2020-03-02T13:38:22-08:00 2019-06-30 390919055 Ritz Holman LLP 330 E Kilbourn Ste 550 Milwaukee WI 532023144 990 2018-07-01 391963963 SHARP LITERACY INC SHAR 4149771768 5775 N Glen Park Road Suite 202 Milwaukee WI 53209 LYNDA KOHLER President & CEO 2020-03-02 true KATY L SOMMER P00273273 4142711451 2018 2020-09-23 17:36:50Z LYNDA KOHLER 5775 N Glen Park Road Suite 202 Milwaukee WI 53209 1218619 false false X www.sharpliteracy.org X 1999 WI SHARP Literacy aspires to promote the joy of, and the journey toward, a lifelong pursuit of learning through exploration and discovery. Our goal is to improve literacy for urban youth with relatable hands-on programming. We enrich classroom learning with visual arts integration, educational tours and community engagement. 26 25 0 76 0 994316 1092231 15311 20419 60938 75421 -57279 -43854 1013286 1144217 0 0 670533 733308 0 207504 332770 323205 1003303 1056513 9983 87704 2226508 2386456 59729 117618 2166779 2268838 SHARP Literacy aspires to promote the joy of, and the journey toward, a lifelong pursuit of learning through exploration and discovery. Our goal is to improve literacy for urban youth with relatable hands-on programming. We enrich classroom learning with visual arts integration, educational tours and community engagement. false false 729624 20419 OverviewSHARP Literacys mission is to enhance future life success by energizing urban children, motivating them to identify themselves as confident, capable scholars and lifelong learners by inspiring engagement in reading, writing and research through hands-on interaction and visual arts. Now in its 23rd year, SHARP has a proven track record of helping over 8,500 K3-5th grade students annually in Milwaukee and Waukesha County to build foundational literacy skills and become strong readers through our evidence-backed literacy model. Students come from 43 public, choice and charter schools in both counties. The breakdown of our student population is 50% African-American, 32% Hispanic, 11% Caucasian, 5% Asian, and 2% other. Eighty-five percent qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The program is provided at no cost to the schools; the cost to SHARP for each participating student is $130 per year.Traditional Core ProgramThe program includes hour-long workshops offered four times a year. Workshops include thinking routines with art images, read-alouds, and hands-on arts inquiry activities. Each workshop has a content mastery goal, an arts-related goal and a critical thinking goal. Teacher surveys and student reflections will track progress after each session. Students are given a pre- and post-assessment where they will be asked to identify salient features in non-fiction text.Design Through CodeCoding is the language of the future. Learning to code can help students overcome traditional boundaries like poverty and diverse backgrounds, ensuring that all children have a chance to succeed in our connected world. Beyond digital literacy, the process of learning to code promotes skills that are valuable across a variety of disciplines from problem-solving and logic, to collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. SHARP provides fourth grade students at participating SHARP schools with the tools to create art using simple computer code. For the 2017-18 school year, SHARP is offering the workshop to 4th grade students at Doerfler Escuela Vieau and Forest Home Elementary School. For 2018-19, the workshop will be offered to additional schools in Milwaukee and expanded into Waukesha County, where we hope to replicate the success we have had in the initial program year.SHARP's education team has collaborated with I.T. professionals from industry, faculty and students from several higher education institutions, including UWM (Girls Who Code Club) and Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to plan curriculum, select age appropriate coding software and track student success. Students and facilitators meet once a week for 16 weeks through the course of a year. Students participate in unplugged (paper and pencil) and plugged (computer) activities, and work collaboratively on a project that will be presented to a jury of professionals and educators. Students go on an educational tour to a university and/or a high-tech company to experience firsthand how coding impacts outcome. Volunteers are actively recruited for program delivery, help with class projects and judging outcomes.Summer & After School Programs From June through August, SHARP Literacy partners with 11 community-based organizations and schools that are typically located in some of Milwaukees most distressed zip codes, characterized by high unemployment (60%), little education (less than 10% of the population has a college degree) and high poverty (90% of the public-school students who live in these zip codes are disadvantaged). SHARP offers a modified version of our school-year curriculum, maintaining the focus on building students academic vocabulary, creativity, teamwork and critical thinking skills. Reading and other academic content is blended with activities such as art projects, hands-on environmental projects, educational tours and coding workshops. Students from Milwaukees Westlawn neighborhood participated in revitalizing a greenhouse, planted vegetables and fruit, assisted MSOE engineering students with the design and installation of an aquaponics system and a solar dehydrator, and learned components of financial literacy. The Greenhouse Revitalization Program also emphasizes soft skillsstrengthening peer relationships, ties with adults and developing persistencethat shape students motivation and self-confidence.Educational Tours SHARPs educational tours provide kindergarten through 5th grade students a diverse experiential learning opportunity that solidifies classroom concepts while sparking a love for learning. Schools view these richly diverse educational tours as greatly beneficial to their students who otherwise would not have an opportunity to visit a museum or hands-on education site. Along with learning classroom concepts, the student bonding that occurs on educational tours enhances the overall experience and creates a learning community. Prior to each tour, SHARP educators describe what students will encounter during the visit and how it relates to the current unit of study. Tours are led by docents who are trained to point out curriculum-related exhibits and facilitate hands-on activities that are linked to multiple curricular areas. Students are encouraged to document their observations and share with the class later. Classroom teachers are surveyed after the tours to gauge what teachers see as the educational value of the tour, whether students met expectations, and what might be done differently for future tours Greenhouse Revitalization ProjectSHARP