TEACH FOR COLLEGE

A free test preparation program that helps Dallas

Independent School Districts impoverished
incoming juniors improve their SAT/ACT results

BCOM 3310-009
Mai Nguyen, Senanga Perera, Aayushi Vashistha, Grace Yang

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... 2
WHAT DALLAS ISD IS FACING ........................................................................................ 3
The Problem
Our Solution

GOALS AND SCOPES ..................................................................................................... 6

For Students
For Microsoft
For Teach For America

DETAILS............................................................................................................................ 7
Part 1: "Teach For College"
Who?
When?
Where?
Microsoft's Partnership with Teach For America
Part 2: "Tech For College"

MARKETING .................................................................................................................. 11
For Microsoft
For Teach For America

BUDGET ......................................................................................................................... 12
FUNDING ....................................................................................................................... 13
PROGRAM SCHEDULE .................................................................................................. 14
CONTACT US ................................................................................................................ 15
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ........................................................................ 16

ABSTRACT

According to Matthew Haag from the Dallas Morning News, the Dallas
Independent School District has been repeatedly showing an alarming
percentage of low SAT scores for the past years. Our research team at Microsoft
Corporation has found one of the major causes of this issue to be the financial
obstacles encountered by these students. They come from impoverished
families who are not able to provide them with the highest quality of education,
such as test preparation courses. We, at Microsoft, want to help solve this issue
as an opportunity to give back to the Dallas community. Our team are
proposing a free test preparation program, Teach For College, to the Dallas
Regional Chambers of Commerce (DRCC) to request financial banking
covering a portion of the total cost. We will also be partnering with Teach For
America (TFA) to provide students the best group of instructors. Furthermore, to
help break the expensive technology barrier between students and their future
academic career, Microsoft will lend out a Surface Pro 3 for each qualifying
student. All costs of the program come from Microsoft, the DRCC, fundraising,
sponsorships, and laptops purchased at the end.

WHAT DALLAS ISD IS FACING

THE PROBLEM
Students in Dallas have consistently received scores on the ACT and SAT that
show the majority of students in Dallas ISD are not college ready. In addition,
77.6 % of students in DISD come from impoverished families; this is characterized
by the amount of students who are eligible to receive free and reduced lunch.

Figure 1: Correlation between income status and college readiness in Dallas ISD

This graph from The Dallas Morning News (Figure 1) shows the correlation
between income status and college readiness. As income status lowers,
SAT/ACT scores, decreases as well. Dallas ISDs main issue is that the majority of
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its students are not ready for college. In fact, according to the Dallas Morning
News, only 13.3% of students in Dallas ISD received scores on the SAT that are
considered college ready. This problem exists because these students do not
have the resources to prepare for these tests. Their high schools may not offer
test preparations, or if they do, the courses may be low-quality and poorly
taught. Furthermore, official college preparation courses for SAT/ACT exams, like
those from Kaplan or Princeton, are very expensive. These students come from
families who struggle to put bread on the table; therefore, paying thousands of
dollars for these classes is hardly an option for them. Other students take the
tests several times to get the highest scores; these students would have to stop
after their first try because they cannot afford to pay for more tests or lack the
academic aid needed to improve. Many high schools barely provide any
preparation materials. Students go into these college entrance exams with no
experience or knowledge of how the test will appear because they have not
had the opportunity to practice.

OUR SOLUTION
Our solution is the program Teach For College, which provides free SAT/ACT
courses over the summer for incoming juniors in the southern DISD area. We will
be working with Teach For America (TFA), a non-profit organization that recruits
recent college graduates to teach at low-income communities in the United
States. TFA will be providing the majority of the workforce for our program.
Enrolled students will be learning important testing skills and strategies from
certified instructors to better understand the materials and raise their test scores.
This allows students to avoid spending extra money to take standardized tests
multiple times.

Microsoft is also offering an

incentive for students who
enroll in this program and
meet

the

certain

requirements. As previously
the

targeted

students

come from impoverished

families. This means that it
is unlikely for them to be able to afford new and high quality laptops, one of the
most important tools in every students life. As an incentive, we will loan a free
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 to every qualifying student.

Although the laptop is a nice way to draw students interest, the main focus of
the program lies in the free SAT and ACT preparation courses occurring over the
summer. A study conducted by Ohio State University showed that students who
received private SAT prep classes averaged 60 points higher on the exam than
those who did not take any classes (Grabmeier). This same study concluded
that preparation courses are the most effective means of raising a students
score. Our summer courses will provide a necessary means for these students to
get the scores they need to succeed in their academic careers.

