East Side House, Inc.
Education, Innovation, Results
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Rooted in our history as one of NYC’s oldest settlement houses, we have maintained a rich tradition of community-based services that are responsive to the needs of the communities we serve in some of the city’s most vulnerable communities including the Mott Haven, Melrose, Hunts Point, Morrisania, Longwood, and Throggs Neck neighborhoods in Bronx and the Inwood and Washington Heights sections of Northern Manhattan. They rank among the worst in key indicators such as poverty, health, literacy, unemployment, graduation rates, and educational attainment. However, they are eager to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and enter the economic mainstream. Through our education programs and supportive services, ESH creates pathways to employment, independence and improved quality of life. The cornerstone of ESH’s work is our portfolio of programs serving low income, at-risk young adults. Our network of high school and high school equivalency programs provide over 5,000 students with qu
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Head Start/Early Head Start
East Side House serves 231 children through a Head Start/Early Head Start program in the Mott Haven area of the Bronx, New York. Mott Haven is in the 15th Congressional District, which is home to the nation’s lowest median income, and 2nd highest rate of children living in poverty. East Side House provides educational, social, family and health services to children and families in need.
After-school Services
School and community-based after school programs for children K-5th grade. All programs are STEM-themed.
Post-secondary Readiness Services
College access, readiness, and placement services for students enrolled in high school (and equivalency) programs. ESH also provides career readiness services through one-on-one advisement, certification training, internship placements, and job placement.
Workforce Development
Job readiness, training, career exploration, financial literacy, tax preparation services, adult education, and job placement services.
Senior Services
Enrichment activities, socialization opportunities, daily meals, case management services, health screenings, exercise classes, trips, and technology classes.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Bank of America Neighborhood Builders Award 2021
External reviews

Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of students enrolled
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of entrance scholarships and awards and exit scholarships
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Post-secondary Readiness Services
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The number of East Side House students awarded scholarships via the East Side House scholarship fund.
Number of graduates enrolled in higher learning, university, or technical/vocational training
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of program participants who receive a secondary school diploma or GED
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Young adults
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
The number of students who attend East Side House high school/high school equivalency programs who earn their high school (or equivalency) diploma.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
East Side House seeks to unleash the economic power of our communities through education and workforce development opportunities. East Side House offers a comprehensive portfolio of programs that provides support at every stage of the lifecycle – from birth through senior years, to create pathways to employment, independence and improved quality of life.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
To achieve our goals, East Side House uses a model that is unique in today’s human services world: we provide two layers of intensive support to ensure the academic, professional and personal growth of our participants and their families. This Primary Person Model links every participant in our programming with individualized support through a Primary Person, a caring adult who is responsible for building a relationship with each participant and supporting their progress. This Primary Person remains in contact with the participant throughout their stay in each program, ensuring an individualized experience critical for all our participants and providing a positive role model for success. A significant responsibility of the Primary Person is to refer students to ESH’s Social Services Department when more serious barriers to their progress arise.
Below details the wide range of services offered by East Side House to ensure families had access to supports that lift them out of poverty and into the economic mainstream.
• Head Start/Early Head Start
• Elementary school after school programs
• Middle school after school programs
• High School Equivalency
• Transfer High School and Young Adult Borough Centers (high schools designed for students who are not on track for timely graduation)
• Workforce Development programs for adults
• Senior Centers
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
East Side House has nearly 130 years of experience operating successful programs in high-needs communities. East Side House is lead by a group of passionate professional with over 80 years of combined experience in non-profit management. This team is lead by Executive Director, Daniel Diaz, who grew up in the Bronx and has overseen and lead the recent growth of East Side House from 18 to 29 sites. Diaz was name one of Crain’s New York Business’ 40 Under 40 in 2019.
Committed to sustainability and growth, the following characteristics define East Side House capacity for achieving its goals:
1. Investment in Talent- ESH facilitates a monthly Leadership Academy, a professional development series for all program management staff, which addresses key issues operating youth programs. Staff receives relevant professional development workshops and training as well as an opportunity to share best practices with colleagues. Active participation in ongoing work-related training is responsible for training current and future leadership of ESH and is a factor in staff promotions. In addition to Leadership Academy, ESH implemented our Emerging Leaders Program, which trains a small group of nominated leaders in the organization to be coached, mentored, and trained for senior leadership at ESH. ESH maintains a culture of supervision with regular monthly supervision with staff around professional development, performance and monitoring. Throughout the year, supervisors are responsible for developing individual professional development plans as well as connecting staff with relevant trainings.
