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Opportunity Access, Inc.

Annual Report for

The year 2005

Charles Thomas Moore, Jr.

Executive Director

March 12, 2006

Executive summary

Introduction

Program Delivery, measurements and accomplishments

1.     Community Services Program

2.     Secondary School Collaboration Program

3.     Adult Students

Financial summary 2005

Challenges for the next 12-18 months include

Future Direction

Conclusion

Appendix

1.     Table 1b        Opportunity Access Inc. Public school computer labs

2.     Table 2          Secondary School Collaboration Program

3.     Table 3          Adult Education Certificate Courses

4.     Table 4          Lists our Estimated Expenses for 2005

Executive Summary

We have completed another successful year of operation and are now entering our sixth year since the establishment of Opportunity Access in April of 2000. Each year we grow, it strengthens our organization as it proves our ability to sustain grow even under difficult economic conditions. Our numbers for 2005 are impressive but we always strive to improve programs and incorporate adjustments to better meet our objectives. One example is last year we had an objective to install computers into 10 additional public schools, and we were able to exceed our objective and establish 17 additional computer labs. While this appears to be a great accomplishment we must remember our focus which is to improve public school education. Unless these computers are all maintained and can be effectively utilized by teachers and children big numbers are meaningless. We have broadened our objectives for these programs to include a component to measure the effectiveness of the computer education the school children are receiving. This represents the balance between quantity and quality that we continually strive to optimize.

Throughout the year we have continued to increase our impact on the region. As we move further into 2006, we plan to expand our outreach and to follow our mission to empower communities through technology education. Through consistent gifts in kind we have again upgraded our primary computer training classroom at the Cahuita Computer Center which now contains 21 Pentium III and Pentium IV student computers. While classes are in session our practice room has 11 Pentium III computers available free to the public. The Cahuita Computer Center, our central training facility, is always operating at 100% seven days a week including evenings.

Another critical element to our success is our close relationship with our clients both participants, and sponsors. We have received outstanding evaluations on all accounts of our operations and we owe this to our hard working staff.

For 2005 our annual operating budget increased from $91,000 (year 2004) to approximately $139,000 (year 2005) including $80,000 worth of resources coming from In-kind donations, $35,000 from a CR-USA Foundation grant, and the balance from individual contributions and corporate matching funds.

Thank you for your continued support.

Charles T. Moore

Executive Director

Opportunity Access Inc.

www.oaccess.org

Introduction

This report is intended to provide information on the programs of Opportunity Access Inc., for the year 2005 including objectives, accomplishments, financials, staff, and future directions.

Opportunity Access Inc. (OA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit international digital divide corporation as determined by the Internal Revenue Service on June 29, 2001 with an Employer Identification Number of 23-3039956.

Mission:

Establish public computer centers for underserved communities in order to provide Access to current and future Opportunities.

The community centers are designed to provide a multitude of technology training resources at various age and educational levels. The target population is underserved regions containing minority groups where existing technology resources are not available. Our goal is to have the centers eventually run entirely by the community. Our program design empowers communities to expand the technology infrastructure including intellectual capital to uplift the region by supplying quality jobs and the needed technology educational tools to fill these positions.  

The programs we offer are designed to support our mission and to provide the best possible value to our supporters. We have clearly defined objectives and we strive to provide the highest quality of services to our participants.

Program Delivery, measurements and accomplishments

1.   Community Services Program

With four years of major in kind donations of over 500 computers our community services program has had significant growth specifically in the services for public schools. We will continue to expand this program as it has proven to be effective in reaching the children who are most in need. We believe having computer labs in public schools will increase low-income children’s capacity to continue education beyond the primary school. This is a difficult measurement to quantify, as there are several other factors involved when it comes to education levels obtained and graduation rates. However, we will attempt to draw a correlation between having computers in a school and educational achievement. Currently Talamanca County has the lowest graduations rates of the entire country of Costa Rica (Source Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos INEC 2002).

To improve this program we have refined our set of measurements to better assess the quality of computer education the students are receiving at our public school labs.

Services for other community groups have grown slightly. We plan to install additional computer labs outside of public schools to assist other communities to provide technology training in this region.

Along with training a critical component to providing technology education is to have working computer labs that a regularly maintained, upgraded, and accessible to students. Trained teachers and assistants are a necessity along with educational software designed for the students that use them. While maintenance is often underestimated and is not as attractive to foundations as a new lab or teacher training, maintenance is constantly sited as a major reason for a breakdown in teacher training and the integration of technology into the classroom (See Education Development Center’s International Evaluations 2001, 2002, 2003). We have worked two years to provide a host of support services including on-site follow-up training to ensure children are receiving the enhanced education provided by technology tools.