GOALS AND SCOPES

FOR STUDENTS
The most important goal for Teach For College is for students to raise their SAT
scores when they take their tests after the completion of the program and
increase their chance of being accepted to the college of their choice.
Furthermore, since many schools and programs give out scholarship based on
students SAT scores, accomplishing this goal would be a stepping stone for
students to be able to afford their expensive college tuition. We are targeting
the southern part of DISD and explanations on this will be provided in the Details
section of this proposal. This goal will be measured by comparing PSAT/SAT/ACT
scores of students prior to our program and their scores afterwards.

FOR MICROSOFT
At Microsoft we believe in the power of education and the role of new
technology in every students life. In such a growing age of the internet and
technology, Microsofts goal in Teach For College is to provide new
technology for students in the impoverished areas of DISD. In the long run, when
the budget has increased from fundraising and sponsorships, Microsoft aims to
bring this program to as many underprivileged independent school districts as
possible.

FOR TEACH FOR AMERICA

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Teach For America is a non-profit organization that recruits recent college to

teach at low-income communities in the U.S. TFA targets students from
preschool through grade 12. However, it historically has focused a lot more on
the younger age groups. This program is designed for TFA to branch out to a
new program, college test preparation, targeting incoming high school juniors.

DETAILS
To solve the problem of consistently low SAT results in the Dallas Independent
School District, this program will be divided into two parts:
1. Teach For College - a free SAT preparation program targeting six high
schools in southern DISD
2. Tech for College - a laptop lending program as an incentive for
qualifying students upon the completion of the SAT course

PART 1: TEACH FOR COLLEGE

WHO?

Teach For College targets six of the lowest income and lowest performing high
schools in southern Dallas ISD. Figure 2 on the next page shows the college
readiness level of all high schools in Dallas ISD in 2013 and 2014. Many high
schools have shown significant growth over these two years. After considering
the data, we have chosen six schools that showed little to no growth: Lincoln,
Pinkston, Samuell, Spruce, Sunset, and Wilmer-Hutchins.

Figure 2: Which high schools produce college-ready students?

Teach For College will only target incoming high school juniors during its first
year of operation. Possible future expansion will depend on the peers
feedbacks, funding, and most importantly, test scores.

WHEN?

This test preparation program will happen from June through August. There will
be a total of nine sessions, one per week. After researching, our team at
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Microsoft found there are approximately 1,700 incoming juniors in total from the
six targeted schools. We expect about 1,000 out of 1,700 students to attend the
sessions since many students have other activities during the summer such as
work or vacation. We will have three separate two-hour-sessions each day to
accommodate the high volume of students.

WHERE?

After coordinating with representatives from all six schools, we decided to

locate the program at Lincoln High School because it is the most easilyaccessible location (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Map of Targeted Schools in Dallas ISD

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MICROSOFTS PARTNERSHIP WITH TEACH FOR AMERICA

Our team has partnered up with Teach For America to help implement this
Teach For College. TFA will be recruiting instructors for the new test
preparation program and they will be providing Teach For College with 20
qualifying instructors. Lincoln High School has agreed to the use 10 classrooms
for the program throughout the summer. In order for each student to have more
one-on-one time with the instructors and learn as efficiently as possible, the
student to instructor ratio per classroom will be 15:1. Each classroom will have 2
instructors and around 30 students.

PART 2: TECH FOR COLLEGE

The second part of our program, Tech For College, essentially serves as an
incentive for these students for successfully completing the course. Microsoft will
be lending out the Surface Pro 3 to all the qualifying students. The main goal is
for these students to raise their test scores, therefore, attendance is a crucial
part of their success. To meet the lending criteria, a student must attend at least
eight out of the nine sessions held. This will be a six-year lending program. Each
student will have the laptop for their junior and senior year in high school and for
next four years of college. Students must provide proof of enrollment at a fouryear university as well as all SAT/ACT scores and semester grade point averages
throughout the six-year period. At the end of the six years, if the students decide
they want to keep the laptop, we will offer them the option to purchase it for
$50, a small fraction of the original price.

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MARKETING
FOR MICROSOFT
Our Marketing and Public Relations department is working on a marketing plan
in order for Teach For College to gain traction. First, we want to hold information
booths and interest sessions at the six selected DISD schools to raise awareness
about our program. These will ensure that representatives of Microsoft get a
chance to interact with students and their families to:
Let them know more details about the program.
Answer any questions an individual may have
Give advice and feedbacks to improve the program that best fits the
students interest
We will also be handing out flyers and brochures and advertising on social
media to reach out to friends, families, and local businesses for fundraising and
sponsorship purposes.

