Why are most of Say Yes to Education's investments
located in "CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN"?
New Guilford superintendent brings 25 years of education experience
Posted: Tuesday, June 28, 2016 10:22 pm
By Marquita Brown marquita.brown@greensboro.com
GREENSBORO — Sharon Contreras’ academic background — starting as an English teacher 25 years ago and working as chief academic officer for several school systems — helped set her apart from others vying to be the superintendent of Guilford County Schools.
How much money would it take to pay for every Guilford County High School graduate
who was promised "a free college education"?
What is the anticipated average per student scholarship expected to be
for Guilford County's 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019's graduating classes?
...Contreras has been the superintendent of Syracuse City Schools in New York state, a district with more than 20,000 students, since 2011. While there
she gained experience working in a Say Yes partnership, which launched in Syracuse in 2008 and will produce its first “last dollar” scholarships in Guilford County Schools this summer.
Contact Marquita Brown at (336) 373-7002, and follow @mbrownNR on Twitter.
http://www.greensboro.com/news/new-guilford-superintendent-brings-years-of-education-experience-video/article_5a7376eb-3d52-5239-a807-c8b34df56183.html
If 3,500 students qualify the first year,
how much is going to go to each student?
If 3,500 students qualify the next year,
how much is going to go to each student?
Say Yes and Guilford County Schools won't say.
Monday, May 23, 2016; This appears to look like what's going to happen to Say Yes Guilford, Say Yes to Education and the City of Greensboro employee's pension fund
How much money does Say Yes Guilford have on hand
to fund the scholarships?
Say Yes' Donnie Turlington,
a former City of Greensboro Communications and Marketing Director
who is now Say Yes Guilford's Director of Communications
Triad Business Journal's mention of Sharon L. Contreras and Say Yes to Education; 0
New superintendent named for Triad school district
If 3,500 kids get $1,000 each, it will cost $3,500,000.
As the number should about double in year two,
how much has Say Yes set aside?
Say Yes and Guilford County Commissioners won't say,
Guilford County's School Board Members won't say,
and now Sharon Contreras won't say.
Allen Johnson and Doug Clark;
Five years later, she’s coming to Guilford County.
One connection is the Say Yes to Education program, which was launched in Syracuse in 2008. “I’m so proud that Guilford County is also a Say Yes district,” she said of the program that’s providing its first college scholarships here this summer.
http://www.greensboro.com/opinion/n_and_r_editorials/our-opinion-new-superintendent/article_04f11ccd-d465-5d66-9080-6bdedf110a06.html
As the number of dollars should about double again over the next two years,
how is Say Yes going to pay for it?
Say Yes' Mary Vigue, a former City of Greensboro Assistant Manager won't say,
the News and Record's Allen Johnson and Doug Clark won't say,
and Marquita Brown won't say.
Times four is $14 million per year.
Where's the money?
Contreras also has experience working with the "Say Yes to Education Initiative" which launched its first community-wide partnership in Syracuse in 2008.
http://www.twcnews.com/nc/triad/news/2016/06/28/dr--sharon-contreras-likely-guilford-co--schools--new-superintendent.html
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Wednesday, June 1, 2016; What did Brian Cleary and Eric Ginsburg tell Joanna Rutter before she wrote' "Say Yes mobilizes for next phase of educational support"?
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/06/what-did-brian-cleary-and-eric-ginsburg.html
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Say Yes to Education, Inc. (Say Yes), and Say Yes Guilford appears to be a legal Ponzi scheme and/or a Racket
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/say-yes-to-education-inc-say-yes-and.html
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...
To instill instant momentum and foster a can-do culture right from the start, Contreras, assisted by a Say Yes consultant, began her tenure by requesting that teams at individual schools and district-wide teams carry out Rapid Results projects over her first 100 days. Mostly aimed at increasing educational outcomes, these projects were designed to generate insights into longer-term goals.
...Say Yes, the brainchild of the University of Pennsylvania’s Norman Newberg and financier George S. Weiss, who remains a fiscal angel, never before climbed on the big stage to accept the challenge of remaking an entire urban school system.