To properly address this issue of on-site support we have full-time staff working daily on this task. Our new measurement is based on a total of staff hours dedicated to multiple support services including Maintenance of hardware and software, on-site training, and consultation. For measurement purposes we determined 2000 hours represents one staff working 40 hours per week for one year (50 Weeks).                

Accomplishments    Table 1a Services for Community Years

Note: One-year of one employee full-time work is equivalent to 2,000 hours

**Includes 2300 hours of volunteer work.

See Appendix: Table 1b Opportunity Access Inc. Public school computer labs

Program Description

    All three of the Costa Rica programs are designed to complement one another. The community services program installed 17 public school computer labs for 2005 and has an objective to install an additional 10 in 2006. We support these labs to the best of our capabilities by providing computer teachers, regular maintenance, software applications and consultation. We are actively working with Intel Costa Rica to train teachers on how to use a computer in the classroom to teach math, reading, science, social studies, Spanish, English and history. With our Quality of Education Evaluation Index (QEEI) measurement our goal is to have each students receive 4 hours of computer based instructions per week. We need to work with the ministry of public education to request they employ certified computer teachers for schools in this region. Our partnerships with the University of Costa Rica and the Peace Corps have helped us with this objective.

For 2005 we provided a total of over 13,000 hours of work in training and maintenance. OA’s community services support is categorized as the following:

·Computer Installation and Maintenance 4590 Hours

·Training teachers and students 8560 Hours

Internet and Games

An additional aspect of the community services program is to encourage all community members to engage in computer activities. Every Tuesday evening OA provides almost free ($.20 per hour) Internet usage for community members. Staff assists new users to open email accounts and to search the Internet for interest, homework or general information. Every Friday evening OA provides free computer games for the children and teens. In these informal open sessions most of the learning is through peer-to-peer experience and experimentation.

 Accomplishments    Table 1b          Services for Community Year 2001-2005

Participants

All age groups participate in and benefit from the community services program. A heavy emphasis is placed on enhancing the public education and improving the future of low-income children. The social services agencies we assist serve all community members. 

2.   Secondary School Collaboration Program

We completed our 6^th year out of six with our secondary school program. This is a program where the potential to improve is unlimited. We will continue to develop curriculum and teach the telesecundaria in Cahuita. We plan to assist the National telesecundaria program to transition from video taped programs to DVD and Computer based programs.

Accomplishments   

 One of our major objectives for this program is to design a High School technology education curriculum that can be duplicated into other telesecundarias. We are getting great results from our Tortuguero location with the support of the local teachers and Peace Corps volunteers. This proves the curriculum can work but only if both the community and teachers support the program.

See: Table 2 Appendix-      Secondary School Collaboration Program

Program Description

    In a collaborative effort with the Ministry of Public Education Costa Rica, the Opportunity Access staff has designed a computer curriculum for the Cahuita high school students. Each week students receive two hours of school-time practice at the Cahuita Computer Center. Students are evaluated based on attendance, 3 quizzes, 3 home works, a final project and a final exam. The three-year curriculum is based on the following five concepts:

1.   Computer logic and programming using micro world and HTML

2.   Research information using the Internet and electronic encyclopedias

3.   Computer applications including word, excel, PowerPoint, FrontPage, access, explorer, paint, and multimedia players

4.   Data communication concepts including the World Wide Web, Local area networking, Internet servers, Internet protocol, and digital communications theory.

5.   Computer operations including software, hardware, and peripheral devices (digital cameras, scanners, printers, microphones, etc.)

Lessons are designed based on student interest from student surveys and include art, fashion, chat rooms, email, music, games, sports and pictures. OA provides the computer classroom, teachers, books, diskettes, and other necessary materials for the class.  Enrollment in the Cahuita High School has increased 100% from 2003 to 2005. Through major renovations to our training facilities we can serve the 100+ students. Even though our computer courses are not mandatory for the students over 95% choose to participate in the program.

In Level IV the students earn a certificate in Windows, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet, FrontPage, and Access. These certificate courses will improve student’s ability to obtain employment and better prepare them to continue their education at a university or other higher-level institute.

Participants

The local Cahuita high school students range in age from 12 to 20 and are an even mix of boys and girls.  The student body contains diverse ethnic groups of Spanish, African American, and Indian students.

