Program Partnership Application

Literacy Advance meets the growing need for literacy services in the Houston community by collaborating with schools, libraries, and other community-based organizations. We aim to provide program partners with a quality literacy solution which is easily accessible and free for the adult students and families. By establishing program partnerships that bring our high-quality literacy services to various locations around Houston, we combine forces with organizations in our community, avoiding a duplication of efforts. We greatly value the work our partners do in the community and our goal is to create partnerships that build on the strengths of our respective organizations and complement the work we are each doing to improve the lives of Houstonians. We work with our partners to tailor each program to their clients’ needs within our program’s basic framework. Through the experience we’ve gained by working with past and current community partners, we’ve been able to identify criteria we believe are crucial to the creation of an effective and successful volunteer-based literacy program. The following describes our standard program partnership arrangement.

Application Instructions:  Please complete all questions in the application. The application should be completed electronically; please do NOT print this form and complete manually.  Include a letter of support from the Principal, Executive Director, Site Coordinator, or equivalent at your organization.  Submit all materials to the Outreach Program Manager, Kathleen Sartorius via email: [email protected].

Application Timeline:  Applications for Program Partnerships are reviewed according to the dates in the table provided below.  Once your application is received you will be notified by email. Please be sure to check the email address provided – if the address is illegible or incorrect, you may not receive notification that your application has been received.

Applications received by: Will receive a response by:

January 1 January 15 March 1 March 15 June 1 June 15 August 1 August 15 November 1 November 15 Date: Click here to enter text. Name of school/organization: Click here to enter text.

What type of organization is this (e.g. school, church)? Click here to enter text.

Address: Street: Click here to enter text. Street 2: Click here to enter text. City: Click here to enter text. State: Click here to enter text. ZIP Code: Click here to enter text.

School district (if applicable): Click here to enter text.

Principal or Executive Director: Click here to enter text.

If applicable, percentage of families on free and reduced lunches: Click here to enter text. If applicable, percentage of families considered low-income: Click here to enter text.

Who should we contact regarding this application? Name: Click here to enter text. Title: Click here to enter text. Phone: Click here to enter text. Email address: Click here to enter text.

How did you hear about Literacy Advance? Click here to enter text. What type(s) of classes are you interested in offering at your location? (select all that apply):

Click here to enter text.

To have a successful partnership, it is crucial for our community partners to identify a site coordinator who can work with the Literacy Advance Outreach Program Manager and Outreach Coordinator to support both the learners and the volunteer tutors, help maintain records, communicate schedule changes, and assist with other logistics.

Who will serve as site coordinator for this program partnership?

Name: Click here to enter text. Title: Click here to enter text. Phone: Click here to enter text. Email address: Click here to enter text.

Literacy classes are more likely to be successful if they are created in response to a desire for classes expressed by the learners, rather than a need perceived by others.

How have you determined the need for an adult literacy program? Has your community requested literacy classes? Please explain: Click here to enter text.

What support do you have from your local community leaders (e.g. PTO president, mayor, executive director, board member, etc.)? Click here to enter text.

Please identify at least two leaders who are in support of a literacy program partnership. Click here to enter text. When would you like to offer classes? (Check all that apply.) Please note: The following times and days of the week are an estimate of when classes would ideally take place, and the exact schedule for classes at each partnership location would be determined by a mutual agreement with Literacy Advance and the partner.

What are your current hours of operation? Click here to enter text.

If your hours of operation do not currently cover the days/times you would like to offer classes, do you have the capacity to change your hours of operation?

Literacy Advance will review applications based on the timeline provided on the first page of this application. We have a limited capacity to partner so your desired start date may not be possible, but indicating your preferred start date is needed for planning purposes.

When would you like to start the classes (approximate date, e.g. fall 2015)? Click here to enter text.

Is your organization interested in hosting a Literacy Advance Family Literacy Event for parents? Does your organization currently offer any other literacy services?

If yes, are the services provided by your organization or a partner organization? Please describe (e.g. ESL classes two times a week in the evening provided by Houston Community College): Click here to enter text.

If no, has your organization offered literacy services in the past? Click here to enter text.

If your organization has offered literacy services in the past, were the services provided by your organization or a partner organization? Please describe (e.g. ESL classes two times a week in the evening provided by Houston Community College): Click here to enter text.

If your organization has offered literacy services in the past and does not currently, why did the classes end? Please explain: Click here to enter text.

Literacy Advance, to the best of its ability, will assist in volunteer tutor recruitment and placement by publicizing the tutoring opportunity through announcements at our Tutor Training Workshops, internet postings (including on our website), and a monthly email bulletin to trained and prospective tutors. It is highly recommended that the community partner works with Literacy Advance to assist with recruiting tutors (to be trained by Literacy Advance).

Do you have potential volunteers interested in tutoring who would be available at the same time the students are?

If yes, approximately how many? Click here to enter text. What means of publicizing volunteer tutoring roles do you have? (Check all that apply.)

Click here to enter text.

Literacy Advance provides volunteer training for all tutors joining the program. Would you require the volunteers to attend any training or orientation specific to your location (e.g. Do you have a volunteer orientation for your organization that would be helpful for the tutors to attend to learn more about you and your policies?)? If so, describe: Click here to enter text.

In order to sustain our Outreach Programs and maintain the highest quality support for our partners while keeping the program free for the learners, we ask our partners to share the cost of the program by contributing a fee for service. This fee does not cover the full cost of the program, but helps Literacy Advance offset a portion of the expenses. We will work with you to determine the appropriate portion of the cost your organization will cover for the services at your location.

Does your organization have funding allocated for this literacy class? If so, what is the nature of the funding?

Is there is any other information you would like to share about your organization that would be relevant to partnering with Literacy Advance? Click here to enter text.

Please digitally sign below to certify that all of the information above is correct.

Click here to enter text. Click here to enter text. ______Digital Signature (type your name above) Date

Click here to enter text. ______Title

Thank you for your interest in partnering with Literacy Advance!

If you have any questions, please contact the Outreach Program Manager, Kathleen Sartorius at [email protected] or 713.266.8777.