Literacy, in partnership with Browning Elementary School and Silver Spring Neighborhood Center (SSNC), undertook the Greenhouse Revitalization Project in late 2017. The 800 square foot greenhouse is located at Browning Elementary School adjacent to (SSNC) in the Westlawn neighborhood. It is a unique collaboration between SHARP, SSNC, Browning, Milwaukee School of Engineering, MPS and Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful. SHARP educators and partners collaborated to create a learning community that focuses on culturally responsive environmental education and building science, reading, financial literacy and creative problem-solving skills. Located on the northwest side of town, the Westlawn neighborhood is home to approximately 42,000 residents. In comparison with Wisconsin statewide averages, the neighborhood has lower median home values and higher unemployment rates, and nearly a third of the families live well below the poverty level. The racial makeup of the area is 68% African American, 14% Caucasian, 9% Asian and 4% Hispanic.The three-year project will include an energy efficient greenhouse, an aquaponics system, a solar dehydrator and raised garden beds. Twenty-four MSOE honor students are working on various components of the project. The systems will serve as educational tools and community resources to inspire the next generation of students by furthering the Browning students experience with applied learning. 729624 true true false false false false false false false false true false false false true true true false false false false false false false true false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false true 18 0 true 0 false false false false false false false false false 0 false false false false false false false false false false false false X 26 25 false false false false false false false true true false false true true true true true true false true false WI X LYNDA KOHLER 4149771768 5775 N Glen Park Road Suite 202 Milwaukee WI 53209 DANIEL MEYER Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 DOUGLAS C ERLACHER Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 ANDREA SCHLOEMER Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 NANCY MEHLBERG TOMKO Treasurer 1.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 JASON W ALLEN Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 LAURIE WINTERS Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 LORI R BECHTHOLD Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 JAMES BURKE Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 MARSHALL CHAY Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 JOEL HUFFMAN CFA Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 BRAD BERTLER Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 JAN LENNON Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 P MICHAEL MAHONEY Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 RANDAL HOPPER Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 OMAR SHAIKH Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 PAUL UPCHURCH Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 KELLEY YUNK vice chairman 1.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 TOM MROCZKOWSKI Chairman 1.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 WILLIAM HUGHES PHD Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 JEFFREY BROWNING Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 DEANNA LEITZKE Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 GEORGE JUSTICE Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 MEGHAN SLOCUM Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 ANNE ZIZZO Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Brittany Lopez Naleid Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Brian Till Director 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 LYNDA KOHLER President 40.00 0.00 X 120226 0 19341 120226 19341 1 false false false 0 280812 811419 19244 1092231 FEES FROM SCHOOLS 900099 20419 20419 20419 45566 45566 0 0 0 29855 29855 29855 29855 30239 280812 72924 -42685 -42685 0 309 1478 -1169 -1169 0 1144217 49105 2881 0 0 0 0 150658 112994 15065 22599 0 479267 361729 28181 89357 17048 13146 1624 2278 29784 22883 2856 4045 56551 44880 3415 8256 0 0 49700 4200 41300 4200 0 0 16870 16870 32301 31751 550 57049 4214 883 51952 21267 8429 690 12148 18645 14083 4562 0 5952 2414 1769 1769 821 299 10 512 0 1877 1192 245 440 0 0 16020 8010 4005 4005 7982 7857 125 DISTRIBUTED BOOKS 34085 34085 FIELD TRIPS 31478 31478 GREENHOUSE PROJECT 15111 15111 MURALS & BENCHES 9004 9004 5043 1865 2347 831 1056513 729624 119385 207504 72327 35308 176530 162074 180103 343903 0 0 0 0 97257 98751 13524 9099 72687 65113 11927 7574 1653451 1720025 0 0 21389 9722 0 2226508 2386456 47440 62501 6650 50500 5639 4617 59729 117618 X 1862956 1631898 303823 636940 2166779 2268838 2226508 2386456 87704 14355 X false true X true false X 847046 840764 816000 994316 1092231 4590357 0 0 847046 840764 816000 994316 1092231 4590357 511132 4079225 25294 46056 41365 40404 45566 198685 0 10906 61321 22287 48894 30239 173647 4962689 58067 0.82200 0.83400 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 59565 52854 6711 13122 12259 863 7574 Capital Lease 4617 4617 X 1190187 14355 48485 62840 1127347 16870 16870 1144217 1088128 48485 48485 1039643 16870 16870 1056513 Part X : FIN48 Footnote The Organization is exempt from income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is classified as other than a private foundation. Management has reviewed all tax positions recognized in previously filed tax returns and those expected to be taken in future tax returns. As of June 30, 2019, the Organization had no amounts related to unrecognized income tax benefits and no amounts related to accrued interest and penalties. The Organization does not anticipate any significant changes to unrecognized income tax benefits over the next year. false Novel Event 252156 232806 19350 19342 9750 15621 UNWRAPPED 55731 48006 7725 2500 367 15667 307887 280812 27075 21842 10117 31288 63247 -36172 ANNE ZIZZO - ZIZZO GROUP BOARD MEMBER 25516 MARKETING OUTSOURCE false Form 990, Part VI, Line 11b: Form 990 Review Process 990 is presented to the board of directors Form 990, Part VI, Line 12c: Explanation of Monitoring and Enforcement of Conflicts BOARD MEMBERS ARE REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OR COMMITTEE DETERMINE IF A CONFLICT EXISTS. WHEN THIS OCCURS THE BOARD MEMBER WITH A CONFLICT OF INTEREST IS ASKED TO LEAVE DURING THE DISCUSSION AND VOTE. Form 990, Part VI, Line 15b: Compensation Review and Approval Process for Officers and Key Employees QTI WAS HIRED TO DO AN EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION SURVEY IN 2014 Form 990, Part VI, Line 19: Other Organization Documents Publicly Available Documents are made available to public upon request.