Carl and Leslee Guardino Summer Leadership Academy

Carl and Leslee Guardino Summer Leadership Academy
In an effort to highlight the incredible leadership of Carl and Leslee Guardino, Carl as City Year San
Jose/Silicon Valley Board Chair for nearly 18 years and Leslee as a transformative leader, we are kickingoff
a campaign to create the “Carl and Leslee Guardino Summer Leadership Academy.” This Academy
will allow us to operate a free two-week summer school for more than 350 students, while
simultaneously training 64 Corps Members on how to be outstanding and effective tutors, role models
and mentors.
The “Carl and Leslee Guardino Summer Leadership Academy” is intentionally designed to encourage,
promote and foster 400 hours of innovative academic enrichment and pro-social behavior to 350
students during the summer.
City Year will implement Summer Leadership Academy every August. Programming combines assetbased
strategic academic and recreational elements to make learning fun for students. City Year also
provides a healthy morning breakfast and mid-day snack that conform to the California Department of
Education’s nutrition standards.
Every morning, students start the day with Morning Rally to energize them for the school day. They’ll
break out into classrooms by grade and receive educational and cognitive programs to improve
academic performance and build excitement around back-to-school readiness. Students receive creative
academic interventions in Literacy, Math and Science. City Year designs and creates lesson plans in
Literacy and Math that are hands-on and engaging to increase math and reading achievement, and reengage
and motivate students in learning prior to the school year. Additionally, City Year partners with
Schmahl Science to provide fun, hands-on science experiments that build real-life understanding.
Workshop activities include dissecting pig hearts to learn about the human heart, and assembling and
viewing microscope slides to learn basic microscopy techniques and botany.
With support from the City of San Jose, 350 students will have access to critical summer programming
that they would not normally have access to and young adult corps members who serve as mentors,
role models and coaches to support their learning and motivation prior to the school year.
By raising $250,000 in honor of Carl and Leslee’s leadership we will forever change the name of Summer
Leadership Academy, signaling to future generations the incredible investment and service the Guardino
Family has shown to this community.
Gifts of all sizes help make this happen:
$1,000 pays for a day of summer leadership academy for 10 students
$5,000 pays for one corps member’s training throughout the week of Summer Leadership Academy
$10,000 pays for all 350 students to attend the Summer Leadership Academy Science Field Trip
$25,000 pays for two-weeks of science enrichments for 350 students
$50,000 pays for two-weeks of math and literacy interventions for 350
$100,000 funds one team of corps members in service at Summer Leadership Academy and for an
entire school year.

Background
City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley has nearly 20 years of experience working with students displaying atrisk
indicators from low-income communities in San Jose.
City Year unites 2,500 diverse young adult corps members who serve as tutors, mentors and role models
in high-need schools in 24 U.S. cities as well as international affiliates in South Africa and England. Corps
members reach tens of thousands of youth from low-income communities annually and have proven
their ability to impact the academic success and pro-social behavior of the students they serve.
Currently, in San Jose, 64 corps members are serving in 7 partner elementary and middle schools to help
3,600 students at-risk of grade failure get back in-school and on-track to graduate through the Whole
School, Whole Child Program. Additionally, this will be City Year’s 4 th consecutive year implementing
Summer Leadership Academy. City Year has direct experience working with Summer Leadership
Academy participants as corps members are currently serving this population at 7 City Year partner
schools in the Alum Rock Union Elementary School District. Corps members have been working with
these students from August 2012 providing in-school and out-of-school support that includes targeted
academic interventions in Literacy and Math, and behavior and attendance coaching and will continue
to until the last day of school in June 2013. Corps members have already built relationships with
participants and will utilize these relationships to address participant needs during Summer Leadership
Academy.
City Year’s highly qualified and extensively trained staff and corps members have the direct experience
serving students displaying at-risk indicators through several years of Whole School, Whole Child
Program and Summer Leadership Academy implementation. In partnership with the City of San Jose,
City Year aims to continue having a powerful impact on target students during Summer Leadership
Academy 2013.