MANKATO, MN, May 09, 2009
/24-7PressRelease/ -- Coughlan Companies, which includes Capstone Publishers and Mankato Kasota Stone, Inc., is awarding a $25,000 grant to the East Side Learning Center (ESLC), one of the largest and most successful year round tutoring programs serving children in kindergarten through 4th grade in St. Paul, Minn.
In addition to the grant, Coughlan Companies is making a long-term commitment to ESLC to provide volunteers from among its employees to assist with capacity building projects that support the organization's expansion into more schools. Employees will volunteer in the tutoring program as well as help with projects identified by ESLC. Coughlan Companies will also be donating 1,000 books to ESLC to be split evenly between its four locations in St. Paul.
"The work the teachers and volunteers are doing at ESLC is inspiring," said Tom Ahern, CEO of Coughlan Companies. "Both Coughlan Companies and ESLC share a common mission of inspiring children to read. We're thrilled to award this grant, and look forward to working with ESLC over the next several years."
During the 2008-2009 school year, ESLC operated at four schools in St. Paul and served 199 students. The program is poised for replication in more schools due to its ongoing success in raising students' reading scores. A 2007 evaluation conducted by Wilder Research reported that ESLC tutoring "had a significant effect on students' reading comprehension gains."
"We're excited to work with Coughlan Companies to expand our program. The foundation of the ESLC's success is the commitment to one-on-one tutoring and the individualized lesson plans for each student," said Sister Audrey Lindenfelser, School Sisters of Notre Dame Executive Director of ESLC. "Our students are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and literacy can open so many doors to these children. As one of the school intervention specialists so powerfully put it, 'it's as if their eyes can see."
Tutoring at ESLC is provided by licensed elementary and retired school teachers and trained volunteers who provide students with individualized tutoring in reading and track students' progress. Each volunteer tutor receives a personalized daily lesson plan for each of their students, designed by a teacher. The hourly sessions include a variety of activities: a rereading of a familiar story, a reading of new book, a reading comprehension activity, or a game designed to work on specific literacy skills. The individualized activities are a product of monitoring student progress after every 16 tutoring sessions.
Coughlan Companies worked with Social Venture Partners Minnesota, an entrepreneurial organization promoting philanthropy, in its Philanthropic Partners Program to facilitate and manage the grant process. Coughlan Companies has a rich history of philanthropy in local communities and those abroad. In 2008 alone, the company supported more than 250 organizations' initiatives through book donations, sponsorships, and employee volunteer time. Coughlan Companies also participates in the Minnesota Keystone ProgramSM, giving at least 5% of its pre-taxed earnings back into the community.
About East Side Learning Center
The East Side Learning Center (ESLC) was established in 2001 as a ministry with the School Sisters of Notre Dame of Mankato, Minn., and the local community to address gaps in school success. ESLC offers free tutoring to all students in grades K-4 who are reading below grade level and live or attend school in St. Paul. ESLC is one of the largest and most successful year round academic programs in the Twin Cities. This past school year, nearly 200 students participated in the program, receiving instruction three to four times a week from more than 125 volunteers and 15 part time, certified professional tutors. Schools currently participating in the program include: John A. Johnson Achievement Plus Elementary, Bruce F. Vento Elementary, Trinity Catholic School, and North End Elementary.
About Coughlan Companies, Inc.
Minnesota-based Coughlan Companies, Inc. (CCI) is the holding company for Capstone Publishers and Mankato-Kasota Stone, Inc. Capstone Publishers is the leading publisher of children's books for school and public libraries, offering nonfiction, fiction, picture books, interactive and audio books, and literacy programs for students from preK to high school. With an emphasis on high-kid-appeal and innovation, its companies include Capstone Press, Compass Point Books, Picture Window Books, Stone Arch Books, Red Brick Learning, and Heinemann-Raintree. Mankato Kasota Stone, Inc. quarries and fabricates dolomitic limestone in southern Minnesota, providing crafted custom stone products for commercial and residential use.
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