Black Lemonade Project: (BLP)
 

From 2007-2011 the Cleveland, East Cleveland and Canton OH districts, as well as the School District of Philadelphia PA, participated in the Black Lemonade Project.  They recruited dozens of parents who were trained to optimize their parenting behaviors with skills and tools that made a positive difference for their children in the home, at school and in the community.  The Cleveland schools had cohorts of parents participate in meaningful ways for two-three years.

Rationale
The Black Lemonade Project (BLP) was designed to identify and promote ways to “squeeze success out of life’s circumstances” by empowering parents as primary stakeholders in the future of their children. 
 

Goal

A model two-phase program over 8-12 weeks is the primary goal.  Specifically, the format is a two-day conference of dialogue and goal-setting, six to eight weeks of follow-up activities, and a final one day conference. The BLP couples a customized curriculum with a research component designed to empower parents and champion children. 

Initially, formal BLP research was conducted by a professor at Temple University.  BLP was also the focus of the doctoral dissertation of a Temple graduate student during that time (2010-11).

While the original BLP target audience was African American parents, the fact that all parents of African American children are not necessarily African Americans themselves meant that non-African American parents should be included and welcomed as participants.  Through the years white, Asian and Hispanic parents have participated in the Black Lemonade Project with affirmation and satisfaction.

Consequently, the multi-cultural reality of the program suggested that the name should evolve.  Therefore, in 2015 the Black Lemonade Project (BLP) officially became the BLACK Lemonade for All (BLFA) program, with BLACK as an acronym for “Blending Leadership, Advocacy, Culture & Knowledge.”  One Cleveland-area district embarked upon a three-year commitment to BLFA beginning with the training of its superintendent and school board members. 
 

BLACK Lemonade for All Project (BLFA)

The BLACK Lemonade for All Project (BLFA) is a culturally-based program that utilizes an empowerment curriculum to guide and support intentional conversations about current challenges facing parents of school-age children.  Building upon their individual and collective strength, parents of all races discover new ways to think differently about themselves, their children, and their future.  Using culture as a lens, they begin to envision an active family-based community in which they can thrive and grow.   Participants acquire skills and tools to “squeeze success out of life’s circumstances.”  

The BLACK Lemonade Project is a refreshing blend of hope, help, pride, and vision.    

The BLACK Lemonade Project assists parents in the acquisition of effective parenting skills, builds upon strengths within their heritage and family structure, improves communication between them and their children, especially boys, and increases academic performance in school. 
 

The expected outcomes include:

∙ Reinforcement of effective parenting skills for home and school. 
∙ Promotion of effective home-school communications techniques. 
∙ Introduction to student performance monitoring routines. 
∙ Adoption and practice of empowered parenting routines 
∙ Participants committed to model routines for other parents. 

IndeedWeCode (IWC)

Until 2015, CEF did not provide direct services to students.  However, the impetus for doing so grew out of a study conducted by the Ohio Board of Regents (OBOR) in 2014 regarding student enrollment in STEM courses across Ohio’s 14 public universities and its 23 community colleges.  The study resulted in the release of a report entitled “Inclusive Competitiveness:  Empowering Underrepresented Groups in the Innovation Economy.” Coincidentally, the executive director of CEF was a member of the OBOR and chaired the task force that conducted the study. 
 

Among its findings were several sobering facts, but the paucity of students of color pursuing STEM-related careers was disturbing.  Their need for pathways and pipelines before college or university was begging.  Ultimately, when her term on OBOR concluded, the CEF executive director envisioned a broad array of learning opportunities needing to be created.  She now calls this effort the STEMulation Initiative.  Since African Americans are the least represented in IT in the US, especially African American females, creating a program targeting them seemed logical.  That is how and why IndeedWeCode (IWC) was born.
 

Blending Leadership Advocacy Culture & Knowledge (BLACK) Lemonade for All (BLFA) is an asset-based program designed to address issues surrounding the parenting of children in multicultural school and community environments.

Focus areas: 

• Communication between parents and their children, parents and teachers, counselors, administrators
• Effective cross-cultural communication
• Introspection and self-assessment
• Quality time (Self-care, family, school, community)
• Goal setting (Individual, family, school, community)

Black Lemonade For All (BLFA): (BLFA is a legacy program of CEF. Visit: www.blacklemonadeprojectforall.org)

Blue Lemonade Project for Teachers (BLPT): (A custom-design program right-sized for each organization)

IndeedWeCode (IWC): (Our Signature Program)