Concrete Roses is geared to nurture the goals, aspirations, and ambitions of our mentees and help them overcome obstacles to blossom into successful young ladies.

Our Principles
Character
Trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship
Leadership
Cultivate skills to motivate, empathize and build relations
Education
Develop strategies to achieve full academic potential
Service
Voluntarily serving our community wholeheartedly
MISSION
The Mission of The Concrete Rose Foundation is to embrace, empower, and educate at-risk minority girls and equip them with the skills to make positive life choices.
VISION
The Concrete Roses Foundation envisions a community with a constant effort to cultivate a sense of self-worth and equality in adolescent
minorities which will afford them the same opportunities regardless of their race, gender, environment or socio-economic status.
BELIEFS
We believe that developing communication skills, improving academic performance, building self-esteem, managing social & emotional wellness, and practicing bullying prevention are the keys to maximizing the potential of all girls regardless of their background.
PURPOSE
The purpose of The Concrete Rose Foundation is to provide advocacy and assistance to minority youth through targeted mentorship to minimize the risk factors attributed to adolescents in underserved communities.
Our Principles

Character
Trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship
Encouraging girls to take ownership of their actions and accept responsibility for their mistakes helps them develop a strong sense of accountability and integrity.
Education
Attendance, Classwork, Homework, Participation
Helping girls develop strategies to reach their full academic potential. We offer:
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Afterschool tutoring
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Homework help


Leadership
Innovative, Confident, Passionate, and Committed
Helping our girls cultivate the skills and qualities to be effective leaders. Mentees are provided with opportunities to take on leadership roles by serving on our Junior E-Board:
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Student President
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Student Vice President
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Student Secretary
Service
Voluntarily serving our community teaching important skills like empathy, compassion, and responsibility.
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Feeding the less fortunate
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Adopt-A-Street Program
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Campus Clean-up


Closing The Racial Achievement Gap
Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) has the WIDEST racial achievement gap in the State of Florida between white and Black students in both English language arts and mathematics.
The 2021-2021 State Assessments revealed a 28 point difference between White students and African American students in ELA and a 31 percentage point difference in Math. Alachua county has a 45 point difference (17 points higher than the State) between White students and African American students in ELA and a 46 percentage point difference in Math (16 points higher) than the State.
ELA Gaps in Florida v. Alachua County
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Math Gaps in Florida v. Alachua County


It is essential that all students are provided an opportunity to achieve their highest academic, professional and life goals regardless of race/ethnicity, disability, economic status, or native language.
What else does the data say?
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Alachua County has the fourth highest out of school suspension rate for Black students of all Florida school districts.
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Only 26.7% of Black students as compared with 71.5% of White students in Alachua County scored at or above grade level in English Language Arts on the Florida State Assessment (FSA) (FLDOE, 2018a).
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Schools with magnet programs have a 66.8% achievement gap between Black and White students in ELA (SBAC, 2017; FLDOE, 2018b).
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Black students comprise 35.5% of school population but account for 70.6% of district suspensions (FLDOE 2018b; FLDOE, 2018c).
Why
Concrete Roses?
The Concrete Rose Foundation is overseen by a Board of Directors with over 35 years of collective experience as Educators in the Alachua County School District.
HOW DO WE FIX THE PROBLEM?
We can start narrowing the racial achievement gap by providing targeted interventions to African American youth in Alachua County.

