Statements
Mission
Partnering with homeless families to educate their children and create pathways to success.
It is our goal to prepare children living in chaos with the academic and social skills to succeed in public education once they leave our school.
Background
Since 1989, Positive Tomorrows has helped children experiencing homelessness overcome obstacles to full academic and social development by providing classroom education, support services, food, clothing, school supplies and all of the necessary supplies and services for being successful in school.
Positive Tomorrows began in 1989 as a collaborative effort among a group of community organizations which recognized the educational needs of children experiencing homelessness were not being met. Founding partners included Oklahoma City Public Schools, the State Department of Education, CampFire USA, Neighborhood Services Organization and the YWCA.
As an affiliate of the Oklahoma City Public Schools System, our purpose was to help homeless families collect needed documentation to enroll their children into a public school. From our founding until 2006, that was what we did. Then, a change in the Federal Grant guidelines caused us to became ineligible for government funding. While many of our students still came from the Oklahoma City Public Schools, we were no longer formally affiliated with the school district.
Today, Positive Tomorrows is a private, tuition-free elementary school meeting the educational and social service needs of children experiencing homelessness and their families. We serve over 100 homeless children each year with school, day camps during school breaks and family services year-round.
Impact
Positive Tomorrows is an accredited private school and social services organization focusing on the unique needs of homeless children. In addition to school, we provide deep family support services aimed at helping the child find stability in and out of school.
We have an after-school program, partnering with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire and other organizations to provide enrichment experiences so desperately needed by children living in deep poverty.
The goal of our board of directors for the near future is a comprehensive review of our business model and educational delivery systems. We are embarking on a period of growth, both in terms of facility expansion and numbers of clients served. After completing fundraising for a Capital Campaign in the summer of 2018, construction began on a new facility that would more than triple our capacity of students served. On Dec. 2, 2019, we held our first day of classes in the new school.
Needs
Oklahoma City Public Schools and Putnam City Public Schools reported a combined 6,000+ homeless children in Oklahoma City alone during the 2018-2019 academic year. While we were able to serve more than 100 children in the 2018-2019 academic year, due to our building size and financial limitations at our former location, our daily capacity was 74 children. Over time, we will be able to serve up to 210 students daily, and we are working to grow our operating budget to accommodate this growth.
Positive Tomorrows operates on donations from individuals, businesses and organizations in the community. These contributions ensure teachers are highly qualified and available for all of the needs of our children, children receive regular and nutritious meals, a safe, reliable bus to provide transportation, counseling is available, and parents receive support, too. We must raise approximately $1.7 million each year to meet our operating needs.
Volunteers are needed to mentor children, provide birthday parties and other activities, and assist with building maintenance and special events.
In-kind gifts, such as children's clothing, tissues, wet wipes, toilet paper, etc., are also welcomed. Groups willing to hold drives to collect necessary items are greatly appreciated.
CEO/Executive Director Statement
Positive Tomorrows fills a unique niche. According to our research, we are the only accredited private school for children experiencing homelessness in the country with after-school and day camp programs during school breaks. We have found a handful of schools receiving public funds in Arizona and in California; however, they do not have the extensive family support and out-of-school programs that we provide. We have also discovered a couple of private schools in other parts of the country, but they are not accredited or have the breadth of services we provide.
Positive Tomorrows also creatively collaborates with other organizations to provide comprehensive educational and extracurricular services to our students. For example, ballet lessons are provided by the Oklahoma City Ballet, media use is learned at the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library with the assistance of the children's librarian, and youth development and leadership is cultivated through partnerships with our local Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Camp Fire USA troops. We believe that effective use of community resources is imperative in order for us to provide as many services as possible to children who are already so far behind.
Area Served
We primarily serve homeless children in the central section of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. However, sometimes student families will obtain housing in other parts of the city and we will stretch our transportation resources as reasonably as possible in order to continue their enrollment in our school.