Peninsula Bridge

By Deirdre Marlowe, Executive Director

• 356 students served (171 boys, 185 girls)
• Rising 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders
• 19% more students than in 2010
• 51,264 program hours
• 3.5:1 Student/Teacher Ratio

By Lupe Ortiz, Bridge Summer Intern

By Grainger Marburg, Executive Director

Peninsula Bridge Board Member

Jamie Wang is one of our newest Board members.  She and her husband Joe just celebrated their 30-year anniversary!  They have 3 children:  Justin a sophomore at Menlo School, and twins Kerry (daughter) and Alex (son) who graduated from college in 2010 and are both currently working as engineers here in Silicon Valley.  Jamie's non-profit focus is on
education and under-served youth.  She was one of the first members of Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2) when it began in 1998.  In addition to Bridge's board, Jamie is also on the Board of Downtown College Prep and Kids in Common.   We are very excited to have Jamie on our team!

Alumni Updates - High School Class of 2011

 This year's high school class of 2011 included nearly 80 Peninsula Bridge alumni who completed our program during the summer of 2006.  We wish all of these graduates the best of luck as they move on to new challenges!  Here are a few alumni updates:

            Danny Mendoza                      Diana Carbajal

Danny Mendoza will attend Santa Clara University.  Diana Cabajal, currently working as a Bridge TA, will be attending U.C. Davis.

By Beau Nichols, St. Matthew's TA

Supporting the Bridge Mission

By Grainger Marburg, Executive Director

By Grainger Marburg, Executive Director

Bridge students Erick Sandoval and Fabiola Rivera led our guests in a challenging round of the math game "Krypto".  Roger Zamora, a former Peninsula Bridge TA, was our keynote speaker.  Roger currently works as the director of operations for the Summit Preparatory Charter High School in Redwood City.  The program was closed with the song "If You Dream", performed by alums Ricky Whitfield, Korrine Nickings, and student James Bryant-Smith.  View our 2010 video shown during the breakfast:

What can be more uplifting than seeing someone from your community thriving, confident and living their dream while demonstrating to you that anything is possible? 

Ricky Whitfield did that and more for fellow Peninsula Bridge alum Korinne Nickings, current Peninsula Bridge student James Bryant-Smith and our entire audience at our 7th Annual Benefit Breakfast, leading the trio in a professional and inspiring performance.

Now that students are back in their regular classrooms for the new school year, I want to take a moment to reflect on the 2010 summer program.  I spent a lot of time visiting our program sites this summer.  I sat in classrooms and observed our master teachers and teacher assistants (TAs), met students, and talked with the site directors about the successes and challenges.  It was an important and meaningful thing for me to do.  It reminded me why I do this work and why Peninsula Bridge is so critical.  Nothing is more compelling for the heart and mind than witnessing a child's face transform from self-doubt to joy as she struggles with a math problem and solves it, seeing the pride on a child's face as he answers a tough question, or observing a TA working 1:1 with a student and seeing how much the student appreciates the personal attention and how much the TA is growing and learning from the student.  These are the moments that inspire me.  They are the moments that nourish the teachers and re-energize the site directors who are devoting a big chunk of their summer to the program. This is what inspires them to work with us; this is the common ground we share.

by Anna Paustenbach, Summer Intern

This summer, I was lucky to have the opportunity to be an intern for the Peninsula Bridge program. After three years of being a TA, and then one as the head TA at the Sacred Heart site, I returned to Peninsula Bridge as an intern in the main office.  From this vantage point I began to understand the bigger picture: transitioning from working one-on-one with students in the classroom to understanding the overarching goals and strategies that guide our seven program sites.  This was a great lesson for me in terms of how a community comes together to increase student learning.

Peninsula Bridge is comprised of two communities that are normally separate--the independent school community and the public school families from low-income areas.  It was inspiring to me to see these communities find a way to work together for the betterment of all.  I will never forget what Les DeWitt told me when I interviewed him for a press release I wrote earlier in the summer. He said, "If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a community to create and sustain the Peninsula Bridge program." That has stuck with me because it reinforces the vision and power of new communities to make lasting change.

Anna is a Senior at Santa Clara University majoring in English and Religious Studies.

We are thrilled to welcome Brian O'Kelly as a new member of the Board of Directors.  He learned of Peninsula Bridge when he was researching youth organizations for DPR Foundation, the philanthropic arm of DPR Construction.  Brian encouraged us to apply, we received funding, and along the way we discovered Brian's passion and commitment to local youth. In short, Brian expressed his interest in getting more involved with Peninsula Bridge, impressed our leadership team and is now a new member of our Board.  Since joining our organization Brian has:

Squeals of excitement and laughter could be heard as our alumni, staff and TA's from years past gathered at the Sacred Heart campus for Peninsula Bridge's second alumni reunion.  Not only was this our second reunion, but it was a celebration of our 20 year anniversary.  The Peninsula Bridge program held it's first summer program 20 years ago at Sacred Heart so it seemed appropriate to have the reunion where everything began.  Before our reunion we had a board-sponsored reception and honorary guests included:

• Dolly Sacks - Former program officer at Packard Foundation.  Packard gave us one of our first grants.
• Dr. Charlie Mae Knight - Former Superintendent of the Ravenswood School District who saw the importance of the program for her students.
• Les DeWitt - Founding member of Peninsula Bridge and current board member

Peninsula Bridge was given the opportunity to receive much needed supplies through an innovative giving program conceived by Silicon Valley company, Conceptus.  Peninsula Bridge created 'giving cards' with supplies that were needed for our summer programs, such as binders, gardening tools, pens, paper, t-shirts and composition books. Employees from Conceptus then chose from $15, $20, and $25 cards that listed these supplies and donated them to Peninsula Bridge.  In total, the generous employees of Conceptus donated over $1,200 worth of supplies for our students.  The supplies were distributed to our school program sites, and are already being put to good use.  Thank you, Conceptus!

by Grainger Marburg, Executive Director

Anniversaries and reunions can be powerful events.  They have the potential to engender strong emotions and catapult us to the past.  They are also opportunities to reflect on where we are now and where we hope to be in the future.  Though I have only been with Peninsula Bridge for five years, I have become part of a rich mosaic of individuals that has spanned twenty years.  A lot can change in that time.  Twenty years ago at Peninsula Bridge's inception, Germany became a united country, Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in prison, and the internet became a global phenomenon.  Peninsula Bridge itself has evolved, expanding to 7 sites and currently serving 300 students this summer. Some things can also stay the same, such as the enduring commitment to our mission that so many folks have demonstrated over the years.  