...Say Yes set out to accumulate pledges for tens of millions of dollars.
If they don't even have the $35 million
they say they have 'pledged' in hand,
how can they pay out more than what would make the funds unsustainable?
Say Yes and the City of Greensboro won't say
Why wouldn't they want to say?
...Say Yes seeks to increase high school and college graduation rates for students from the inner city. It has carried out projects with cohorts of students in Philadelphia; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Hartford, Connecticut; and in the Harlem section of New York City, at various times since 1987.
...“What really drove me to come to a city with 180 inches of snow a year was learning of the collaborative governance and the Say Yes model,” said Contreras, who gave up the job of chief academic officer in Providence to make the shift. “Educators all over the country seek this kind of support. I never before saw anything like what’s here.
I wouldn’t have come if not for Say Yes.” The magnitude of the cooperation impressed Contreras when she began considering a move to Syracuse. “I had never before seen a mayor, a higher education president, and others come together like that, problem-solving together in the same room,” she said. “It was quite remarkable.”
Say Yes owns Sharon Contreras
...Paul G. Tremont, president SRC Corporation, a major company in the city and one of the most important financial supporters for Say Yes in Syracuse, was willing to wait for results in the classroom
Why wouldn't the News and Record investigate?
They know what the questions are, and have declined to ask
...When Say Yes arrived in Syracuse, it drove change in a school system in which few seemed to have any idea of how to make change occur. With the passage of time and the hiring of a highly regarded superintendent,
the moment was at hand for Say Yes to adapt itself to a new role as a facilitator of change and let Sharon Contreras take over the driver’s seat, as she appeared more than willing to do.
What will the monies be invested in and at what cost for Guilford County's graduates?
How many students will the "Full Tuition Scholarship Incentive" cover for 2016's graduating class,
and what is the expected pay out by Say Yes Guilford [over the next ten years]?
How much will Say Yes Guilford need to raise and make on the endowment each year
to remain sustainable?
Why has Say Yes, the City of Greensboro and Guilford County Schools
so far declined to provide all documentation and communications
concerning the investment management fees for the endowment?
...2011 (Spring) Sharon Contreras selected as SCSD superintendent Operating director hired to provide local leadership and reduce dependence on Say Yes national leaders
...Some parents worry that the college scholarships will dry up and that their children will not reap the benefits of the program. It is this very concern that Say Yes is addressing in building an endowment for the scholarships. Sharon Contreras has spoken of Say Yes being around for at least a generation.
. . . I agree with Sharon Contreras with her assessment that Say Yes is a partnership and irrespective of the support that Say Yes provides, if the school system is not providing the very best educational program the results or benefits of Say Yes won’t be realized.”
...Nancy Cantor and Mary Anne Carey along with Mayor Miner, County Executive Mahoney, and Superintendent Contreras were the mighty dynamos generating a considerable amount of the energy for Say Yes in Syracuse.
http://sayyestoeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Rebuilding_Communities_small.pdf
Can Say Yes continue its free tuition promise?
With $9.5 million in its scholarship endowment fund, Say Yes Syracuse has reached less than one-third of its $30 million goal.
At a time when Say Yes Syracuse needs to rev up its fundraising, its local staff, which has also been funded by the national Say Yes, is shrinking.
It has only three employees, half what it once had.
The Syracuse office has laid off its marketing, public relations staff and community engagement staff, reducing its community visibility. Its development director, Lisa Moore, took a job with Onondaga Community College. Moore had been responsible for raising scholarship endowment money.
Why has Say Yes, the City of Greensboro and Guilford County Schools
so far declined to provide all documentation and communications
involving the school system's due diligence concerning Say Yes to Education?
Why has Say Yes, the City of Greensboro and Guilford County Schools so far declined to provide estimates
for the amounts and number of scholarships to be distributed via Say Yes Guilford?
The national Say Yes had always planned to phase out financial support of programs in Syracuse, both for scholarships and support services.
