ANNUAL
REPORT
2016

Community Impact

To change lives and strengthen communities through education, Helios Education Foundation views its role as much more than a grant-making organization. Helios is engaged in Arizona and Florida in many ways. Our work includes developing and reforming education systems, investing strategically in the communities we serve, building public and political will in support of education reform, and collaborating and convening with our partners, government, school systems, the private sector, and other organizations on state and local issues that impact student success.

Impact in Florida

One out of four Floridians identifies as Latino, and one out of six identifies as African-American; however, African-American and Latino students, when compared to their White peers, show significant differences in student academic achievement from the early grade years to and through postsecondary completion. The cumulative effects of these gaps have limited Florida’s overall postsecondary degree attainment rate. With this in mind, Helios is implementing its Florida Regional Student Success strategy with a focus on the metropolitan areas of Miami, Orlando, and Tampa to shrink the academic achievement gap and increase the number of students who achieve a postsecondary education.

This collection of short, documentary-style videos provides a snapshot of some of the passionate people engaged in Helios-funded programs working to change lives and make communities better through education. Watch Cynthia Rodriguez of Kid’s Clubhouse in Tampa; Jorge Salmeron, a Take Stock in Children mentor in Plant City; Deanna DuBose, a teacher at Booker Middle School in Sarasota; and Adriana Comellas-Macretti of Hispanic Heritage Scholarship Fund of Metro Orlando explain in their own words why what they do in education everyday matters.

Florida Theory of Action

Impact in Arizona

Although the Latino population is the fastest-growing population in Arizona and Latino students make up the largest racial/ethnic demographic group in the state’s K-12 public schools, Latino students lag behind their White peers in academic achievement across the K-12 education system and are underrepresented in postsecondary degree achievement. Through our Arizona Latino Student Success initiative, Helios Education Foundation is working across the state to ensure that more students, especially Latino students, are prepared to succeed beyond high school. This collection of short, documentary-style videos chronicles the activities of people engaged in Helios-funded programs who are working to improve academic outcomes for students across the education continuum.

Watch Jenny Millinger of Childsplay in Phoenix; Roxanne Dewyer of Northern Arizona College Resource Center in Flagstaff; Michael Pineda, a Helios Scholar at TGen; and Barbra Scrivner, an advisor at College Success Arizona; explain in their own words why what they do in education everyday matters.

Arizona Theory of Action

2016 Community Investments: $17.4 Million

View a summary of the Foundation’s 2016 community investments in Arizona and Florida in the impact areas of Early Grade Success, College and Career Readiness and Postsecondary Completion.

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