One Springboard Collaborative Leader’s Journey in South Jamaica, Queens

Springboard Collaborative is a national nonprofit dedicated to closing the literacy gap by combining highly effective literacy tutoring, engaging workshops for parents, and professional learning opportunities for teachers and leaders.

Ms. Poe: Former Student, Current Teacher, Neighbor and Parent

Ms. Poe is a P.S. 40Q teacher who proudly hails from the South side of Jamaica  – “her heart” – and attended the school as a child.  She was raised in public housing, and a career in education was always a dream for her … one that came true. The dream took root when Ms. Poe,  one of the youngest of her fifteen siblings, played imaginative games of “school” with her bustling family. At the age of fourteen, she realized her dream and began working in early childhood settings throughout Queens. 

After many years as an early childhood educator, Ms. Poe jumped at an opportunity to teach at P.S. 40Q. “There was no other school where I wanted to be but [the one] where I was from. My absolute duty is to serve my community and give back to the scholars.” 

Ms. Poe currently lives with her family in South Jamaica, where she often bumps into her students and their families at the grocery store and library. “Building rapport with families happens through these real-life situations. They understand that you sincerely want the best for their children. Teachers must build trust and bonds to have successful partnerships with their families.  Families must know it’s real!” 

Springboard Collaborative’s Impact in South Jamaica

P.S. 40Q is located in South Jamaica, a vibrant but underserved community in Queens.  In South Jamaica, rates of poverty, incarceration, gun violence, and low literacy far exceed the city’s average. 

Springboard Collaborative has partnered with three schools in South Jamaica’s NYCPS District 28 since 2018.  Since then, over 600 South Jamaica students and their families and 55 district teachers have participated in summer and afterschool programs that bring teachers and families together to ensure students are reading on grade level by fourth grade. In 2023, participating students more than doubled their expected reading growth after just one session. Over 85% of participating families attended each workshop – right around the national average for Springboard Collaborative, but far above the 4.6% national average for parent meeting attendance in public schools.  

P.S. 40Q, led by Principal Alison Branker, is a founding school partner in the NYC Reads initiative, generously funded by The Pinkerton Foundation and The Carmel Hill Fund Education Program - NYC . The initiative has brought a continuum of literacy services to children from birth through fifth grade in South Jamaica, including Springboard Collaborative, since 2018. As a result of last summer’s program at PS 40Q, 72% of the reading gap closed, as measured by DIBELS 8th. 

Springboard Collaborative’s mission is founded on a simple premise: parents are vastly underutilized resources in education. Its 5-10 week afterschool and summer programs bring families and teachers together to help students achieve literacy goals that move the needle on reading proficiency. 

Ms. Poe’s Journey with Springboard Collaborative

Ms. Poe signed up to be a teacher in Springboard Collaborative’s program at P.S. 40Q in the summer of 2020. She was drawn to the idea of grounding instruction in authentic family partnerships, and she was further compelled by the high quality of Springboard Collaborative’s structured literacy materials. 

In the four years since her first summer with Springboard Collaborative, her pedagogical skills have been sharpened by the program’s professional development and ongoing coaching. She has refined her small group literacy instruction, improved her overall lesson planning, and become better equipped to support multilingual learners and students with other special needs. Her dream of being a teacher grew bigger, and she went on to complete her Master’s Degree and leadership certifications. This summer, as a Program Leader,  she will direct a program of 75 P.S. 40Q students and their families. “Springboard Collaborative has opened the door for me to lead this summer,” she beams.

It will be a busy summer of reading growth for the Poe family. Ms. Poe’s own son will attend his second round of Springboard Collaborative at P.S. 40Q. She was “amazed” by his reading growth over just five weeks last year, and thrilled to read alongside him, his teacher,  and other families during dynamic family workshops. She jumped at the opportunity to sign him up again - a testament to the power of the program for families.

Family-Educator Collaboration for Reading Growth

Ms. Poe’s passionate approach to family engagement is integral in her teaching practice, and personifies Springboard Collaborative’s proven theory of change: The Family Educator Learning Accelerator (FELA). Through FELA, parents and educators work together as a team to help students reach their learning goals. 

Schools with high levels of family engagement have students that achieve higher grades and lower absenteeism rates, have teachers that report higher job satisfaction, and have families that feel like they have stronger relationships with their child and the school.

Springboard Collaborative’s own research shows how vital it is to engage families to improve student literacy. 

• For every hour that a teacher leads a family workshop, parents collectively deliver 25 hours of reading tutoring at home. As a result of that extra practice time, students average a 3-4-month reading gain, closing the gap to grade level by half in just five to ten weeks.
• In districts that struggle to get 4.6% of parents to show up for report card conferences, Springboard Collaborative’s weekly family workshops average 88% attendance. 

Dynamic educators and parents like Ms. Poe make Springboard Collaborative programs successful in schools. “I want the scholars to know they can be and go anywhere with hard work, determination, and discipline. Being a part of the P.S. 40Q school community was on my journey, and was written to be on my path. The connection between South Jamaica and myself cannot be interrupted!” Springboard Collaborative staff, educators and parents across the city are dedicated to supporting their communities, students, and families. This dedication is the glue that binds Springboard Collaborative’s program components in South Jamaica, as well as neighborhoods like East Harlem and East New York.