Exhibit B

Simón Bolívar Foundation Inc.

Bronx Social Programs – Progress Report Form

I. Organization Information
Organization Name: DreamYard Project
Organization Phone: 718-588-8007 / Fax: 718-588-8310
Email: / Website:
Site Address:1085 Washington Avenue / City: Bronx / State: NY / Zip: 10456
Contact Name: Carla Belinquete / Contact Phone: 718-588-8007 x 215
Alt. Contact Phone: 718-588-8007 / Contact Email:
Name of Person Preparing Report: Carla Belinquete
Program Name: Art Center Programs
Total Program Budget: $1,547,000
Total Grant Award: $60,000 / Report Date: 7/07/14
Reporting Period
January 1 – March 31 (Due by April 30)
April 1 – June 30 (Due by July 31) / July 1 - September 30 (Due by October 31)
October 1 – December 31 (Due by January 31)
II. Goals and Objectives
Please provide the goals and objectives of the Charitable Program, which should reflect the goals and objectives set forth in Exhibit A of the Agreement with your organization.
Through a series of programs that uniquely integrate the arts, digital learning and social justice, summer opportunities and festivals, DreamYard providesfree, yearlong out of school time learning for hundreds of K-12th grade youth at the DreamYard Art Center that work to:
  • build participants’ artistic voice and skills;
  • build participants’ sense of empowerment;
  • build participants’ deep connection and ability to collaborate;
  • improve academic proficiency; and
  • increase attendance at the Art Center.

