2017–18 Annual Report

This year, we graduated our first class of Building 21 scholars, welcomed another 250 9th grade students into our Lab schools, and added three additional Affiliate schools to our network. Collectively, we now serve over 2,000 students across five states.

This is made possible by an incredible community of students, families, staff, volunteers, partners, and generous supporters. As we grow in numbers and geographic reach, we are working hard to live our mission in every aspect of our work. We hope this Annual Report helps to illuminate our efforts in this regard.

Together, we achieved an 84% graduation rate1 for our inaugural class at Building 21! Watching them walk across the stage was a bittersweet moment. While thrilled for each and every one of them as they launch into the next phase of their lives, we will miss seeing them every day. We will continue to work hard to build on these early positive results, while also diligently focusing on connecting students with their passions and arming them with the skills, mindsets, and knowledge to turn their dreams into reality.

Thank you for your support this year.

Chip Linehan and Laura Shubilla

Co-Executive Directors

dear friends,

1 Source: School District of Philadelphia

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2017–18 Annual Report

2 Letter from Co-Executive Directors

4 Our Mission & Model

5 Our Lab Schools

7 Empower

9 Connect

10 Build Agency

12 Impact

14 A Building 21 Graduate

15 BuildingaNetwork:Affiliates

16 OurAffiliates

17 Our Financials

18 Our Supporters

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Our Mission:

Our Learning Model: Personalized Learning PathwaysStudents' own strengths, interests, and passion shape their pathway across foundation and design years toward college and career readiness.

Strong RelationshipsEvery student is known and understood – this provides the motivation, safety, and confidence that students need to discover and pursue their passions.

Problem-based LearningStudents learn through inquiry and problem-solving, then apply the lessons to make an impact on school and community.

Real-World Learning ExperiencesLearning takes place in and among the larger community, through career- connected studios, mentoring, internships, and more.

Competency-based AssessmentContinual assessment ensures that students progress toward mastery of competencies and receive the right level of support.

Empowering networks of learners to connect with their passions and build agency

to impact their world.

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lab schools “Leading a Building 21 school is as rewarding

as it is challenging. We are blazing a new

trail by fundamentally rethinking school.

But, at the center of it all, is building

deep and positive relationships that

can be life-changing.”

Jose Rosado

School Leader,

Building 21 Allentown

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Source: https://futurereadypa.org/

265 Lehigh Street Allentown, PA 18102

Opened September, 2015

9-11 Grade

406 students

80.0% Economically Disadvantaged

10.1% English Language Learners (ELL)

16.0% Special Education

16.8% Black/African American 71.2% Hispanic 10.3% White 1.4% Two or more races / Other

6501 Limekiln Pike Philadelphia, PA 19138

Opened September, 2014

9-12 Grade

382 students

97.2% Economically Disadvantaged

6.2% English Language Learners (ELL)

14.8% Special Education

74.8% Black/African American 21% Hispanic 1.1% White 3.1% Two or more races / Other

our lab schools

AT A GLANCEB-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate(New 2017-18)

B-21 Affiliate

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Empowering networks of learners to connect with their passions and build agency

to impact their world.

In 2017-18 we focused on the conditions that ensure students can learn and thrive by.........

Unless otherwise stated, student data on this and the following pages are for Philadelphia and Allentown combined.Sources: Allentown and Philadelphia District Student Information Systems

Launched “Teen Court” Pilot in Philadelphia

89% Average daily attendance

Investments in Restorative Practices and trauma-informed care across both schools

<10% of students experience out-of-school suspension

Showing up

Getting support

Staying focused

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92.3% “I feel safe in my classes; I feel safe in the hallways and bathrooms.”

3.8 out of 5“I feel safe in this school.”

1 Responses of "agree" and "strongly agree" combined. 2 Average response to a survey given to all students over the past three years. The scale ranges from 1-strongly disagree to 5-strongly agreeSource: Building 21 student surveys.

Allentown2:

Philadelphia1: 78.8%“I am learning skills in school that will help me when I am older.”

74.2% “I am learning skills in school that can help me make my community better.”

4.4 out of 5“I know I will graduate from high school.”

Survey says:

Empowering networks of learners to connect with their passions and build agency

to impact their world.