Vesta, our second location is in a more rural region of the Limon Province with a majority population consisting of Cabrecar indigenous people. Working at this location has taught us that we need additional support from within the community (Computer Teacher) because our teachers cannot commute to this remote location on a regular basis.

Our third location we are working with is Puerto Viejo, which has opened a “telesecundaria” high school in Feb. 2003. Puerto Viejo has a similar student body to that of the Cahuita high school.

Most of these students will represent the first generation to attend high school and have the chance to graduate high school. 

3.   Adult Students

In 2005 our adult certification courses were nationally accredited by the ministry of public education. We have slightly changed our course structure to coincide with accreditation requirements. The demand for computer training in this region has increased. We charge a fee of $10 (5,000 colones) for a five-week course. This fee represents approximately 15% of what a similar course will cost in Costa Rica, but unfortunately this fee is still beyond the reach of many potential students. For select students we will continue to seek sponsors to pay 50% of the course fee, or offer work to students who cannot afford the program.

Program Description

The level 1 computer applications course will teach students:  Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Word, Internet, and Microsoft PowerPoint (20 weeks 160 hours). The advance level computer applications course will teach students Microsoft Front page, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Access (20 weeks 160 hours).  All classes are eight hours per week:  four for lecture and four for practice, and courses are accredited by the Ministry of Public Education Costa Rica.  One teacher and one teacher’s assistant will be assigned for approximately every 20 students.  

Our computer repair series is a one-year program with 6 months of class/lab work and 6 months of apprenticeship work in the field. Although this is a difficult program to deliver it offers an excellent opportunity for students to acquire career skills that lead to sustainable employment. We also completed a computer-networking course and in a partnership with the University of Costa Rica we plan to establish a Cisco networking academy.

Participants

Our adult students represent an even mix of community member that range in age from 16 to 65 with slightly more female participants. They enroll in computer courses to increase their potential to obtain sustainable employment. Since most of our participants have not graduated high school many have used their new skills to return to their formal education.

 Financial Results 2005 - Summary

Our 2005 totals for fundraising (Income) are approximately $139,000 and this includes gifts in kind of $80,000. Our total program cash expenses are approximately $59,000 which is equal to our cash income. Our income was up from $91,000 in year 2004, an increase of 52%. This increase was primarily due to a large in kind donation of 250 Pentium III computers. Over the last three years we have shown a steady increase in income and expenses. This shows healthy growth, consistent with our programs expansion plus some increase in efficiencies with operations.

Our approved budget for year 2005 was set at $227,000 which would cover all expenses for all programs. Giving our actual income and our budget we have achieved outstanding results. We have been extremely responsible with expenses and carry $0 in debt.

Challenges for the next 12-18 months include:

§ Transition management responsibilities of CR program to CR Staff

We have held a meeting locally with the Cahuita Computer Center (CCC) Board, our Costa Rican non-profit association. The meeting was to define their role as board members, strengthen the membership and provide guidance as to how they can support the CR programs. A follow-up meeting must be set. Prior to this point the 10-member CCC board has been non-active by design. In the future, programs in CR will be developed and presented by the local staff. Both the CCC board and the OA board must approve the programs.

OA staff has developed working methods and procedure (M&P's) for the daily operations. These M&P's have been tested and proven to work. Adjustments and improvements have been made continuously. CCC staff is capable to run the CR programs according to the established M&P's. As CR key partnerships are established the transition will move closer to our ultimate goal to establish permanent technology training centers in regions of need. Our target for on-going funding is 50% by OA and 50% by CCC (including 10% for student fees).

§ Maintain and grow Quality Staff

So far we have done well with our CR service delivery staff. As mentioned above we would like to hire and groom additional CR staff to spread responsibility as we transition management. We need to secure funds with a multiyear grant so we can hire additional staff to support our Costa Rica expansion. A multiyear grant will enable us to hire staff we know we can afford to pay a fair salary. We have been able to provide quality jobs and will continue to employ our adult student participants that have demonstrated their commitment and capabilities.

§         Recruit and manage a productive volunteer force

There are several volunteers interested in working with OA. We have received help from several volunteers especially with our computer donations drive in the US. We have not been able to reach our potential to effectively coordinate a productive volunteer staff primarily due to the lack of time and resources committed to this task.

§ Fiscal responsibilities and discipline

Our fiscal discipline has remained in line with our priorities.

1.   Operations of our three core CR programs.

2.   Build security as outlined to ensure the continuation of the three core CR programs and expand accordingly.

3.   Development/fundraising initiatives

4.   All additional programs

As we plan to grow projects, expenses will naturally increase. Increasing fundraising efforts is also an increase in expenses. We do not have to sacrifice operations for marketing.