III. Program Activities
Please provide a short description of the implemented activities in this reporting period. Note whether planned activities have been completed. If not, please explain any delays or changes.
Our spring programming consisted of the following programs: ACTION Project, arts activism; Bronx Acting Ensemble, theatre; Bronx Arts Collective, visual art and curation; Bronx Poetry Project, poetry and creative writing; Rhyme Factory, hip hop and performance; Fashion, culture and design; Beatyard, audio production; MovieMakers, photo and video; Minis, theatre, dance, and visual art rotations.
Yearlong Art Center programs ended with a powerful and celebratory two-week long festival from May 5-17. ACTION performed a piece that explored the struggles of LGBT youth and brought in audience participation through the use of techniques from the Theatre of the Oppressed. Bronx Arts Collective explored the “Prison to Pipeline” phenomenon and developed visual art piecesincluding comics, oil painting, pencil drawing and photography as a way to respond and raise awareness within the community about this issue. Bronx Poetry Project held their final Open Mic event that shared their inauguration poems for President Obama based on their reading of Richard Blanco and Elizabeth Alexander. Fashion students hosted a runway show where they presented their final pieces and artistic statements that are responses to gender stereotypes in the fashion industry. Beatyard teens shared their series of original tracks and provided music for the fashion show. Rhyme Factory students used the DreamYard recording studio to work on original songsbased on their ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Where I’m From’ theme as well as a “throw-back” song from the early days of hip-hop. Minis presented a bomba dance that infused elements of hip-hop, and performed a theatre piece based on themes of Langston Hughes’ A Dream Deferred. Bronx Acting Ensemble performed an ensemble piece based on individual monologues about social issues of importance to them as well as physical representations of Bronx landmarks. Maker shared a series of musical instruments that they created out of recycled and constructed materials. Moviemaker teens shared their documentary film on the topic of food as a way to begin a discussion about food availability in the neighborhood.
We also held several parent and family events. We hosted four parent workshops on the following issues:healthy living, civil rights, immigration, and financial literacy. Every workshop had a great turnout and parents have responded by asking for more workshops including how to support their children at home. We also had parents attend our third annual Parent Art Fair on April 25. NYC cultural organizations joined us to share information and free resources to our families such as Manhattan Theater Club, The Bronx Museum, Harlem School of The Arts, The NYC Public Library, among others. We also held two community potlucks for families of our early education Minis programming on May 14 and a high school and middle school program potluck on May 17; both included a program award ceremony and a food competition.
On May 21, five DreamYard poets competed in a "Poetry Boxing" exchange with students from Japan's Gotemba West High School via live videoconferencing. This was the second event in an international exchange between the Bronx and Japan, facilitated by the U.S. State Department, Ambassador Caroline Kennedy in Tokyo and Goldman Sachs in New York. Students performed poems in four head-to-head rounds that focused on common themes such as identify, family, heritage, and the environment. For the final round, one poet from each side performed an improvised piece about the future, which was decided by three judges. Tokyo won the competition by .7 of a point. A rematch is being scheduled for the fall!To hear some poems: Another exciting DreamYard-wide event was the Bronx Arts Festival, the largest youth arts celebration in NYC. Over 1,000 young people performed or exhibited work at Lehman College for an audience of 3,100. To see this work: and
We are excited to start our summer programs offerings on July 7. DreamYard continues to expand summer learning opportunities in order to address summer learning loss and provide a safe and engaging space for our community of young people. This year we have expanded to six programs including a two-week summer camp for 5th graders;the introduction of a new 8th grade cohort for our 4-year arts and activism program, ACTION Project; Digi.Me, a series of digital learning workshops for high school students; a one-week fashion intensive for high school students; a two-week portfolio development intensive for high school students in visual art; and open studios, a weekly afternoon of experimentation and maker challenges. We anticipate serving 120-130 young people through these programs.
IV. Products / Outputs
Please fill in and update the table below. Only record beneficiaries and jobs created once even if the beneficiaries or jobs created occur in program activities over one or more reporting quarters.
Please list other activities or deliverables such as workshops, brochures distributed box office ticket sales, tours given, etc. Please provide detailed information such as the name of the workshop or the title of brochure.
Please include the other outputs listed in Exhibit A under “Reportable Metrics”.
REPORTING METRIC / REPORT Q1 JUL-SEP 2013 / REPORT Q2 OCT-DEC 2013 / REPORT Q3 JAN-MAR 2014 / REPORT Q4
APR-JUNE 2014 / TOTAL TO DATE / NOTES
NEW UNDUPLICATED DIRECT BENEFICIARIES / 104 / 131 / 0 / 0 / 235 / Refers to student participants.
NEW UNDUPLICATED INDIRECT BENEFICIARIES / 475 / 25 / 0 / 50 / 550 / Refers to community members accessing arts experiences through community events (many are repeats).
NEW UNDUPLICATED JOBS CREATED / 8 / 5 / 0 / 0 / 13 / Refers to teaching artists only.
REPORTABLE METRICS (as listed in Exhibit A)
% of participants who said program has made them more aware of social issues and current events. / 100% / 73% strongly agree and 27% agree.
% of participants who said the program has helped them improve their artistic skills / 86% / As a note, the level of artistic development depends on the particular discipline.
% of participants who said DreamYard OSP is a safe and supportive environment / 100% / 91% strongly agree and 9% agree.
Rate of attendance across all Art Center programs / 87% / In particular, attendance was a challenge for older students after the midyear break due to school commitmentssuch as regents and SAT Prep.
If necessary, insert a narrative description of the products or services the Charitable Program has delivered and the results achieved.
We have strengthened our capacity around teaching for social justice as part of our Instructional Voice. We held a series of social justice pedagogy meetings throughout the year, with three held over this spring. For instance, the May 15 workshop was led by the organization, Teachers United, on the topic of restorative justice; educators ran a ‘circle’ in order to practice using the tool later on with students. As a result we have seen great improvements in student work and a deeper integration of our core values. Our teaching artists are much more comfortable and empowered with strategies to teach for social justice and have taken ownership of classroom culture and integration of social justice issues into projects. Surveys reported that this new approach has renewed their sense of artistry and passion for teaching through opportunities to network, meet experts in the field, and gain practical, hands-on skills and model lessons to duplicate in the classroom.
In addition to a cohesive Instructional Voice, this year DreamYard continued to solidify a unified culture at the Art Center as part of a yearlong transition. Although this has led to some changes at multiple levels, we believe that this will increase our capacity to provide cohesive, high quality programming as well as have a strong and consistent message for the community.
  • Through a series of difficult conversations we now have a clear vision for what a young person’s learning arc at the DreamYard Art Center can be from early childhood until she/he goes off to a college or career.
  • Having a single DreamYard voice has enabled us to increase our community presence through connections to the larger community, a common set of policies and procedures for recruitment, classroom management and general rules for all Art Center programs, and more student ownership in programs (participation in multiple programs, increased year to year retention and growth of open studio attendance).
  • We are transitioning several new staff members including an Associate Director of Art Center Programs and MS/HS Coordinator who will bring a wealth of experience and more structure to our Art Center programs.
Also, as our relationship with parents and families deepens, we have a better understanding of community needs and difficulties. For many of our families, English is not their first language. Therefore, obtaining financial and personal information for college applications, for instance, was a challenge for our College Advisor. Our families are struggling to find employment or affordable child care and are having a tough time making ends meet.
  • Our Social Worker did her best to point families in directions where they can get some guidance and support.
  • With our Community Engagement Coordinator, Dreamyard has become a community resource center for families to learn what is available in the community. We continue to look for ways and additional resources to give families more support in these areas.