FOR TEACH FOR AMERICA

Teach For America will implement a new program, thus, they will introduce
Teach For College to their current and incoming staff. To obtain teachers
interest in Teach For College, TFA has agreed to recruit and pay their own
instructors. In addition, TFA will provide their instructors with certifications upon
the completion of the course.

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BUDGET

Total Cost: $568,500*

Supplies
Laptops
Marketing

Supplies: $6,500

1,000 Program T-Shirts: $5,500 at $5.50 per shirt

Classroom Materials: $1,000

Marketing: $2,000

Printing: $1,500

Information Sessions: $500

Laptops: $560,000

800 Surface Pro 3 Intel i3 Processor: $560,00 at retail price of $700 per unit

Instructors: $50,000 (Paid by TFA)

20 Teachers: $50,000 at $2,500 per teacher per full term

*Cost of instructors has been excluded as Teach for America will compensate them through separate
channels.

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FUNDING
1. Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce Grant
a. Target: $100,000
2. Sponsorship Opportunities for All Businesses
a. Silver: $5,000
i.

Company logo on back of program T-Shirt

b. Gold: $10,000
i.

Company logo on back of program T-Shirt

ii.

Provide a lecture to students

c. Microsoft is expecting future iterations of the program to be funded

mainly through sponsorships.
d. Target: $150,000
3. Crowdfunding
a. Target: $50,000
4. Microsoft Donation
a. Microsoft will donate and cover all other costs related to the firstyear start up of the program.
b. Expected Donation Amount for First Year: $268,500
5. Laptop Purchase at End of Loan Period
a. Expect 50% of students to buy laptops at discount price of $50
b. Target: $2,000
Based on 800 total laptops loaned out
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PROGRAM SCHEDULE

For Summer 2016

Session Dates: All on Saturday at Lincoln High School
1. June 18th
2. June 25th
a. Program T-shirts handed out
3. July 2nd
4. July 9th
a. First Mock Exam
5. July 16th
6. July 23rd
7. July 30th
8. August 6th
a. Second Mock Exam
9. August 13th
a. Laptop lending paperwork filled
b. Lectures from Gold sponsors
Weekly Schedule:
Round 1: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Round 2: 12:45 PM - 2:45 PM
Round 3: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

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CONTACT US

Mai Nguyen
Vice President of Marketing
Microsoft HQ, Dallas
mai.nguyen@microsoft.com
972-321-3213

Senanga Perera
Director of Research
Microsoft HQ, Dallas
senanga.perera@microsoft.com
972-456-6456

Aayushi Vashistha
Director of Labor and Employee Relations
Microsoft HQ, Dallas
aayushi.vashistha@microsoft.com
972-253-6234

Grace Yang
Treasurer
Microsoft HQ, Dallas
grace.yang@microsoft.com
972-838-3085
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MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
between
Microsoft Corporation (Dallas), Teach For America, and Lincoln High School
November 2015
The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding is to establish a partnership between
Microsoft Corporation (Dallas), Teach For America (TFA), and Lincoln High School on the
Microsofts test preparation program Teach For College. The three parties agrees to
collaborate to accomplish the goal of raising SAT/ACT test scores in the southern Dallas
Independent School District Area.
Responsibilities for each party are as follows:
Microsoft:
Planning and proposing the program to the Dallas Regional Chamber for extra
funding
Providing the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 to each qualifying student upon the
completion of the program
Reach out to friends, families, and businesses for fundraising and sponsorship
purposes
Advertising and promoting the program
Teach For America:
Recruiting and compensating 20 TFA instructors for the program
Providing the instructors with TFA certifications upon the completion of the
course
Lincoln High School
Providing 10 classrooms with the capacity to hold at least 30 students from June
through August
This memorandum has been reviewed and approved by all parties.

Mai Nguyen

Elissa Kim

Chanel HVeazy

Mai Nguyen

Elissa Kim

Chanel Howard-Veazy

VP, Business Development

Exec VP, Recruitment

Principal

Microsoft Corporation,
Dallas

Teach For America

Lincoln High School

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Work Cited
Grabmeier, Jeff. "SAT Test Prep Tools Give Advantage To Students From Wealthier Families."
Research News. Ohio State University, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2015.
Haag, Matthew. "SAT Scores Drop as More Dallas ISD Students Take College Admissions
Test." Education Blog. The Dallas Morning News, 23 June 2014. Web. 21 Nov. 2015.