An impact report on our 2023 Summer & Math Program/STEAM Initiative of the accomplishments made possible through EITC donations for this program held every summer at our Sarah Reed Main Campus. Where we provide math, reading and STEAM skills to the children that attend.

1. Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center
2023 Summer Reading & Math Program/STEAM Initiative
Impact Report
The 2023 Summer Reading & Math Program/STEAM Initiative took place from June 21 – August 16, 2023, and benefited
the 54 children who resided at Sarah Reed’s Residential Treatment Program during that time.
The Residential Treatment Program in Millcreek Township is Sarah Reed's most
intensive program and provides 24-hour medical, behavioral and educational support
to children with significant psychiatric and/or trauma related challenges. Since 2010,
this facility has helped 783 children from 54 counties across Pennsylvania, including:
Erie, Crawford, Allegheny, Westmoreland, Dauphin and Philadelphia. Our team of
psychiatrists, medical staff, psychologists, instructors and behavioral staff are trained in
trauma-informed care and utilize the latest cutting-edge therapy. Our goal is to provide
healing to these children, restore their confidence and well-being, and equip them with
the skills they need to lead successful, productive lives.
During their time at Sarah Reed’s Residential Program, the children are able to maintain
their education by attending our on-site school, which is staffed by teachers from the
Millcreek Township School District and behavioral support staff from Sarah Reed.
Beginning in 2018, Sarah Reed began utilizing the former Ridgefield Elementary School
as the campus school for our students. Ridgefield is located across the street from our
main Residential campus and provides the children with a more normative educational
setting, easing their transition back into their home school districts upon discharge.
Ridgefield is owned by the Millcreek Township School District and previously laid
dormant for five years.
As an added educational benefit, the children in our Residential Program attend a
Summer Reading & Math Program that Sarah Reed’s teachers and staff conduct on
campus during the summer months to keep students focused on learning and to
prevent “Summer Slide.” This innovative educational program encourages their
interest in math and helps them develop good reading habits that will benefit them
their entire lives. The contributions Sarah Reed receives through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program help
fund this program and have enabled us to add a plethora of educational technology for our children and staff over the past
few years, including 62 Google Chromebooks, two Promethean Smartboards, two 3-D printers, 18 coding robots, 12 HP
Laptops, 14 Apple iPads, 51 steam textbooks, 75 student headphones, graphic design apps, televisions, and GoGuardian
licenses so that our teachers can closely monitor the students’ while they are online. The use of technology in the classroom
is very effective at helping the students to be more enthusiastic about learning, more engaged, focused, and well-behaved.
Students must maintain good behavior in order to use the technology, which is a great incentive for them. Thanks to our
EITC donors, we were able to launch a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) Initiative! Our
teachers and behavioral staff have noticed a significant improvement in the children’s behavior and their attitudes toward
learning thanks to the addition of technology in the classroom and the STEAM Initiative. The children are now able to learn
basic coding skills using robots, create digital designs using iPads and the ProCreate app, and construct a variety of designs
using a 3-D printer.
A student in Sarah Reed’s
2023 Summer Reading &
Math Program practices his
coding skills using a
Chromebook and a Wonder
Workshop Dash robot. This
technology was made possible
thanks to our EITC donors!
Development Office
April 2024

2. This educational technology has made a very positive impact on the children, which is seen not only through the annual
surveys we conduct but through the analysis of the number of behavioral restraints performed. Technology keeps them
excited, focused and engaged in the activity at hand, which limits negative behavioral outbursts and classroom disruptions.
Funding through the EITC program is also used for extra-curricular activities and community outings for the children, like
guitar lessons and horse therapy, giving them unique experiences they wouldn’t otherwise have.
In our 2023 annual survey, we asked the students for their comments about how the Summer Reading & Math Program is
making a difference in their lives. The students completed their surveys using Chromebooks that were made possible
thanks to our donors who give through the EITC Program! Here are a few of their responses regarding the 2023 Summer
Reading & Math Program:
"I loved being able to use the Chromebooks & robots to learn during the Summer Program."
"The best thing about Sarah Reed for me is that I’m getting help with my mental and physical health so when I do go
home I can go out into the big world and really enjoy and make something out of myself!”
“The staff at Sarah Reed make me feel accepted and understood.”
Many of the educational programs that Sarah Reed uses for the Summer Program are web-based, such as MobyMax (which
is the educational site used by the Millcreek Township School District) and the Khan Academy. To ensure an added layer of
protection, Sarah Reed purchased GoGuardian software, which allows the teachers to closely monitor and control the
websites the children are accessing. GoGuardian will only allow the children onto certain sites and will freeze the screen if
the child tries to navigate to other sites. This software was first implemented during the 2020 Summer Program and has
proven to be a vital tool to keep the students safe and secure during their online learning.
(Left) Darrylanne Adams, campus school supervisor, uses GoGuardian software to monitor all 54 children while they
are working on their Chromebooks. Darrylanne has been making a difference at Sarah Reed for 27 years. (Center) An
example of a report from GoGuardian showing websites visited by 7 students during an online education session on July
19, 2023. The top-visited site, MobyMax, provides a complete suite of engaging online curriculum, from early learning
to STEAM, and can help identify specific learning gaps for each child through its skill checker and assessment system.
(Right) Darrylanne also utilizes the TV screen and technology in her office to monitor the classrooms, cafeteria, gym and
other areas of campus to ensure student safety. This technology was made possible thanks to the EITC Program.
A QUOTE FROM ONE OF OUR SUMMER PROGRAM TEACHERS:
“The Summer Program allows for an extended educational period for skill development. The students put a great deal of
effort into completing the lessons. I have had very little difficulty in getting students to complete the assignments. I know
through research that students who continue skills through the summer are more likely to succeed in the next school
year. Again, the more interactive (and entertaining) a program is, the more likely a student will use it.”
Marcia Staudt
Teacher/Clinical Instructor

3. The Summer Reading & Math Program provides opportunities for children to enjoy enriching
activities in the community, such as bowling, the Erie Zoo, and equine-assisted horse therapy
Students use the Promethean SmartBoards, Chromebooks, iPads and
coding robots for fun STEAM activities
(Above) Students enjoy using their Chromebooks to program the
Dash Robot! Several of the students are programming the robot to
complete a maze, and another student is programming it to play
the xylophone.
(Right) A student uses the Promethean SmartBoard to learn Korean
during the 2023 Summer Reading & Match Program/STEAM
Initiative! The SmartBoards continue to be excellent classroom
tools because they are interactive, innovative and fun platforms for
the children to engage with learning.
(Left) A student learns new drawing techniques through the use of an iPad, laptop and
the ProCreate app. This is a favorite activity among the students! This technology was
made possible thanks to the support of our EITC donors.