Our Life’s Discovery 2 April 27, 2015 Our Life’s Discovery 3 April 27, 2015 Genesis Zapata SOM 301 Lab 206 April 27, 2015 Date: April 27, 2015 To: Steve Jones, CSR Program Director From: Genesis Zapata, Discovery Communications Marketer Subject: Our Life’s Discovery Tutoring Program During our Creating Change seminar you gave us all a challenge to create a new Corporate Social Responsibility program that would benefit our local Silver Spring, MD community as well as Discovery Communications. With the achievement gap affecting minorities in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Discovery should consider utilizing its educational products and services towards an after school employee volunteer tutoring program for struggling students. A program such as this one would not only help these students but it will also give Discovery a competitive advantage as well as favorable publicity within the community. The following investigation and examination indicates how such a project could be organized. Achievement Gap In the last decade MCPS has made many strides to close the achievement gap between minorities and their fellow white/asian students. The MCPS achievement gap is closely related to a student’s ethnicity, race and income level. The MCPS system is divided between its advanced high schools where White and Asian students attend; and its low-scoring ranked minority high schools. Most of these low performing schools are located in Silver Spring, Md. According to the findings of the County Council’s Office of Legislative Oversight found in MCPS website, “Since 2010, the economic, racial and ethnic stratification of students among MCPS high schools has increased . . . the achievement gap between high- and low-poverty high schools has widened [since 2008] ” (p. 9). Achieving as well as maintaining high grades in these schools is increasingly harder for struggling students of all walks of life, leading several students to drop out and forgo continuing their education. Nevertheless MCPS states on their website, they will narrow the gap by adding more teachers. As well as decrease classroom sizes specifically in high schools [where there is more need], this will allow a more focused attention to students who are experiencing difficulty in school (p.1). Under these circumstances, creating an after school-tutoring program would be most beneficial to the community. Together with focusing MCPS’s resources on failing students, we can increase MCPS’s chances of lowering the achievement gap. Correspondingly, struggling students will experience a sense of community through our program as well as giving them the confidence needed to engage in becoming active participants in furthering their education. Discovery Program Initiation Undoubtedly there is a substantial amount of work ahead of MCPS, but Disco.

1. Our Life’s Discovery 2 April 27, 2015
Our Life’s Discovery 3 April 27, 2015
Genesis Zapata
SOM 301 Lab
206
April 27,
2015
Date: April 27, 2015
To: Steve Jones, CSR Program Director
From: Genesis Zapata, Discovery Communications
Marketer
Subject: Our Life’s Discovery Tutoring Program
During our Creating Change seminar you gave us all a challenge
to create a new Corporate Social Responsibility program that
would benefit our local Silver Spring, MD community as well as
Discovery Communications. With the achievement gap affecting
minorities in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS),
Discovery should consider utilizing its educational products and
services towards an after school employee volunteer tutoring
program for struggling students. A program such as this one
would not only help these students but it will also give
Discovery a competitive advantage as well as favorable
publicity within the community. The following investigation
and examination indicates how such a project could be
organized.
Achievement Gap
In the last decade MCPS has made many strides to close the
achievement gap between minorities and their fellow

2. white/asian students. The MCPS achievement gap is closely
related to a student’s ethnicity, race and income level. The
MCPS system is divided between its advanced high schools
where White and Asian students attend; and its low-scoring
ranked minority high schools. Most of these low performing
schools are located in Silver Spring, Md. According to the
findings of the County Council’s Office of Legislative
Oversight found in MCPS website, “Since 2010, the economic,
racial and ethnic stratification of students among MCPS high
schools has increased . . . the achievement gap between high-
and low-poverty high schools has widened [since 2008] ” (p. 9).
Achieving as well as maintaining high grades in these schools is
increasingly harder for struggling students of all walks of life,
leading several students to drop out and forgo continuing their
education.
Nevertheless MCPS states on their website, they will narrow the
gap by adding more teachers. As well as decrease classroom
sizes specifically in high schools [where there is more need],
this will allow a more focused attention to students who are
experiencing difficulty in school (p.1). Under these
circumstances, creating an after school-tutoring program would
be most beneficial to the community. Together with focusing
MCPS’s resources on failing students, we can increase MCPS’s
chances of lowering the achievement gap. Correspondingly,
struggling students will experience a sense of community
through our program as well as giving them the confidence
needed to engage in becoming active participants in furthering
their education.
Discovery Program Initiation
Undoubtedly there is a substantial amount of work ahead of
MCPS, but Discovery can help the community by making
MCPS’s work load a little lighter. The after school program will
be called Our Life’s Discovery, the program will encourage