§ Continue to deliver quality services

This has been one of our strengths and we should continuously improve on our quality of service. The renovation to our primary training facility in Cahuita has increased our capacity to serve our mission. We are making progress to deliver more advanced courses such as Cisco networking, Microsoft network administration, programming, network security and E-commerce.

We want to remain progressive and since we have total freedom over our secondary school curriculum we plan to design and implement the best secondary level computer program in all of CR. We can improve the quality of this program once we get a high-speed access line to connect to the internet. We deliver a superior quality in technology education to give our HS students an advantage to either gain employment or to continue their education.

The community services program has improved since we received our fifth shipment of donated computers in July 2005 and have another scheduled in April 2006. This improvement is in numbers of computers in public schools but not necessarily in the quality of education. We need to put the extra effort to improve education to ensure participants receive the maximum benefit of having computers. Our experience has taught us what is needed to make this program work and as mentioned above we will seek sponsors for each school. We must also continue to develop our relationships with the Ministry of public Education (MEP) and the Foundation Omar Dengo (FOD). We have added a quality measurement for this program to incorporate into our future objective.

§ Maintain established reputation in CR

The reputation of OA and CCC is very solid. We have built it by our actions and the testimony of our clients/students. Our best advocates are those who participants in our programs and the Public school systems we work with.

To show their support the community has built our own computer center building, on community property, with community contributions. The building is essentially completed but we are not using the building at this point. The building is currently being used by the local Cahuita high school. Their enrollment has increased significantly and they have no school building to teach students. Empowering communities to improve themselves in part of our mission.

§ Communications Infrastructure

While CR government run companies have plans to improve electricity and telephone lines we do not have much control over this development. The Internet and electricity could get worse before it gets better. So far we have had good enough service to operate effectively. A fiber optic communications ring is installed through Cahuita but high-speed internet access is not yet available. Alternative high speed Internet access services are very expensive.

Future Direction

Opportunity Access is in an outstanding position for future growth. The demand for our services has increased and our reputation for delivering quality services has remained excellent. However, we must continue to anticipate the future technology needs for this region so we are positioned to deliver the appropriate training. These internationally recognized certifications are important Cisco, Microsoft, Comptia A+, but the practical experience is what employers need. We offer both certifications plus the hands-on work experience that lead to sustainable careers.

Over the next three years we plan to remain focused on our core programs and our mission.

Below are our three year objectives (2006-2009):

1.      Install 30 public school computer labs and maintain 40 existing computer labs for 70 communities serving 20,000 school children each year. (Minimum 750 computers installed and maintained)

2. Install, staff, and maintain five additional computer-training facilities open to the public.

3. Install Internet into 20 public schools in the region (Currently in Limon district of Costa Rica, only 1 of 300 public schools use internet. Source CCC).

4. Certify 300 adult students per year (40 hours courses).

5. Assign one computer technician/computer-teaching assistant for every five public school computer labs to provide on site training and technical support.

6. Establish six Micro Enterprises that utilize our technology training.

Conclusion

OA has been extremely successful in following our mission and meeting measurable objectives. The steady growth and improvements with our programs are a result of hard work and good planning. We must remain focused on our mission and our programs need to improve continuously. Quality and value services are what we need to provide to our clients (Participants and Supporters). Donors want to be involved with successful programs that have produced results and will continue to produce results.

Our programs success thus far places us in a strong position to continue this success through the next three years and beyond. We will undoubtedly continue to face challenges many of which are unforeseen. For the challenges we have identified in this report, we must follow our plan, overcome the obstacles, and make these challenges our 2006 accomplishments. Remember our three core programs are all successful and fundable. We will get additional grants, expand, and continue to improve our quality programs. 

Appendix

Table 1b                           Opportunity Access Inc. Public school computer labs

QEEI= Quality of Education Evaluation Index – This new set of measurements refined for 2006 is primarily based on the numbers of hours each week a student gets computer class and computer based practice. The second component is based on an in class evaluation designed to determine how well students understand the lesson’s objectives.

Table 2          Secondary School Collaboration Program

Table 3              Adult Education Certificate Courses

 *Unoffical Numbers

Table 4                     Lists our Estimated Expenses for 2005

Please note these expenses listed in table 4 are not audited. Minor adjustments will be made to incorporate the total expenses.  This table is to present a general overview of where our funding is going and is not intended for official use.