Indeed, the school district has folded Say Yes' initiatives - like some after-school programs -- into the district's budget. Community partners, like the city and Onondaga County, have directed more services through the school district. For the third consecutive year, Say Yes Syracuse has requested money ($1.5 million) from the city of Syracuse to pay for Say Yes school programs.
In the next two years, national Say Yes will pump $2 million more to Syracuse to pay for current scholarships to cover the shortfall.
Dunn says an endowment of $20 million would "get the program very close to sustainability, given current spending rates."
Syracuse schools Superintendent Sharon Contreras said she was confident that Say Yes would meet its endowment goals.
"The scholarship promise is a critical element as we work diligently to close the opportunity gap and afford all SCSD graduates with access to college irrespective of their zip code and family income," Contreras said.
http://www.syracuse.com/schools/index.ssf/2015/04/will_say_yes_continue_its_free_tuition_promise_1.html
Why has Say Yes, the City of Greensboro and Guilford County Schools
so far declined to provide the expected salaries of Say Yes Guilford employees?
Why has Say Yes, the City of Greensboro and Guilford County Schools
so far declined to provide the percentage of the total amount to be given to students each year?
Why has Say Yes, the City of Greensboro and Guilford County Schools
so far declined to provide expected yearly fundraising costs?
SAY YES SYRACUSE OPERATING COMMITTEE;
Syracuse City Schools Superintendent Sharon Contreras
Syracuse Teachers Association President Kevin Ahern
Syracuse City Mayor Stephanie Minor
Onondaga County Executive Joanne Mahoney...
http://sayyessyracuse.org/about/governance/
Why has Say Yes, the City of Greensboro and Guilford County Schools
so far declined to state if Say Yes Guilford is to be considered a fiduciary over the investment assets?
Why has Say Yes, the City of Greensboro and Guilford County Schools
so far declined to report if the investment managers will be considered fiduciaries?
Say Yes to Education issues statement on Contreras no-confidence vote
Say Yes to Education is taking no position on the conflict between Syracuse City Schools Superintendent Sharon Contreras and the Syracuse Teachers Association.
The union held a no-confidence vote on Contreras earlier this week. More than 95 percent of the teachers who cast ballots voted no confidence.
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/06/say_yes_to_education_issues_statement_on_contreras_no-confidence_vote.html
TUESDAY, MARCH 1ST 2016; Mahoney announces $20 million for Syracuse Say Yes, preserving free tuition program
...Say Yes Syracuse is receiving a big lift from the county that will allow it to permanently endow its scholarships going forward.
...Before that announcement, there were worries that Say Yes Syracuse would not reach its goal to build up a $30 million dollar scholarship endowment fund and take over tuition costs. In eight years it had only collected ten million dollars for its endowment fund.
The national Say Yes to Education organization had said it planned to stop paying for Syracuse area scholarships in June 2017.
...On Tuesday, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner announced that proceeds from bonds issued by the Syracuse Local Development Corporation will go towards Say Yes to Education. Those proceeds are expected to be $400,000.
...Since the City of Syracuse partnered with Say Yes eight years ago, the promise of free college tuition has been one of the city's best selling points.
However there were concerns Say Yes would soon have to start saying "no" if it could not raise $20 million in just 15 months.
...The national Say Yes organization now requires cities that partner with them to have self sufficient scholarship endowment funds within six years. Syracuse had been granted extra time because it was first city in the U.S. to partner with Say Yes.
That concern was put to rest Tuesday night when Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney announced a $20 million contribution towards the Syracuse College Promise will be distributed to the Say Yes Scholarship Endowment Fund in full this year.
http://cnycentral.com/news/local/say-yes-tuition-program-needs-20-million-in-15-months
July 29, 2015; Say Yes cuts Syracuse director Pat Driscoll and downsizes its local office
Say Yes to Education, a program that has helped thousands of students from the Syracuse City School District go to college for free, has cut its operating director and closed its Syracuse office to save money.
