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ABOUT US: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is Computers for Youth (CFY)?
How does CFY select the children and their families for its program?
How does a school apply to be a part of CFY's program?
Why does CFY start with sixth graders?
What are CFY's computer-based home learning centers
Where do CFY's computer-based home learning centers come from
How is CFY different from other organizations focused on middle-school children?
How many families have benefited from CFY's program?
What impact has CFY had on the families it helps?
Who are some of CFY's most prominent donors?
What are the CFY Tech Leadership Awards?
What are CFY's future goals?
CFY is a national educational non-profit organization launched in 1999 that is dedicated to improving the home learning environment of low-income school children. Our work is built on the belief that the home holds the greatest
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CFY does not select children and their families one-by-one, but rather selects a community of learners. CFY selects public schools with high poverty statistics (more than 75 percent of students must be eligible for the federal free or reduced lunch program) and offers all the sixth graders and parents the ability to participate in the CFY program. Our goal is to return to selected schools year after year, thereby saturating the entire community of sixth, seventh and eighth graders and their families.
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CFY has an application process for schools that are interested in participating in our program. The process includes a formal request, a site visit and an interview. CFY selects schools based on poverty criteria (more than 75 percent of students must be eligible for the federal free or reduced lunch program), a commitment to involving families in children's education and a vision for how to use technology as a tool to empower students as learners.
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CFY focuses on sixth graders in order to intervene just as children's disengagement from family and school begins. Research shows sixth grade is right when parents begin to feel less capable of helping with increasingly complex homework assignments and when there is the steepest decline in academic achievement.
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All CFY
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CFY receives donations of computers primarily from major corporations. We rely on donations of 30 or more computer systems so we can equip an entire classroom of families with the same hardware to take home. Once computers are received, CFY's technical staff turn them into CFY
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Programs that improve the home learning environment of low-income children during the vulnerable middle school years are virtually nonexistent. Research shows that parenting practices account for up to 25 percent of the achievement differences between higher- and lower-performing students, but school systems spend less than two percent of their budgets in this area. To meet this need, CFY brings learning home—the place that receives the least attention from policymakers and educators, yet holds the greatest
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In June 2007, CFY gave a
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CFY has achieved positive outcomes the following areas:
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CFY receives contributions of cash, computers, software and services from individuals, foundations, corporations and local governments. Some of CFY's most prominent financial supporters include Advanced Network & Services, Goldman Sachs Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, Lone Pine Foundation, New Profit, Picower Foundation and the Starr Foundation. CFY's corporate computer donors include Goldman Sachs, Time Warner, Prudential Securities, NASDAQ, Clifford Chance and CIBC World Markets. CFY's software donors include Digital Directions International, Microsoft, Riverdeep/Houghton Mifflin Learning Technology, Scholastic and Thinkronize.
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The Tech Leadership Awards is a fundraising event hosted by CFY annually that recognizes the best family learning software of the year, entrepreneurship and innovation in digital leadership and social responsibility among IT executives. Members of the Student Software Team are also on hand to demonstrate the software titles nominated during CFY's Education Executives Day. The 2007 Tech Leadership Award recipients were Craig Newmark, founder and customer service rep of craigslist; Becky Blalock, CIO of Southern Company; and Bruce Aust, executive vice president of NASDAQ. The winner of the 2007 Family Learning Software award was
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By 2010, CFY's goal is to be operating in five cities, including its existing offices in New York City, Philadelphia and Atlanta, and serving almost 10,000 families per year overall.
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How does CFY select the children and their families for its program?
How does a school apply to be a part of CFY's program?
Why does CFY start with sixth graders?
What are CFY's computer-based home learning centers
Where do CFY's computer-based home learning centers come from
How is CFY different from other organizations focused on middle-school children?
How many families have benefited from CFY's program?
What impact has CFY had on the families it helps?
Who are some of CFY's most prominent donors?
What are the CFY Tech Leadership Awards?
What are CFY's future goals?
What is Computers for Youth (CFY)?
CFY is a national educational non-profit organization launched in 1999 that is dedicated to improving the home learning environment of low-income school children. Our work is built on the belief that the home holds the greatest
untapped
potential for improving children's academic and life-long success. CFY partners with schools to improve the educational resources available in children's homes, enhance parent-child interaction around learning and help teachers make powerful links between the classroom and the home. Our computer-basedhome learning centers
are designed by software experts and tested by students and education executives from around the country. Family Learning Workshops are designed to improve parents' confidence in helping their children learn and increase student engagement in core academic subject areas.How does CFY select the children and their families for its program?