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4H Clubs

Allentown Artists

Associated Builders & Contractors

ATAS

Attorney Gavin Holihan

B. Braun

Baum School of Art

BB&T Bank

Cetronia Ambulance

City of Allentown

City of Philadelphia

Civic Theater

Communities in Schools

Community Bike Works

Crime Victims Council

Crystal Springs Dairy Farm

DaEssence of Perfection

Deloitte LLC

DeSales University

Digital Feast

Drexel University

East Stroudsburg University

Eat.Right.Now

Fe Foundation

First Commonwealth Credit Union

Germantown Studios

Good Shepherd

Grim’s Orchard

Harry Fisher

Haven House

Hawk Mountain

Head and Hand Publishing

Health Network Labs

IBEW

Immersive.XR

Jackson Elem. School

JEVS Human Services

Junior Achievement

Kutztown University

La Salle University

Lehigh County Bar Association

Lehigh County Conservation District

Lehigh University

Lehigh Valley Child Care Centers

Lehigh Valley Health Network

Lehigh Valley Zoo

Lil Le-Hi Fish Hatchery

Lutron

McKinley Elementary School

Miller Keystone

Mini Med School

Moravian College

Muhlenberg College

Northampton Community College

Orleans Technical College

PA Renaissance Fair

PBS 39

Penn State University & Extension Center

PHEAA

PPL

Promise Neighborhoods

Queen City Acres

Rider Pool Trust

Sandbox Platform

Sean Tate

Senator Pat Browne

SMP Architects

Spillman-Farmer

Steelton Highspire School District

Tech Smart Kids

TechServ

Tee Academy

Temple University

The Make the World Better Foundation

The Monell Center

The Morning Call

The Uncommon Individual Foundation

The United Safety Academy

Trexler Trust

Vetri Community Partnership

Villanova University

Wells Fargo

Working Dog Press

Y-Knot Alpaca Farm

Thank you to our generous industry partners for creating authentic, real-world learning opportunities for our students.

Empowering networks of learners to connect with their passions and build agency

to impact their world.

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Empowering networks of learners to connect with their passions and build agency

to impact their world.

50% of Allentown students complete AP or college classes during their high school career. Many will graduate with college credit.

1 out of 3“designers”—our 3rd and 4th year students—participated in paid internships, college academic enrichment programs, or leadership programs through our summer learning program.

40% of 4th year students have been a part of a mentorship program to reinforce their academic skills and habits of success in the real world.

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Source: https://futurereadypa.org/ (Year to year comparison for Allentown will be available next year.)

Standardized Test Results - Pennsylvania Keystone ExamsProficiency in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math for all 11th Graders

Percent scoring Proficient or Advanced

The comparative set of schools is comprised of all high schools in the Commonwealth of PA that are similar to our schools according to the following criteria:

Building 21 Allentown

B21-A Comparable Schools (9)

Building 21 Philadelphia

B21-P Comparable Schools (21)

Students of Color 89.7% ≥70% 98.9% ≥70%

Economically Disadvantaged 80% 70%–90% 97.2% 90%–100%

English Learners 10.1% 10%–20% 6.2% ≤10%

Students With Disabilities 16.0% ≥10% 14.8% ≥10%

No Admission Criteria ü ü ü ü

Urban + District or Charter ü ü ü ü

Total # Students 406 13,824 357 11,808

Empowering networks of learners to connect with their passions and build agency

to impact their world.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Math

Math

ELA

ELA

44.2%

40.2%

28.6%

31.8%

27.6%

40.5%

25.8%

14.0%

22.7%

14.4%

Phila 2016–17

Phila 2017–18

Phila 2016–17

Phila 2017–18

Allentown 2017–18

Comp 2017–18

Allentown 2017–18

Comp 2017–18

Comp 2017–18

Comp 2017–18

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One of our key metrics states that every graduating senior will have a realistic and actionable post-secondary plan so that six months after high school graduation, our alumni are either working or in school.

Building 21 Philadelphia graduated its first class this year. Allentown will graduate its first class next year.

Graduation Rate:Philadelphia (2018)1 = 84%

College Acceptance Rate:Philadelphia (2018)2 = 97%

On Track to Graduate:Allentown (2019)3 = 80%+

To date, we know that 75% of our 2017 graduates have achieved this outcome.

Empowering networks of learners to connect with their passions and build agency

to impact their world.