V. Benefits and Outcomes
If applicable, please provide any information on the changes that occurred as a result of the activities and outputs, such as changes in the beneficiaries’ behavior, knowledge, skills, status and level of functioning, and to what extent these changes are likely to contribute towards achieving the Charitable Program’s goals and objectives.
Throughout the year we utilize a variety of tools such as observation narratives, participant surveys, focus groups etc. to track student learning and assess and make improvements to our programs. This data makes us confident that our programs are having a positive impact on youth development and providing young people with the skills and tools they need to be successful adults. Some changes that we observed this spring quarter include:
Students demonstrated an ability to offer critique and present their work in a formal settingusing terms relevant to their discipline and content of work. Students have presented their work in a professional manner on multiple occasions, within their classes and during community events, as well aslearned to give critical peer-to-peer feedback modeled on their teaching artist.
Through opportunities such as internships students have shown a sense of responsibility and professionalism whether by being on time or managing a series of responsibilities for a community event. In order to support this behavior, teaching artists often have one-on-one discussions with participants.
Under the guidance of our social worker, students have demonstrated the development of copings skills that will support their long-term success as adult.One student with multiple disabilities, who was placed in a school that no longer met his growing educational and vocational needs, fought to be transferred to anther school. Another success includes a student using her gained esteem and leadership skills to run for school president and becoming school president.
Students exhibited leadership by managing community events, facilitating discussions about social issues and current events, working in a team etc. For instance, students learned how to “step up” and “step back”, a technique of understanding when to voice one’s opinion and when to reflect on what another is saying. This has been tremendous in students’ learning to resolve conflict in a positive way, and building their confidence for speaking up with a large group.
Students has shown a greater interest and commitment for higher education. All juniors and seniors took on the responsibility of attending SAT Prep, college essay writing workshops and meeting one-on-one with our college advisor. As a result, 100% of senior participants this year applied and were accepted to college.
VI. Beneficiary Feedback
If available, provide information on feedback and experiences of beneficiaries and stakeholders. Include meaningful examples that magnify the success or identify challenges with the Charitable Program.
Some quotes from our participant survey (attached) include:
  • I like to work with my teaching artist she is really fun and creative.
  • Before joining this program I was kind of shy and did not like to speak up. But after a couple of months in the program I started to participate in conversations and felt that people respected what I had to say.
  • The program means a lot to me because the staff treats me like I'm part of a big family.
  • One highlight I had this year was being able to travel, thanks to Dreamyard that is something I will be grateful for my entire life.
  • I love working with the teaching artists because they listen just as much as they teach; in schools, teachers usually have a condescending way of thinking towards students and here, our opinions really do matter.
  • DreamYard has been a ray of hope for me. DreamYard has reminded me that I am loved and that family is the people who love and support you, not just the people you were assigned at birth. Having parents and family unsupportive of my career choice is also very hard but DreamYard has taught me that hard work, effort, and lots of determination really can work and help me go far with whatever I may decide to do.
  • DreamYard has helped me to challenge myself and leave my comfort zone.
  • I don't take art in my school so this is the only time I can be creative.

