The See Forever Foundation (SFF) supports the Maya Angelou Public Charter School (MAPCS), a multi-campus collaboration of two successful alternative high schools and an alternative middle school in Washington, D.C. In addition, SFF also operates Oak Hill Academy, a school located in Washington DC's long-term secure facility for youth who have been adjudicated delinquent, as well as a Transition Center to support students released from Oak Hill with their transition back into the community.

The organization’s mission is to create learning communities in lower income urban areas where all students, particularly those who have not succeeded in traditional schools, can reach their potential and prepare for college, career and a lifetime of success.

SFF/MAPCS, with its core expertise in integrating all of the support services a traditionally challenged student needs into one seamless, intensive school program, provides students with small classes, individualized instruction, and a wide range of wrap-around services, including tutoring, mentoring, career preparatory training, internships, enrichment classes, mental health services, residential opportunities, transition support, and “real-world” authentic learning experiences. This year, SFF/MAPCS will serve approximately 425 students across its campuses.

Evaluation Status: High-Level Apparent Effectiveness

Internal evaluations have shown that See Forever Foundation/Maya Angelou Public Charter School graduates over 80 percent of all seniors, and its graduates are 2.5 times more likely than their peers outside of the charter school to complete college or other post-secondary education programs. The organization continues to enhance its internal performance management capacity, including completing the implementation of an organization-wide outcomes tracking system. This will allow SFF/MAPCS to undertake further evaluations of its program model.

EMCF Investment

Since 2004, the Foundation has invested $3 million in See Forever Foundation/Maya Angelou Public Charter School to implement its business plan. During this investment period, the organization has tripled the number of youth served each year. The Foundation’s first investment was part of a pilot program (which also included Green Dot Public Schools) to test the Foundation’s grantmaking approach with alternative schools. Based on the success the two organizations achieved during the pilot, both Green Dot and SFF/MAPCS became part of the Foundation’s full grantee portfolio in 2007.

For more information, see SFF/MAPCS’s website at www.seeforever.org.