CFY does not select children and their families one-by-one, but rather selects a community of learners. CFY selects public schools with high poverty statistics (more than 75 percent of students must be eligible for the federal free or reduced lunch program) and offers all the sixth graders and parents the ability to participate in the CFY program. Our goal is to return to selected schools year after year, thereby saturating the entire community of sixth, seventh and eighth graders and their families.
How does a school apply to be a part of CFY's program?
CFY has an application process for schools that are interested in participating in our program. The process includes a formal request, a site visit and an interview. CFY selects schools based on poverty criteria (more than 75 percent of students must be eligible for the federal free or reduced lunch program), a commitment to involving families in children's education and a vision for how to use technology as a tool to empower students as learners.
Why does CFY start with sixth graders?
CFY focuses on sixth graders in order to intervene just as children's disengagement from family and school begins. Research shows sixth grade is right when parents begin to feel less capable of helping with increasingly complex homework assignments and when there is the steepest decline in academic achievement.
What are CFY's computer-based home learning centers equipped with?
All CFY
home learning centers
come with award-winning educational software in English, math, science and social studies; tailored Web content; and ongoing tech support.Where do CFY's computer-based home learning centers come from?
CFY receives donations of computers primarily from major corporations. We rely on donations of 30 or more computer systems so we can equip an entire classroom of families with the same hardware to take home. Once computers are received, CFY's technical staff turn them into CFY
home learning centers.
How is CFY different from other organizations focused on middle-school children?
Programs that improve the home learning environment of low-income children during the vulnerable middle school years are virtually nonexistent. Research shows that parenting practices account for up to 25 percent of the achievement differences between higher- and lower-performing students, but school systems spend less than two percent of their budgets in this area. To meet this need, CFY brings learning home—the place that receives the least attention from policymakers and educators, yet holds the greatest
untapped
potential for improving children's academic and life-long success.How many families have benefited from CFY's program?
In June 2007, CFY gave a
home learning center
to our 10,000th family.What impact has CFY had on the families it helps?
CFY has achieved positive outcomes the following areas:
Academic achievement:
CFY is proud to announce that its newest research study using logistic regression shows a significant relationship between the CFY program and math achievement levels. We will be working with its research partner, ETS, to continue analyzing this data and disseminate their findings.Student engagement:
Children participating in CFY's program increased their class effort (as measured by their teachers), while a comparison group of students did not. In addition, 70% or more students reported using their computer-basedhome learning center
to help write at a more advanced level or help practice or improve their math skills.Parental involvement:
More than 90% of parents feel more confident in helping their children learn, more than 70% say they use theirhome learning center
to help their children with homework and more than 90% report feeling more connected to their child's school.Who are some of CFY's most prominent donors?
CFY receives contributions of cash, computers, software and services from individuals, foundations, corporations and local governments. Some of CFY's most prominent financial supporters include Advanced Network & Services, Goldman Sachs Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, Lone Pine Foundation, New Profit, Picower Foundation and the Starr Foundation. CFY's corporate computer donors include Goldman Sachs, Time Warner, Prudential Securities, NASDAQ, Clifford Chance and CIBC World Markets. CFY's software donors include Digital Directions International, Microsoft, Riverdeep/Houghton Mifflin Learning Technology, Scholastic and Thinkronize.
What are the CFY Tech Leadership Awards?
The Tech Leadership Awards is a fundraising event hosted by CFY annually that recognizes the best family learning software of the year, entrepreneurship and innovation in digital leadership and social responsibility among IT executives. Members of the Student Software Team are also on hand to demonstrate the software titles nominated during CFY's Education Executives Day. The 2007 Tech Leadership Award recipients were Craig Newmark, founder and customer service rep of craigslist; Becky Blalock, CIO of Southern Company; and Bruce Aust, executive vice president of NASDAQ. The winner of the 2007 Family Learning Software award was
ClueFinders
by Riverdeep/Houghton Mifflin Learning Technology.What are CFY's future goals?
By 2010, CFY's goal is to be operating in five cities, including its existing offices in New York City, Philadelphia and Atlanta, and serving almost 10,000 families per year overall.