Touchstones Discussion Project Inc.

“Howard zeiderman stefanie takacs vice chair ex. Director spouse”

“The board of directors is provided with drafts of the 990 during its preparation period. Once a final version is ready, the 990 is provided electronically for the entire touchstones board to review and reply with questions, comments, or requests for changes. After that review period, the final 990 is signed and filed.”

“The executive director provides monthly summary reports to the board outlining key program activities, financial contracts, and other current and prospective business arrangements. Any conflicts would be reported in these summaries.”

“Performance of the executive director is evaluated based on data and information relayed throughout the year in the form of monthly summaries, fundraising and communications plans and deliverables, financial reports, and general oversight of management policy and practices. The annual evaluation also includes a review and discussion of the executive director's performance by several board officers, if not the entire board, during the year-end board meeting. The board shares its findings with the executive director at the end of an executive session. As the organization's co-founder and vice-chair is a voting member of the board and does not carry primary responsibility for touchstones operations and management, his performance is not evaluated except in terms of annual compensation relative to current job responsibilities in executive program development and implementation.”

“Upon receipt of written request, printed copies of touchstones governing documents, financial statements, and/or conflict of interest policy are made available. These documents are also posted on the touchstones website.”

“K-12 school programming, enrichment and after school programs, youth workforce development, educational conferences, and teacher professional development teachers using touchstones programs guide and empower students through direct engagement and active learning. They use touchstones curricular materials and training to learn to differentiate instruction based on students' strengths and challenges and encourage students to teach and learn from each other. Students in touchstones practice accountable speaking, active listening, cooperative learning, critical thinking, and collaborative leadership in each class. As part of their work in touchstones, students learn to attend to group dynamics and to moderate behavior and engagement to make room for and encourage diverse perspectives and greater engagement by all members of the class. Students in touchstones explore ideas and issues central to civil society and examine their roles as citizens. They evaluate their own work, self-correct unproductive behaviors, and set goals collectively for improved discussion outcomes. These essential skills transfer to many dimensions of academic settings and extend outside of school. Academically rigorous yet accessible to all, touchstones' school programs, after-school programs, and workforce development programs help students of all academic abilities and backgrounds become active collaborators in their learning. Touchstones materials are used in programs for advanced learners, esl and ell students, international baccalaureate, advanced placement, avid elective and critical reading, students with special needs, and in inclusive classrooms. Touchstones school programs are in more than 47 countries and have been translated from english to arabic, burmese, french, haitian kreyl, and spanish. More than five million students of all ages have used touchstones programs since the organization was founded in 1984. To foster optimal implementations and outcomes, touchstones provides educators using touchstones with professional development training that teaches the touchstones discussion method through direct experience. Our interactive workshops (introductory, intermediate, and advanced), help teachers learn strategies for discussion leadership, to identify and devise solutions to issues in discussion dynamics with input from the students, to model active listening and respectful engagement with all students, to measure student progress over time, and to assess and refine their own development as discussion leaders and classroom managers throughout the year. In-class coaching provided by touchstones staff provides additional and tailored guidance to support continued development in instructional and leadership capacities. Teachers using touchstones often report becoming more skilled and confident in their leadership roles and activities outside the classroom. Touchstones staff ran teacher training workshops at nine (9) school sites in 2018, as 61 new schools and districts implemented touchstones curricula. Another 27 schools and districts expanded their existing programs in 2018. Touchstones worked more intensively with six (6) schools, by providing in- class observation, modeling, and coaching. Touchstones staff attended several educational conferences in 2018 for different school markets (public/charter education, gifted ed., and catholic education) and ran presentations at the orlando gifted and talented conference. Touchstones also worked with seeds4success in annapolis, md and thread in baltimore, md-providing training and materials to each organization, both of which provide children and young adults, respectively, from under- resourced communities with enrichment, mentoring, and educational support to achieve success in school and in life. In addition, touchstones sold materials to the ymca of greater saint john in new brunswick, canada, following a successful touchstones pilot with older adults there in 2017.”

“Veterans programs in 2017, touchstones was awarded a grant from the national endowment for the humanities for the development of a new discussion program specifically for veterans and on topics related to service and homecoming. The touchstones program, titled, completing the odyssey: a journey home, thematically pairs excerpts from the classical war epic, the odyssey, with contemporary works written by veterans from ww ii through present conflicts. In 2018, a second session of this pilot program was run, with the veteran participants assuming responsibility for discussion leadership. As part of the program, five personal history projects were initiated, completed, and submitted to the library of congress veterans history project. Touchstones staff accompanied veterans to submit personal narratives to the veterans history project, which is housed in the permanent collection at the library of congress in washington, d.c. More than 30 veterans in 2018 participated in touchstones leadership training and programs for veterans, in total. Over the summer, four of the veterans trained by touchstones then replicated completing the odyssey at a non-profit organization for homeless veterans in baltimore, engaging upwards of more than 40 veterans in those discussions.”