Pat Driscoll's position as the operating director of Say Yes Syracuse was eliminated in the organization's budget for this year, said Tim Carroll, director of mayoral initiatives for the city of Syracuse. The city is part of the local partnership that manages Say Yes in Syracuse.
According to Say Yes' federal nonprofit filing, Driscoll's salary and benefits were $129,793 in 2012. Carroll said the national Say Yes organization, which is based in New York City, also decided to close its Syracuse office. The two remaining employees, who handle scholarship paperwork, will work out of space owned by the Syracuse City School District, Carroll said.
From the start, the expectation had been that Say Yes would be controlled and funded locally, said Gene Chasin, chief operating officer for Say Yes national.
Chasin said Say Yes initially gave Syracuse six years to become self-sufficient, but the process has taken eight.
"It's really not a decision to withdraw funding, at all," Chasin said. He said the plan had always been to spend $15 million to build a program that Syracuse stakeholders would take over after six years.
"We've obviously gone far beyond that," Chasin said. He said the national organization has spent $37.5 million in Syracuse so far.
Say Yes national has been paying for scholarships for the past three years, and will continue to do so for two more. But after that, the program will have to depend on its endowment to pay the tuition bills, which have been running about $1.2 million a year, Chasin said.
Chasin said he's confident that the Syracuse program and its major stakeholders -- the city, Onondaga County and the Syracuse City School District -- can raise the additional $20 million in the next two years.
The Syracuse Say Yes chapter's road to self-sufficiency is one that the other chapters also will have to follow, Chasin said. There are Say Yes programs in Buffalo, Philadelphia, Hartford and Harlem. Buffalo is the only one with a similar, community-wide model like Syracuse has, Chasin said.
There, the fundraising and development staff have been funded by community partners from the start, according to Say Yes.
"The local partners in Syracuse certainly have the option to do so as well, going forward," said Say Yes spokesman Jacques Steinberg.
Other Say Yes chapters will not be getting the additional support that Syracuse has received.
"We're very crisp and clear that $15 million is the investment," Chasin said. "That's hard and fast now."
...Driscoll, who had previously been the city Parks and Recreation director, is also a referee for NCAA basketball games.
http://www.syracuse.com/schools/index.ssf/2015/07/say_yes_cuts_syracuse_director_pat_driscoll_and_closes_its_local_office.html
Say Yes and the Neighsayers
...the decision of the national Say Yes organization to shift some of its attention to starting up a Buffalo program before the Syracuse operation was on solid ground. Sitting in a coffee shop in Edison, N.J., where he lives and serves as president of that mid-sized city’s school board, Maeroff calls himself a “critical friend” of Say Yes.
“I’ve never said this before,” Maeroff told the Syracuse New Times, “and they didn’t ask me, but I think the move to Buffalo was premature. There was too much work still left to do in Syracuse.”
Say Yes announced in 2011 that it would begin a districtwide program in Buffalo, and began implementation there in 2012. While it maintains its offer of college tuition to Syracuse school students, its financial backing for support programs for Syracuse students has declined substantially.
He sees the potential of Say Yes as a game-changing program for Syracuse, while acknowledging serious flaws in its implementation. One thing is for sure, he says: It is too soon to know just how the bet will pay off.
News_Say_Yes-bookMaeroff blames many of the problems of Say Yes with flawed implementation and failures to communicate. “There were a lot of misunderstandings,” Maeroff told the Syracuse New Times, “and it is possible that it wasn’t stated as clearly as it should have been what they would do and not do. There is clearly a lot of anger in Syracuse at Say Yes and its role.
...That the Say Yes project in Syracuse was led by strong women did not escape Maeroff’s attention. He profiles the key players: Mary Anne Schmidt-Carey, of Say Yes; Syracuse University chancellor Nancy Cantor; Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney; Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner; and later, the superintendent of schools who Say Yes helped to hire, Sharon Contreras.
...Maeroff considers Contreras, now in her third year at the helm of the district, a key player for the future of Say Yes and the Syracuse schools. “The challenge is to hold on to her,” Maeroff says of Contreras, who reportedly has been contacted by headhunters. “She has been there during a very important period and has a lot to give. She has a commitment and is a very able person.”
http://www.syracusenewtimes.com/say-yes-and-the-neighsayers/
Say Yes too good to be true?