VII. Program Reflection / Challenges and Lessons Learned
If applicable, provide information on any successes, problems, or issues faced during implementation in this reporting period. Describe how your organization will build on success or address challenges. List any lessons learned. What happened? How is learning incorporated to improve program implementation?
We are excited to share the great successes that we have had in supporting students on their transition to higher education.
100% of our Art Center senior participants were accepted and will be attending college in the fall. Students surveyed reported that they found the college workshops to be helpful. Due to high demand, we will be offering another college essay writing class in the summer.
Our SAT prep workshops helped students on average increase their scores by 200 points.
We will also be providing seven scholarships of between $400-$450 to help support books and first year expenses at college. Our annual Student Achievement Award went to Carl-Henry, who will receive $2,500 a year for four years.
Having a Community Engagement Coordinator has increased our capacity to develop relationships with the parents and families of our Bronx community. We hosted several community building events.
Parent workshops had a great turnout and parents have requested more workshops. Our parents are interested in learning how to support their children at home.
We began a Parent Council of dedicated parents interested in volunteering and supporting the vision and mission of the Art Center. Those parents regularly participate in events and have become ambassadors for DreamYard.
Over 100+ parents attend our annual Parents Art Fair. Dozens of NYC cultural organizations joined us for the day to share information and free resources for our families.
DreamYard’s growth has been tremendous this year.
Every early education classes were at full capacity (a 2X increase from last year) with over 95% attendance for K-5th grade. The program ended with a parent potluck event that brought over 120 families to the Art Center.
In terms of our teen participants, our newest innovation is Open Studio. This informal time, which combines hang out, peer-connected time and slightly more formal experimentation, has brought dozens of teens from throughout the week and our programs to ‘mess around’, explore new interests and gradually connect to more formal workshops and skill development opportunities. They also work on independent projects, engage in “challenges of the day” and continue to develop new tech skills.
We have created and implemented a DreamYard-wide Salesforce database in order to jumpstart a new practice around centralized student data collection. This database provides us with the capacity to track key data points for all participants. We are also tracking residencies across all of our partner schools in hopes of supporting learning pathways between our in school and out of school program participants. We believe this is an important advancement in how we document impact over a young person’s time with DreamYard.
In addition to enrollment, attendance and multiyear participation, we can also collect demographic data, track notes from sessions with our social worker, and improve recruitment. We hope to have deep discussions with eachprogram director to identify 2-3 areas of impact that will be tracked next year. For instance, matriculation and attendance rates (DY class vs. non DY class) for In School Programs and college acceptance and credit accumulation rates for Art Center Programs.
VIII. Additional Documents
Attach other documents to support your organization’s obligations under the Agreement. Such documents may include, but are not limited to, a list of attendees for an activity, a program, flyer, brochure, and photos. Please note that any and all documents submitted become the property of the Simón Bolívar Foundation. The Simón Bolívar Foundation has the right to utilize any such documents in accordance with Section 3 of the Agreement with your organization.
Participant Survey
Photos from the Art Center Festival
IX. Financial Report
In this section please report on the Program Expenses and, if applicable, any Operation and Administration Expenses set forth in Exhibit A. An excel spreadsheet may be attached in lieu of inserting the information in the table below.
Budget Line Item / Budget Amount / Amount Spent During Reporting Period / Amount Remaining in Budget to be Spent
Program Expenses / 60,000 / 10,000 / 0
Teaching Artist Salaries / 1250
Professional Development / 2000
Art Supplies / 500
Travel / 1350
Printing, Recruitment, and Resource Library / 0
Program Staff Salaries / 1000
Student Interns / 500
Technology / 2000
Operation and Administrative / 1400
Totals / 60,000 / 10,000 / 0
X. Acknowledgement:
All documentation submitted to the Simón Bolívar Foundation becomes the property of the Simón Bolívar Foundation and will not be returned. Applicants may be asked for additional information.
Receipt of Progress Reports will be acknowledged.
By checking the box below, I hereby certify that the information provided herein is true and accurate.
Name: Carla Belinqete
Title: Associate Director of Grants and Institutional Relations
Date: 7/07/14

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