2. Commitment to Data Informed Practices- Across all East Side House programs, the agency leadership team develops annual program-based and agency-wide performance targets (based on prior year baseline data and contractual obligations). We make monthly use of Quality Assurance tools to assess performance against targets. Quality Assurance tools collect both qualitative and quantitative data to provide context and insight to program functioning.
3. Community Partnership- ESH currently maintains a referral network of over 30 resource partners serving the greater Bronx and Northern Manhattan communities. Since 1999, ESH has worked in partnership with the NYC Department of Education and currently hosts programs in 18 DOE schools. ESH has been the anchor agency of the United Way of New York City’s ReadNYC initiative for the past 7 years. ESH was selected based on our reputation in the community ability to act as a community convener.
4. Financial Strength- East Side House has maintained a diverse and strong portfolio of public and private support. For the past 6 years, East Side House has achieved a 4 out of 4 star rating from Charity Navigator, an accomplishment only achieved by 5% of rates charities. East Side House has also maintained clean annual audits or over 7 years.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
East Side House is proud of its recent accomplishments:
• In 2017, East Side House launched its innovative Post-Secondary Pathways program. a first-of-its-kind program that combines market research and youth services to connect at-risk young people with careers in two of the fastest growing industries in New York City: healthcare and technology. Students, most of whom came to ESH on the verge of dropping out of high school, have the opportunity to earn certification in health or technology skills as they complete their high school diploma.
• Across East Side House’s high school (and equivalency) programs, which serve over 5000 students a year, had the following results:
o 78% graduation rate.
o 74% of graduates were accepted to college.
o We expect 500 students will enroll in college within one year of graduation.
• East Side House is proud to share that we were selected by the Federal Government’s Office of Health and Human Services as a Head Start/Early Head Start direct grantee. This is East Side House’s first-ever federal direct grant. The $3.5 million annual contract began on 7/1/2019 and will allow us to expand to 1 additional site, and serve a total of 241 students. The program is a Dual-Language certified. 97% of ESH students meet NYS Standards upon program completion.
• In response to the needs of our children and families, and to mitigate the learning gap between our participants and their more affluent counterparts, East Side House launched an extended day learning for our youngest learners. STEAMMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math, Music, and Movement) Academy provides our early childhood participants with additional learning hours, and parents a safe space for their children while they work.
• We have been selected as a national model for best practices in family engagement services by the National Head Start Association
• In lockstep with East Side House’s 5 Year Strategic Plan, STEM services have been embedded in all elementary and middle school programs. This includes East Side House’s inaugural Robotics Team.
ESH is currently (March 2020) undergoing planning for our next 5 Year Strategic Plan.
We are also excited to share that East Side House has been approved to open a charter high school based on our successful PSP model. We are currently awaiting an available charter to be allocated to us to open the school.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
East Side House, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 06/22/2022
Mr. Thaddeus Gray
Thomas Remien
Northeast Acquisitions, LLC
Courtney Christensen
Winston Art Group
Wendy Holmes
UBS Private Wealth Management
Dolores O'Brien Miller
AIG
Richard E. Kolman
Academy Securities, Inc.
Stephanie B. Clark
Wally Findlay Galleries
Lori J. Ahl
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
Lucinda Ballard
Arts Consultant
Debra Del Vecchio
Brooks Brothers
Marvena Edmond
Bank of America
William S. Elder
RXR Realty
Fay Gambee
Barclay G. Jones
Stephen J. Ketchum
Soundpoint Capital Management
George G. King
ArtsWestchester
Christopher LaSusa
KCL Capital, L.P.
Michael R. Lynch
J.P.Morgan Chase
Robert L. Meyer
Roosevelt Investments Group
Eugene Oliver
NYS Judge (Retired)
Robert Pondiscio
Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Elizabeth Donnem Sigety
Fox Rothschild, LLP
Anne Smithers
Philip L. Yang
Willowbridge Associates
Maureen Kerr
Goldman Sachs
Caroline Beshera
Ramona Dessouki
JP Morgan Chase
Janet Mora
Parent
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 06/22/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.