Say Yes exaggerated many of its claims.
And in some cases, Say Yes takes credit for improvements in Syracuse that it is – at best – only partially responsible for.
http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20121117/cityandregion/121119226/1042.
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Dear Donnie Turlington and Mary Vigue; Please explain why Say Yes to Education's money is in Central America
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/02/dear-donnie-turlington-and-mary-vigue.html
"Guilford commissioners hear update on Say Yes"
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/02/guilford-commissioners-hear-update-on.html
Say Yes Guilford Questions for Guilford County Commissioner and School Board Candidates
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/02/say-yes-guilford-questions-for-guilford.html
An email sent to the News and Record's Marquita Brown and Steven Doyle on Say Yes to Education and Say Yes Guilford
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/05/an-email-sent-to-news-and-records.html
Say Yes has a problem; Rhino Times Misinformation on Say Yes to Education; "City Doesn’t Say No to $1 Office Space for SAY YES"
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/say-yes-has-problem-rhino-times.html
I crashed the Say Yes to Education and Say Yes Guilford meeting at Smith High School and passed out fliers asking the following questions;
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/i-crashed-say-yes-to-education-and-say.html
Say Yes to Education and Say Yes Guilford are saying they are going to cover the last dollar costs between financial aid and total tuition
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/say-yes-to-education-and-say-yes.html
On October 3, 2015, Guilford County's Board of Education was shown a "Full Tuition Scholarship Incentive" plan, for every GCS graduate who goes to college
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/on-october-3-2015-guilford-countys.html
How the Triad Business Journal got played for chumps by Say Yes to Education and Say Yes Guilford
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/how-triad-business-journals-reporter.html
Are our local Realtors saying Say Yes to Education is going to pay for everyone in Guilford County's college?
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/10/are-our-local-realtors-saying-say-yes.html
John Hammer on Mary Vigue and Say Yes to Education and Zack Matheny and Andy Zimmerman's play for tapayer money; Same things only different
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/john-hammer-on-mary-vigue-and-say-yes.html
On October 3, 2015, Guilford County's Board of Education was shown a "Full Tuition Scholarship Incentive" plan, for every GCS graduate who goes to college
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/on-october-3-2015-guilford-countys.html
Say Yes to Education and Say Yes Guilford are saying they are going to cover the last dollar costs between financial aid and total tuition
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/say-yes-to-education-and-say-yes.html
Dear Donnie Turlington and Mary Vigue; Please explain why Say Yes to Education's money is in Central America
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/02/dear-donnie-turlington-and-mary-vigue.html
"Guilford commissioners hear update on Say Yes"
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/02/guilford-commissioners-hear-update-on.html
Say Yes Guilford Questions for Guilford County Commissioner and School Board Candidates
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/02/say-yes-guilford-questions-for-guilford.html
An email sent to the News and Record's Marquita Brown and Steven Doyle on Say Yes to Education and Say Yes Guilford
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/05/an-email-sent-to-news-and-records.html
Say Yes has a problem; Rhino Times Misinformation on Say Yes to Education; "City Doesn’t Say No to $1 Office Space for SAY YES"
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/say-yes-has-problem-rhino-times.html
I crashed the Say Yes to Education and Say Yes Guilford meeting at Smith High School and passed out fliers asking the following questions;
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/i-crashed-say-yes-to-education-and-say.html
Say Yes to Education and Say Yes Guilford are saying they are going to cover the last dollar costs between financial aid and total tuition
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/say-yes-to-education-and-say-yes.html
On October 3, 2015, Guilford County's Board of Education was shown a "Full Tuition Scholarship Incentive" plan, for every GCS graduate who goes to college
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/on-october-3-2015-guilford-countys.html
How the Triad Business Journal got played for chumps by Say Yes to Education and Say Yes Guilford
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/how-triad-business-journals-reporter.html
