A Note from MANAS CO-PRESIDENTS

The 2023–2024 school year has been a time of exciting transformation for both MANAS (formerly FoCA) and Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy. The school year has been filled with milestones—student growth, learning, and enrichment.

There were many familiar faces and activities within MANAS this year: we hosted vibrant events such as the Back to School Jam, Fun Day, Class Parties (generously donated by parents through The Night Out auction), collaborated with the HSA, and of course, celebrated at our annual The Night Out. Thanks to all of your generosity, we raised a remarkable $110,000 to support our school. These funds will continue to make a significant impact on the lives of our students. We are deeply grateful to all the volunteers, committee members, event attendees, and donors who have supported us in so many ways.

Through our fundraising efforts, MANAS has been able to fund key initiatives and support critical areas of our school. This year, we raised a total of $120,000, which has gone towards enhancing classroom resources (including purchasing new classroom furniture), purchasing additional uniforms (through the Penn CARES Grant), Spanish instruction, bringing in Playworks support, providing arts education, and maintaining our Makerspace, which fosters STEM learning. One of the highlights of the year was the dance eXchange—a BalletX program that showcased the incredible talent of our young dancers. This event was a testament to the creativity and hard work of our students, and we are grateful to all the teachers, families, and volunteers who helped make it a success. None of these accomplishments would have been possible without the tireless support of the broader MANAS community.

As the school and the broader community continues to evolve, there were some significant transitions. We said goodbye to several long-time staff members and welcomed new faces. We are grateful for all those who contributed to the school’s growth this year, and we thank both departing and new staff for their dedication and hard work. Above all, we are proud of our students and families for their resilience and adaptability during this time of transition.

With respect to continued progress, MANAS is still in the process of transition. We continue to work on formalizing our new identity, with a new website and branding (stay tuned for that 😊). This year also saw the departure of several key members from the MANAS Board, including Chuck Nawoj, Nancy Findley, Alex Bolotovsky, and Dan Harris. These individuals gave countless hours and energy to support the school, and their leadership has helped shape the success of our community. Please join us in thanking them for their incredible service. We are also excited to welcome five new members to the MANAS Board for 2024–2025: Dan Stamm, Tom O’Rourke, Marcel Winokur, Khalid Brown, and Khalif Woodward. Their fresh perspectives and energy will help guide us into the next phase of our growth.

As we reflect on this transformative year, we want to extend our deepest thanks to all who have supported MANAS. Your contributions, whether through time, donations, or encouragement, are what make our school a truly special place. We look forward to the continued growth, changes, and successes that the next school year will bring.

Thank you for being a part of this exciting journey.

Sincerely,
Kristin and Lexi

A Note from the HSA

The School and Community Engagement (SCE) Committee of MANAS is the direct link between Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy families and student life. This past year, the former FoCA Events Committee formed a tighter partnership with the Home and School Association (HSA) board to create a new collective committee of MANAS called the School and Community Engagement (SCE) Committee.  The committee's goal and mission statement remains the same: to engage students, families, and staff to strengthen relationships within the school and enhance the Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy experience.

As we move forward, we strive to work together to support activities that will build relationships and community with the students, families, and staff at Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy.  Some of the events that SCE and Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy have held over the past year include: celebrating our teachers and staff during teacher appreciation week, holidays, and report card conferences; hosting a movie night with popcorn and candy; hosting "fun day" at the end of the school year, filled with activities for the students;  hosting a fall potluck for families; supporting Back to School Night, Math Night, Literacy Night, Art Night, and our annual Scholastic Book Fair; and providing soft pretzels to our students and staff every month throughout the school year.

Partnership between the HSA and MANAS board (resulting in the SCE Committee) remains central to our success. This committee serves an important role for MANAS to partner with Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy to support both school and community events. SCE regularly collaborates to assist the amazing teachers and staff in their efforts to ensure a fun and safe educational experience for all students at the school.