“Programs with incarcerated youth and adults through touchstones programs in correctional institutions, juvenile and adult detention centers, and jails, incarcerated people reflect on their thinking, choices, and values and practice cooperative learning and complex problem-solving. In the process, they practice assuming greater responsibility for decisions and consequences and acquire skills essential for constructive and sustained freedom after release from incarceration. Participants also practice speaking publicly, listening respectfully and actively, and considering diverse viewpoints. In so doing, touchstones discussions afford incarcerated people essential opportunities to experience efficacy in sharing their ideas and opinions with others in a mutually respectful environment. Touchstones is used by program staff and volunteers in psycho-social and educational programs in correctional centers in maryland, virginia, and california. Two weekly programs initiated in the maryland correctional institute for women (mci-w) in 2015 have continued through 2018 and are run by touchstones staff and volunteers. That program engaged more than 54 women who had a total combined participation of 159 touchstones classroom sessions. Of the women participants in touchstones prison programs who have been released from mci-w over the last three years, the recidivism rate is below 5%. In 2018, the community action partnership of anne arundel county invited touchstones' executive director to participate in a panel discussion on issues related to re-entry.”

“Adult and community programs community in 2018, touchstones participated with dozens of groups around the world to celebrate the 200thanniversary of the first publishing of mary shelley's novel, frankenstein. Touchstones partnered with the frankenreads event, funded by the national endowment for the humanities and the shelley society, which brought together numerous groups in october to explore the novel in different ways. Touchstones prepared several versions of a fully developed discussion lesson plan and appropriately edited excerpts for elementary grade students, middle school students, and an unedited excerpt for high school and adult students to use at no cost. The lesson raised questions for reflection and discussion on topics of belonging, humanity, empathy, fear, isolation, creation, vulnerability, and goodness. Photos and reports from the touchstones discussions around the us were received and included in our fall newsletter. Touchstones programs with adults, provide a collaborative environment in which to learn crucial socio-behavioral and cognitive skills required for successful engagement with others in the community and at work. In touchstones programs, all adults-regardless of their background or education level-practice public speaking, cooperative learning, critical thinking, and active listening and share responsibility for discussion outcomes. Adults who are undereducated or coming from severe economic and social disadvantage must be afforded opportunities to learn such essential communication and interpersonal skills, so they are empowered to change their circumstance. Our adult programs are run in english, spanish, burmese, and haitian kreyl with participants in the u.s., dominican republic, myanmar, and haiti, respectively. More than 50,000 copies of touchstones materials in kreyl are in circulation for use in adult programs in haiti. In 2018 touchstones sold materials to liberty place in whitehall, mt, and langton green in annapolis, md. Liberty place serves adults with severe brain injuries and focuses on building strengths instead on focusing on what may have been lost. Langton green is a residential community that supports adults with intellectual disabilities. Older adults touchstones discussions provide a welcoming and friendly environment in which older participants stay intellectually and socially active. In their touchstones groups, participants explore new ideas and perspectives as presented by their peers. They develop community and friendships within the program and stay connected to the world. Drawing from their own experiences, members of each group participate in lively and enriching discussions that continue well after the sessions end, providing access to continued, meaningful, and authentic engagement with others. In 2018, touchstones supported an existing volunteer-led group in annapolis and a group run as a volunteer by a former touchstones employee in st. John, new brunswick, canada. In 2018, touchstones began work on elderstones, a new series designed specifically for adults with cognitive impairment. The materials in elderstones and training in their use will primarily engage staff and older adults at assisted living or residential facilities and memory care units. Colleges and university programs students in post-secondary bridge programs and honors and leadership programs in community colleges, four-year colleges, and universities learn to examine, formulate, and articulate their ideas through close reading, public speaking, and active listening in their touchstones classes. They tackle challenging issues and academic concepts while also working independently as well as collaboratively in teams. Young adult and adult students in touchstones programs gain skills that overcome habits and behaviors acquired in passive learning environments in grades k-12. They learn to evaluate and refine their own work and take initiative in developing themselves as reflective, life-long learners an”