Our 6^th Annual Bridge Builder's Society Breakfast, 'Passport to Success' was a huge triumph! Thank you to all who attended to support Peninsula Bridge. Demetra Jones Schoby, an alumnus of the Peninsula Bridge program, was our keynote speaker. Since graduating from Peninsula Bridge in 1993, Demetra graduated from Spelman College, worked as an equity trader in San Francisco, and was one of the early supporters of For Youth By Youth, a community based organization in East Palo Alto. Demetra's enthusiasm and passion for "giving back" were contagious.

In the summer of 1990, a group of 26 middle school students from East Palo Alto cautiously stepped upon the Sacred Heart Prep campus and participated in the inaugural year of the Peninsula Bridge Program.  Spearheaded by the indefatigably optimistic Les DeWitt and an enthusiastic Sister Brown at Sacred Heart, the Program quickly gained traction and expanded to Woodside Priory the following year.  By 1994, Menlo, Castilleja and Crystal Springs Uplands had also joined the Peninsula Bridge family, and we recently welcomed St. Joseph's and St. Matthew's Episcopal as program sites as well, enabling us to reach almost 270 underserved students from East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City, and San Mateo.

One of the many facets of Bridge is our families with multiple children who are a part of the program. The Waltons, one of these families, have two alumni and one current Bridge student.  Mrs. Emy Walton explained, "the parents' job is to make it possible for the child to get a better education by sacrificing the simplest thing; time".  Time, however, is not the only thing needed to help children succeed in their education.  According to John Walton Sr.,  "Bridge is a way to level the playing field by providing equal academic opportunity.  I say that in our family that mission has been accomplished.  Our kids are definitely well prepared."

1996— Jeanette Maldonado - will be graduating from Chicago Medical School in May and looks forward to realizing her dream of becoming an MD.

1996—Ricky Whitfield - was on a national tour for the show “Thomas the Train”, which included stops in the Bay Area this year!  This follows an International “Thomas the Train” Tour last year.  Ricky is the Associate Choreographer.

1997—Claudia Lopez - is currently studying abroad at La Universidad de Granada in Spain and will be graduating from UCSF.  She plans to apply for her Master’s or PhD.  She is majoring in Sociology and Latin American History.

1999—Jose Gonzalez - is studying abroad in Rome this semester.  He is currently a Junior Political  Science major at UC Berkeley.

**Dates reflect the year alumni began Bridge**

We have a new logo, a new website and a new tagline.  Why?  Because we want to more fully embrace the spirit and the purpose of Peninsula Bridge.  As our mission states, “we promote academic and personal success for motivated middle school students from under-resourced communities.”  We do that by inspiring our students to first DREAM, then BELIEVE in their dreams and finally show them they can ACHIEVE their dreams through hard work and education.
 
Many thanks to our former Board Member Chris Alden who connected us to the  talent and provided us with the resources to create our new logo and to give us a more professional presence on the web.

eNewsletter - along with our new look, we are now migrating all of our communications to email.  Not only does this save paper, but it also gives us the opportunity to create an easy way for our supporters to communicate with us more directly. 

By Grainger Marburg, Executive Director

Stories of financial mismanagement and bad investments have dominated the headlines for the past six months. It’s been a troubling time of loss for many, not a time of growth. Yet that is what we are doing at Peninsula Bridge. We’re as committed as ever to making sure more middle school students from under-resourced homes and schools get the support they need to be successful in school and life. 

For the second consecutive year, we’ve added a new program site, which has enabled us to support 30% more students than we did in 2007. Education is the core of opportunity and success - it’s the cornerstone of our mission - and an      investment we can definitely count on. The returns are always positive.

When parents and kids communicate effectively, it helps children realize their potential, both as students and as individuals. Last year, based on parent input, Peninsula Bridge launched a series of classes to give moms and dads the tools to create a healthier, more positive dialog with their child. Wide-ranging topics included everything from the challenges of kids and cell phones to encouraging parents to share their own life stories and values about education.

“The classes helped me connect better with my daughter, something I really needed as the parent of three children, including a toddler,” says Judy Woo, mother of seventh grader Francesca. “They reinforced what I already knew and taught me other strategies to try. Now, I understand a little better what’s going on in my daughter’s head.”

 Led by experienced bilingual parent educator Veronica Goei, the interactive classes have received praise from parents and kids alike. Goei used innovative methods to reinforce the curriculum, encouraging parents to role play and act out specific scenarios. Afterwards, many students commented on how their relationship with their parents had improved. More sessions are planned for 2009, with an added focus on how to communicate with your child’s school.

Bridge also helps parents through family intake meetings. Bridge staff meet with the families of incoming fifth graders to learn about their child’s needs beyond the summer, such as homework support and involvement in outside activities. Through research and ongoing relationships with many excellent, affordable community resources, Bridge provides the family with a menu of options tailored to meet their child’s needs.  Through robust partnerships with quality community-based organizations, Bridge students can continue making positive strides throughout the year.