Sincerely,

The HSA Board: Jennifer Souder, Shannon Breslin, Alexis Hart, Courtney Wolk

FoCA Night Out 2024

On April 6, 2024, the Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy community got together for our annual fundraiser, The Night Out. The 23rd Street Armory was bumping with almost 300 guests! We enjoyed a fun evening of dancing, socializing with neighbors, great food and, most importantly, an exciting live auction that is vital to our fundraising efforts. Because of the community’s incredible generosity, we raised more than $110,000 for continued support of curriculum investments, technology upgrades, and dynamic programming. Thanks to our incredible team of hard working committee volunteers, school staff, and MANAS board members, this event has been a huge success every year. 

The flash appeal at the event raised $11,000 that will go directly toward upgrading school furniture. And our silent auction sold 180 items for a total of $26,400. 

One thing that makes our community special is the continued loyal support of local businesses. Year after year, businesses in Philadelphia bolster the event by offering sponsorships, food, and auction items. Thank you to all businesses for your yearly support. More than half of the money raised comes through business partnerships.

MANAS’ The Night Out’s top sponsor at the Diamond level $7,500 was an anonymous donor this year. This provides a meaningful impact to the Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy community. We appreciate your donation! 

Additionally, a big thank you to our Platinum, Gold and Silver Sponsors listed below. Your support has also had a huge impact.

Platinum Sponsor
Zaviant Data Security and Privacy
Alterra Property Group

Gold Sponsors
Rittenhouse Market/South Square Market
H&K Hair Studio
The Law Office of Steven Zellinger
Fritz & Bianculli: Kevin Durkan, Esq.
The Rob Wishnick Team at Guaranteed Rate

Silver Sponsors
Stafford Painting Contractors
Galit Winokur In Town Compass
JKRP architects
Sort It Out Philly
Chick’s
Image Revolver

A special shoutout to our In-Kind sponsors who served us delicious food and beverages to keep us bidding and raising money: Hello Gorgeous, The Fixx, The Bagel Place, Gentry The intellectual Illusionist, High Street, Bonners, Federal Donuts, Moore Brothers, Yards Brewery, Miles Table, Fitler Club, BalletX, Girls Scouts, Philly Pretzel Factory, NBC10, Springfield Beverages, The Hart of Catering, Randazzo’s Pizzeria, insomnia cookies, VanLeuwen Ice Cream, and KC2.  

We could not do this without you! 

Our volunteers are already hard at work on The Night Out 2025 and we can’t wait to see you there on March 22, 2025. Save the date for what will surely be another awesome night supporting Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy!

Back to School Jam

In the fall of 2023, MANAS again partnered with the Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy HSA to host the sixth annual in-person Back to School Jam. We spent a beautiful Saturday with hundreds of students, families, and community members in the schoolyard. There was complimentary food, gifts, activities, and a DJ spinning tunes for everyone. We hosted a basketball exhibition game for older kids. It was a wonderful day of connection and community for Marian Anderson Neighborhood families to kick off the new school year.

MLK Day of Service, Schoolyard Cleanup

Our schoolyard became an important meeting place for our school community both during school days and weekends. The schoolyard is used as a meeting place during school days with morning announcements taking place there. It is also a space where parents and children reunite at the end of the school day. It was used during the Back to School Jam, movie night and other events.

MANAS takes charge in upkeep and planting the grounds. We also make sure to clean the yard after community and school events.

During our MLK Day of Service as members of our school and public community gathered to paint walls and classrooms and clean both inside and out, School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington visited to check on our progress and meet with MANAS community members. It was a pleasure to show off the fine work we are doing as a community.

In-School Events

Hosting events at the school is an important and great way to bring together Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy families. The following events were hosted by the HSA and supported by MANAS over the course of the 2023–24 school year. 

• Movie Night: a September outdoor event that was for all Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy families. With a showing of a movie, popcorn, candy and snacks, the schoolyard was a joyful place to be. 

• Fun Day: a May event for students during the school day with a DJ, fun and friendly competitions, face paint, balloon animals, and relay-type events.

• Fall Gratitude Potluck: a November event that gathered families in the schoolyard with snacks to build community and connection.

