools. I did not feel this mission statement expressed its values as well as the Springfield Schools mission did. They told their purpose of “supporting educational programs” but, that was really it. Their mission does not “help everyone in the organization to live up to the values it expresses” (Talbot, 9). All their volunteers would know is that they should support educational programs, but the mission doesn’t tell what their support of these programs is supposed to lead to.
Colorado Parent Information and Resource Center:
The Colorado Parent Information and Resource Center’s mission says “The CPIRC builds partnerships between schools and families”. This mission’s statement does tell the purpose or goal of the CPIRC; and like the Fairfax County organization it does not explain how the volunteers of the organization will accomplish their goal. This mission also does not state the values of the organization, which are needed to make a mission statement effective.
The Algebra Club:
“The mission of the Algebra Club is to provide unique one-on-one and small group learning opportunities for mathematically gifted and highly advanced students in the Wilson County school system, in order to instill a greater love of learning early on in their lives”. “Writing a mission statement means stating the purpose of a corporation or nonprofit organization” (Graham, 3). This statement identifies the organization’s purpose as “providing unique one-on-one and small group learning opportunities” and “to instill the love of learning”.
Our mission statement also “expresses values that everyone in the organization understands and shares” (Talbot, 10). It expresses our value of education, and the love of learning. We believe our statement clearly shows what our organization wishes to accomplish, and what we expect our volunteers to work for. Our mission statement is written to express the “values and beliefs already at work in our organization” (Graham, 4).
Comparison of Logos
Springfield School Volunteers:
I chose the Springfield School Volunteers logo as my favorite. I chose this logo because it had a very simple yet classic look. It has a timelessness that will not require redesign in a few years (Maa, 1). Their logo consists of the organization’s name written in black with a red apple in the bottom right. There is a “repetition of similar elements…. helps people to remember who you are and what you do” (Maa, 1). They use the red apple in their logo as a symbol for link buttons on their website. The red apple is a good symbol because it is a symbol of childhood education. This logo would also “translate well either to black and white or grayscale”, and would “look equally good in every size” (Maa, 1).
Colorado Parent Information Resource Center:
The CPIRC’s logo is a more complex logo with abbreviations and more wording. This logo does not have any small elements to use in a number of similar ways. And, there is no meaning to any of the elements in the logo to represent the organization’s purpose. Also, this logo has small writing at the bottom of the logo, which makes it difficult to read when scaled down to a small size. However, this logo would look good when transferred into black and white.
Fairfax County Association for the gifted:
The FCAG’s logo has a unique water wave background that would make the logo difficult to put into black and white. This logo like the CPIRC’s, does not have any simple elements that would translate the organization’s meaning to the public. The logo also has small letters at the bottom, which would make the words difficult to read when the logo is scaled down.
The Algebra Club:
The Algebra Club’s logo is designed to reflect math in a fun way. The organization was designed to improve children’s math skills in a fun way, so we wanted our logo to represent our organization in a fun way. In order to do this we chose a funny looking font, and switched between upper and lower case letters. Our logo has a “Repetition of similar elements, used in the same or similar ways, helps people to remember who you are and what you do” (Maa, 1). The background is full of scattered mathematical symbols which will “spread the message about the distinguishing characteristics of our business” (Maa, 1). The mathematical symbols and the equations at the bottom allow everyone who looks at our logo to see that we can teach math in a fun way. Our logo also has a timelessness quality. By using just the name of our organization and simple math symbols, it will ensure that our design will not require redesign in just a few years (Maa, 1). Our logo is also easy to reproduce, because it will “translate well either to black and white or grayscale” (Maa, 1). It can easily be scaled down to smaller sizes and still be read, which is important in making the logo effective. Within our logo there is a “unity among the different elements in the logo”. All of the elements have to do with math and with algebra. All in all, we feel our logo represents our organization well.
Comparison of Boards
Springfield School Volunteers:
Once again for the third time I believe that the Springfield School Volunteers have the strongest Board of Directors. They have the greatest number of people by far on their board compared to either FCAG or CPIRC. This allows their organization to have a better mixer of people with different specialties and knowledge in important areas, on their board. An organization must think about the many different types of people that are needed on a board to make it successful. “Providing a means for involving people who are willing to give very critical assistance, but have limited time” (Axelrod, 2). This is very important to an organization because these people “might include a highly placed public official, an influential business person, or someone with access to potential large donors” (Axelrod, 2). Their board includes many local members with areas of expertise. They have Maureen Guzik from Florence Savings Bank to handle financial issues as their treasurer. Along with three other members in the financial world who could help if need be. They have two members from local newspapers and one from an advertising company, to help with the advertising of their organization. Since the organization has to do with a public school they also have two people from Springfield Public Schools, and many members from surrounding colleges. There is also a member from the City Council to help with community issues that might affect the organization.
CPIRC’s Board:
The CPIRC’s board consists of only eight members. Five of these members are parent representatives. In some ways this is good because the parents will work hard for a organization that benefits their children, but on the other hand it does not leave room for many other people within the community. The community representatives they do have are important people to include. One is from the Dept. of Education, which is important because CPIRC is a school organization. The second community member is from the Family Liaison for Special Populations, which will help with children’s needs. A member from the Family Literacy organization is the last community member.
FCAG’s Board:
The FCAG’s board is also very small in number. They in fact only have enough people to fill the major positions of the organization; one for president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and FCPS GT Coordinator. This does not allow for a lot of outside expertise to be heard in the organization.
The Algebra Club:
For the Albebra Club’s Board of Directors we chose a larger number of members. We feel that each member was chosen for a distinct purpose because they had some connection, knowledge, or ability that would benefit our organization. “An effective board also ensures that the behavior of the organization is congruent with its goals and values” (Houchin, 8). All of our board members are committed to the organization’s goals and values. They believe in the organization. We have a CPA and a lawyer to handle some of the technicalities of our business, along with representatives from the county school system to provide educational oversight. Publicity is such an important part of running an organization that we chose representative from the local newspaper on our board. We also have other members who are greatly involved in the community that have many valuable connections. Our board is composed of representatives who can guide and assist in the organization’s efforts, “establish the mission of the organization, to monitor the organization’s progress in achieving that mission, and to review the mission periodically and revise it when necessary” (Houchin, 3).
Conclusion:
In the end I would like the Algebra Club to be a combination of all three of the organizations I looked at. I believe that each one of the organizations does something wonderful for the children of their community, and I believe they are all touching many lives with the work that they do. And, that is the overall purpose of the Algebra Club.
Works Cited
Axelrod, Nancy. Advisory Committee. National Center for Nonprofit Boards, 1994.
Colorado Parent Information Resource Center. 22 August 2005. US Department of
Education Office of Innovation and Improvement. 13 Sept. 2006 <http://www.cpirc.org/index.asp>.
Fairfax County Association For The Gifted. 13 Sept. 2006 <http://www.fcag.org>.
Graham, John, and Wendy Havlick. Mission Statements: A Guide to the Corporate and Nonprofit Sectors. New York: Garland Publishing, 1994.
Maa Graphics. 2005. 21 Sept. 2006 <http://www.maagraphics.com/tips.htm>.
Springfield School Volunteers. 13 Sept. 2006 <http://www.springfieldschoolvolunteers.org>.
Talbot, Marianne. Make Your Mission Statement Work. United Kingdom: How to Books Ltd, 2003.
Widmer, Candace, and Susan Houchin. The Art of Trusteeship. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.
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