3. student involvement in their education as well as support all
while discovering their true potential. The first step in initiating
Our Life’s Discovery program would require working closely
with MCPS’s Minority Scholars Leadership Program (MSP).
Student leaders from 12 different schools lead this program;
they focus on tutoring, mentoring, and raising awareness of the
achievement gap. The Minority Scholars Program is quite active
in the community and they encourage struggling students to
have a voice.
According to Donna St. George, a Washington Post journalist,
“Hundreds of students marched through Rockville, Md on
Sunday [March 2014] in a call to close the achievement gap that
has left [struggling] students in the high-performing county
trailing their White and Asian peers on measures of academic
success…the march was organized by students of the minority
scholars program” (p.1). Students involved in the minority
scholar program are dedicated in improving their school’s
environment, and Discovery could partner with them to learn
what areas are mostly needed when tutoring their peers. The
minority scholars can serve as our marketers/ambassadors for
Our Life’s Discovery tutoring program. As one of the top
providers of educational products and services to schools;
Discovery could fill the gaps within the minority scholar
program and provide additional tutoring along with support to
struggling students.
Our Life’s Discovery program will be open to all students upon
a need basis. In other words, if a student needs help with
english, math and/or science homework, such a student can get
in contact with their school’s minority scholar leader and have
them setup an appointment through Our Life’s Discovery
employee-student matchup database. Each student will be
matched with a Discovery employee specializing in their
homework’s field. Discovery’s employees will rotate within the
departments, giving our employees the chance to expand their

4. volunteering opportunities without having to take time off from
work. The appointment times will be from 3pm to 5pm. High
school students in Montgomery county are provided with free
public transportation, and with Discovery having its
headquarters in the center of Silver Spring, Md amongst all the
high schools that need educational support; students will find
our location an ease. Our Life’s Discovery program will have
low cost, because we will be using in house personnel avoiding
the expense of hiring new employees and having to train them.
The volunteering hours are eligible for tax deductions.
Competition in the Marketplace
Companies are now not only responsible for the well being of
their employees, but they have CSR to influence positively
throughout the communities where they conduct business.
Companies previously saw their wallets as the answer to many
community problems, but as reported by the National &
Community Service, monetary goods are no longer the key to
corporate social responsibility. Organizations are now
encouraged to contribute their assets to fill critical voids in the
community (p.1). By lending our employees and intellectual
assets, Discovery will help close the achievement gap in MCPS.
This in turn will create a demand for our educational products
and services not only in MCPS but also in other counties
throughout the US. A prime example of a company expanding
their resources to help Maryland county schools is Microsoft
Corporation. The Maryland State Department of Education
announced on January 8, 2015 Microsoft will be providing free
Office online tools to all Maryland public students (p.1).
Establishing a strong relationship with MCPS will help to give
Discovery a competitive advantage over competitors such as
Pearson Plc., giving Discovery a head start for future
educational business dealings.
Benefits: Our Life’s Discovery

5. Nonetheless the community’s children will benefit from Our
Life’s Discovery program, because they will receive
encouragement as well as support from a company that wants to
see them succeed. Parents who are not present in a child’s
schoolwork due to work or any other life circumstance will now
have a dependable place supporting their struggling child. Our
Life’s Discovery program will help MCPS lower the
achievement gap, as well as demonstrate to the community, the
value we see in investing in our schools.
Similarly, Discovery will enjoy the benefits of investing in our
schools using our personnel by allowing employee morale to
improve. According to Deloitte’s study on volunteering, work
place volunteering programs help in creating honored, devoted
and fulfilled employees (p.1). Employees will be happier as
well as have a greater sense of community for the work time
given through volunteering. Allowing employees to participate
in Our Life’s Discovery program during work hours will allow
us the chance to receive tax deductions. Moreover, having Our
Life’s Discovery program will help Discovery improve its
educational products. By working with students we will be able
to acquire research as well as feedback needed to improve
teaching manner and mechanics for future educational products
and services. Discovery can position itself as an innovator in
the educational services provided to not only MCPS but also
other public school systems. Finally, free publicity will come
about from Our Life’s Discovery program, helping Discovery
acquire more educational contracts.
Next Steps in the Process
Our Life’s Discovery has the potential to help struggling
students requiring additional attention by sparking their interest
in their education. This program will help place our footmark in
the educational achievement gap in MCPS, increasing our

6. community presence. This program will also give Discovery a
competitive advantage over the competition by increasing our
market share. Additionally, we will be increasing our employee
satisfaction by adding a volunteer program within working
hours, which in turn can be used as tax deductions. In the event
you would like to start organizing this great program, Our
Life’s Discovery, I have obtained the names and contact
information of the MCPS leaders to establish a meeting and
inform them of our desire to extend a lending hand in helping
struggling students along with closing the achievement gap.
Overall this program will be a win-win for all those involved
and of course the most important benefit of all, is the help our
future leaders of America will be receiving from Discovery.
Thank you for your consideration; please contact me at
[email protected] for any further questions and/or assistance.