Operation Exodus Inner City Releases 2015 Impact Report

By Author: Matt Mahoney
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/10/15
CONTACT: Julie McGarvey
(212) 543-3305
Julie@OperationExodus.org

NEW YORK, NY: Operation Exodus, a non-profit leader in education initiatives and mentoring services for low-income Hispanic youth published their 2015 Impact Report highlighting that the achievement gap is closing for one set of students, K through 8th grade.

A two-year initiative implemented in 2013 now shows 45% of students who enrolled in the Exodus After School Achievement program were at least one grade level behind in reading, with the majority behind 1.5 grade levels or more. After a two year Reading Intervention Initiative the number of students behind was down to 29%.

Education Coordinator Elam Lantz partly credits a volunteer driven "Reading Buddies" program, and a daily "Stop, Drop & Read" activity, both of which have made reading part of the organizational culture, with staff joining in. The data also reflects Exodus parents are reporting that 79% of Exodus students are reading at home for pleasure.

"When we reach parents, and they see the impact of reading at home, they ...
... begin to share this with their network of parents, and there's a ripple effect. We're looking for the entire community to eventually be transformed, with an increase in academic progress and parent involvement beyond our current group of students."

Another area of reported growth was at the high school level. A College Bound & Ready Timeline was created to target programming for each student, and is also used to assess and track progress. The Exodus high school group has seen a jump in both academic and social growth, with the number of students on track to graduate high school up 22% by the end of June.

Growth in parent involvement, another key indicator of academic success for students, is on the rise as well. The report shows that 88% of parents whose children have been with Exodus for two or more years read with their children at home, regardless of their native language.

The organization should find the data encouraging, as their overall goal is to improve the graduation rate and college readiness for Latino students throughout the district, which is currently plagued by high rates of poverty and unemployment, and extremely low graduation rates for this demographic.

Executive Director Matt Mahoney is quick to point out that the strong mentoring programs are key to fostering academic growth, and also credits the organization's parent outreach programs.

"When we reach parents, and they see the impact of reading at home, they begin to share this with their network of parents, and there's a ripple effect. We're looking for the entire community to eventually be transformed, with an increase in academic progress and parent involvement beyond our current group of students."

Invest In Our Vision for Washington Heights

Operation Exodus offers subsidized after school instruction, summer learning camps, and mentoring and enrichment for youth and teens in Washington Heights, a largely low-income Dominican community in Northern Manhattan. Operation Exodus is funded though the generous support of partners and donors.

Operation Exodus, a New York City non-profit organization has published their 2015 Impact Report. Operation exodus is a leader in education initiatives and mentoring services for low-income Hispanic students K through 8th grade.