1 Source: School District of Philadelphia2 Student reported and documented by school staff3 Estimated

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"Building 21 helped me develop the amazing networking and communication skills that I have today. Having good relationships with

my teachers was the key to my success. Their knowledge and expertise helped me to grow

as a person and a scholar. I don't know where I would be, if it

weren't for Building 21!" Luis Otano

2018 Building 21 Philadelphia Graduate,

Penn State Freshman“Building 21 provides both students and staff with an awesome opportunity to create lasting connections and support systems.”Daneen Gackou Teacher, Building 21 Philadelphia

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A Building 21 GraduateShifting the graduation requirement narrative Inspired by the NextGen Learning Challenges MyWays Student Success Framework, we have developed a set of graduation requirements composed of academic and non-academic competencies, mindsets, skills, and experiences organized in five domains:

Academic / Core Content

AreasELA, Social Studies,

Math Science, Visual Art, World Language,

and Health

Next-Gen EssentialsProject Quality, Presentation,

Collaboration, and Written Communication

in the Workplace

Wayfinding Experiences

A series of experiences necessary for students to reflect, document,

and communicate their Wayfinding

Journey.

Personal Development

Effective Effort, Decision-making, and

Social Skills and Awareness

Habits of Success

Personal Work Habits, Professionalism,

Planning My Journey, and Building Networks

Each domain has sets of competencies or experiences that students are required to complete to earn credit and graduate from high school.

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“Becoming a Building 21 affiliate is like joining a family. Building 21 has helped our team at Kankakee School District discuss, problem solve, and find workarounds to all of the barriers that stand in the way of truly redesigning the high school experience.”

Felice HybertAssistant Superintendent of Curriculum and InstructionKankakee School District

building a network: affiliatesB

uild

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The Building 21 Affiliate Program

Our Affiliate SchoolsKankakee High SchoolKankakee School DistrictKankakee, IL

Polaris Tech CharterJasper CountyRidgeland, SC

Vista CharterMontrose County School DistrictMontrose, CO

Central AcademyMeridian, Idaho

Eagle AcademyEagle, Idaho

Meridian AcademyMeridian, Idaho

Illinois

Colorado

Idaho

Pennsylvania

SouthCarolina

Our Affiliate Program provides schools and districts that are transitioning to competency-based education access to our learning tools and support through their process.

We provide our competency-based LMS and data dashboards, technical consulting, leadership coaching, and teacher professional development. This year, we welcomed three new affiliates to our network.

B-21 Affiliate(New 2017-18)

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 AffiliateB-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 Affiliate

B-21 Lab School

West Ada School District

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Audited Financial Results

IncomeSource Amount PercentageContributions $1,566,595 79.99%School and Consulting Fees $391,535 19.99%

Interest $295 0.02%Total Income $1,958,425

ExpensesSource Amount PercentageProgram Services $1,362,633 82.10%Management and General $262,056 15.79%

Fundraising $35,040 2.11%Total Expenses $1,659,729

Contributions

School & Consulting

Fees

Interest

Fundraising

Mgmt. & General

Program Services

Trauma-Informed Care and Restorative Practices $190,504 11.5%We invested just under $200,000 in building out our Trauma-Informed Care and Restorative Practices initiative in our Philadelphia school. This investment reinforced the importance of building positive relationships and strengthened our staff’s skills in implementing in-school, restorative discipline approaches, keeping our students safe, connected and in-school.

Major Program InvestmentsPartners and Pathways

$213,431 12.9%We also continued to make a significant investment in connecting our students to the outside world through internships, on-site learning, studio-partnerships, mindfulness and other hands-on learning opportunities.

Information Technology$115,730 7.0%We made significant investments in our learning management and analytics systems to support our growth and to further improve these mission-critical applications.

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Donor Recognition

2017-2018 DonorsGifts and grants received between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018

$50,000 or moreThe Lenfest Foundation

Linehan Family Foundation

$25,000 to $49,999Capital BlueCross

Charles and Molly Linehan Foundation

Philadelphia Schools Partnership

PPL Corporation

William Penn Foundation

$10,000 to $24,999Air Products Foundation

CAPERS

Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation

Duggan & Marcon

Lehigh Valley Workforce Development Board

The Rider-Pool Foundation

Up to $9,999American Bank

Deloitte

Donald Bernhard

Doug Brown

Downtown Allentown Community Development Initiative

Justin Klein

Laurie Gostley-Hackett

Lissette Santana

Sacred Heart Hospital

Tara Zaks

US Lacrosse

Honor Roll DonorsGifts and grants received since our founding in 2014

Cornerstone SupportersCumulative Gifts or Grants of greater than $500,000

Air Products Foundation

The Lenfest Foundation

Philadelphia Schools Partnership

Keystone SupportersCumulative Gifts or Grants of greater than $250,000

The Century Fund

Harry C. Trexler Trust

Linehan Family Foundation

New Schools Venture Fund

Next Generation Learning Challenges

PPL Corporation

We are extremely grateful for all of the support we received this year and since our founding.

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www.building21.org | info@b-21.org