• MLK Supply Drive: a January event that brought students and families together to paint murals inside the school.

• Book Fair: a spring event that was supported by volunteers. Each student was given $5 to put towards a book fair purchase. 

• Upper Academy Events: Volunteers and food donations supported the Upper Academy social and various other events such as Math Night, the Art Show, and Literacy Night. 

• Oratorical Contest: HSA and MANAS supported celebrating and participation in the district-wide Black History Month Oratorical Contest. The children performed their poems first within the school. The winning groups advanced to the district finals. 

Staff Appreciation Activities and Spirit Events

Throughout the year, MANAS financially supported activities, gifts, and events that the HSA coordinated and implemented. Staff appreciation activities included snack/breakfast donations from families and holiday gifts for each staff member. School spirit events were also plentiful! They included student of the month breakfasts, PSSA gift bags with hard candy, water and motivational notes, 8th grade and Kindergarten move-up celebrations, a grant for 8th grade trips, and uniform swap coordination. Speaking of uniforms we helped fund near MANA gear with updated logo and school name.

Spanish Exploradores 

One of our most significant programmatic expenditures is our program to teach kids Spanish — an opportunity that would not otherwise be available due to limited public funding. Spanish Exploradores is a local Philadelphia program that sends teachers into schools to nurture their abilities to learn a new language. This year Spanish classes were available to our students in grades Kindergarten through 8th.

Capital Improvements 

One of the major ways we enhance the experience for the Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy community is through regular capital improvements — projects that would not happen otherwise given the way that schools are funded. We supported the maintenance of the crown jewel of Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy, the schoolyard, which is where students, parents, and community members converge after school and during the weekends. We funded Glitter to clean up the streets and sidewalks surrounding the school. The wonderful Makerspace classroom and STEM programming continued through the funding of materials, supplies, and equipment, where children explore creative thinking and problem solving while designing and creating their own ideas through computers and other technology. Additionally, we were able to continue supporting additional furniture purchases for classrooms.

Playworks

This year MANAS was able to fund Playworks - a program that brought coaches to the school monthly to provide staff support for productive and positive play at recess time. The program works to create positive play environments where all children feel safe to join and have fun.

Teacher Mini-Grants 

Teacher mini-grants are a way for our teachers to have immediate classroom needs met by MANAS, like through classroom supplies. The grants also paid for equipment for the nurse’s office, folding tables for events like the annual math night, and ELA books throughout the year.

Allegro Music Consultants

Allegro Music Consultants brought professional musicians to perform for — and instruct and inspire — 3rd grade students. They learned about the instruments, the nature of an ensemble, and performances. MANAS is thrilled to support this element of our musical educational programming.

Teacher Appreciation Gifts

We were able to bring back one of our favorite activities in the 2023–24 school year by showing our thanks to the teachers and staff at Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy through appreciation breakfasts and lunches throughout the year. Additionally, gift cards were provided at the beginning of the year to offset teachers’ out-of-pocket expenses for the classrooms.

REVENUE

Corporate/Matching

$4,200

Individual Giving

$15,646

Events

$125,346

_____________________________

Revenues Total

$145,192

It was a year of exciting and fresh new starts for Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy. From welcoming a new principal to transitioning to a new school name. The school and community went through a thorough and collaborative process of identifying and voting for a new name. We are proud that this was a student-led initiative prompted by the desire for the school’s name to be more representative of the neighborhood and community it serves. Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy was the chosen name. Friends of Chester Arthur also followed suit by transitioning to Marian Anderson Neighborhood Supporters. We have spent the year supporting the transition of both names. For Mariana Anderson Neighborhood Academy we supported the change in logo and name change with purchasing new branded school gear and accessories. And we have been slowly evolving our organization to MANAS. We look forward to another year of further adopting and representing the new name!

Suggestions or Comments?

We couldn't do any of this without the volunteer and financial support of our great neighborhood. It takes a village and we're lucky to have such a diverse community with many different resources to bring to the table to invest in our school and our neighborhood as a whole. If you've have suggestions or would like to get involved with the Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy, please send us a note below!

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