Our Members
Previous Member Spotlights
Achieve is a tuition-free educational program serving low-income middle school-age children. Providing academic and personal enrichment through a rigorous and engaging six week summer program and ongoing academic year tutoring and support, Achieve seeks to increase our students' academic skills, motivation and self-confidence and put them on the path to college.
Achieve is a new initiative hosted by Noble and Greenough School which began in the summer of 2008. We provide a tuition-free program to talented, deserving Boston Public School students who want to develop solid academic skills, learn to swim, and have fun! Utilizing the support
and resources of the school, each of our students have the opportunity to experience an independent school environment: they develop strong relationships with Achieve teachers and staff, study in a safe, clean environment, have access to up-to-date technology to enhance their learning experience, and are held to high standards. Our inaugural summer session was a wonderful summer of firsts: our first Pride (class)
of students, our first group of staff, our first spirit days, our first classes, our first swimming lessons, and our first group to learn the Achieve song! Next summer, we will add another class of students, and look forward to reaching full capacity (65-70 students) in the summer of 2010.
For more information about Achieve, please contact Connie Yepez,
Director at achieve@nobles.edu or visit the website at www.nobles.edu/achieve.
The National Center for Summer Learning's mission is to create opportunities for high-quality summer learning for all young people. Based at Johns Hopkins University, the Center is committed to expanding summer learning opportunities for disadvantaged children and youth as a strategy for closing the achievement gap and promoting healthy youth development.
The National Center for Summer Learning works to:
* Improve the quality and availability of summer programs by providing professional development and evaluation services to providers.
* Build awareness and support for high-quality summer learning programs through outreach and communications.
* Generate increased public investment in summer programs for young people in high-poverty communities.
Through its national network of providers and partners, and using research-based approaches and models of effective practice, the Center works to make summer learning a priority in communities across the country. For more information please visit: www.summerlearning.org.
The TEAK Fellowship in its First Decade:
10 YEARS OF ADMISSIONS to identify and serve students with the sharpest talent, strongest motivation, and the greatest need. In 2008, TEAK invited its 10th class to join the Fellowship.
9 YEARS OF providing each Fellow intensive academic preparation through a curriculum in English, math, current events, Latin, science, and research as well as electives in the arts at THE SUMMER INSTITUTE; adding an advocate and friend to each Fellow's support system through the MENTOR PROGRAM; helping classes gain HIGH SCHOOL ADMISSION to selective public, parochial, and independent high schools and cumulatively earn $20 million in need-based financial aid.
8 YEARS OF THE COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM, instilling the philosophy that with opportunity comes a responsibility to give back. All Fellows in high school make a commitment to fulfill 115 hours of service in their home or school communities.
7 YEARS OF THE PUBLIC INTEREST INTERNSHIP PROGRAM wherein ninth-grade Fellows participate in a 24-hour community service project and volunteer their entire summer at NYC non-profits.
OVER 6 YEARS, 67 companies provided 222 summer internships for Fellows who collectively earned $500,000 in wages through the PRIVATE ENTERPRISE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM; 72 Fellows studied abroad, participated in wilderness courses, or attended business camp through SUMMER ENRICHMENT PARTNERSHIPS; TEAK has taken Fellows to see 55 different on- and off-Broadway performances though CATS, a weekend-theatre program.
5 YEARS OF COLLEGE PLACEMENT, helping Fellows gain admission to selective four-year colleges and universities and cumulatively earn $13.6 million in need-based financial aid. Twenty-five percent of all 12th-grade Fellows matriculated to Ivy League Schools and 63% to other top tier schools.
4 YEARS OF A GROWING ALUMNI PROGRAM aimed at helping graduates maintain the academic and social foundations built throughout the Fellowship and high school, as well keeping Alumni connected to TEAK and each other.
3 YEARS OF STAT WRITING CLASS in preparation for the rigors of selective high schools. Eighth-grade Fellows analyze literature through discussion, critical writing, and creative assignments, while developing their grammatical skills and vocabulary.
2 YEARS OF THE SPRING INTENSIVE, piloted in 2007, to give newly admitted Fellows as many tools and resources possible for successful, lifelong learning. The after-school program runs for six weeks, and includes Latin and math classes and workshops on time management, organization, note taking, and reading comprehension.
1 YEAR OF THE ALUMNI CAREER CENTER, launching in 2008, to equip Alumni with the tools and resources necessary to obtain meaningful career opportunities during college and to embark successfully on professional tracks after college and graduate school.
For more information about The TEAK Fellowship please visit: The TEAK Fellowship (http://www.teakfellowship.org).
Odyssey is an independent non-profit organization promoting academic achievement and a love for lifelong learning for motivated public school students for whom these opportunities might not otherwise be available. Serving grades 3-12 from Atlanta’s Project GRAD schools, Odyssey offers a comprehensive summer program for almost 300 students, focusing on a core academic curriculum, the arts, and exposure to critical thinking skills. Odyssey encourages students to embark upon a quest for knowledge and a journey towards higher education. The Atlanta Public Schools and The Westminster Schools strongly endorse and support this innovative model program for the Atlanta community.
Odyssey’s six-week summer curriculum is innovative, thematic, and integrated. Each grade’s theme is developed through reading, writing, math, and science, and reinforced by many field trips. Award-winning teachers are attracted by the opportunity for a true team-teaching environment, and teacher retention rates are high. Student retention rates are also remarkable: in 2008, more than 60% of Odyssey’s students returned for their 2nd or 3rd summer; in some grades the percentage topped 75%!
New in 2008 was Odyssey Transformers, a robotics curriculum for rising 10th graders. Designing and programming their own robots, the students participated in a robotics competition and enjoyed field trips to the Georgia Tech Robotics lab, the BMW plant in Greenville, SC and the Alabama Space Center.
Another innovation this summer was the addition of Camp Odyssey, an overnight “summer camp” experience for Odyssey Elementary and Middle School students. Having the opportunity to swim, canoe, tie-dye and learn archery enhanced the students’ summer learning experience immeasurably.
During the winter months, many Odyssey students participate in Odyssey Quest, a monthly Saturday program designed to strengthen relationships amongst the students and Odyssey teachers. Upcoming Quest plans include College Day for our high schoolers, Discovery outdoor team-building games, and a Holiday Reunion.
Students from The Westminster Schools play a big part in Odyssey’s success, volunteering in both Odyssey Elementary and Odyssey Adventure (serving students in grades 3-8.) During the summer of 2008, almost 100 students in grades 9 -12 served as volunteers!
Support comes from foundations, individuals, the Atlanta Public Schools, local government, corporations, and The Westminster Schools, which offers significant in-kind support.
To learn more about Odyssey, please visit: Odyssey.
To find out more about other NPEA member programs, visit: Previous Member Spotlights.
Prep@Pingree was started in 2001 by Pingree School's Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, parents and donors who were dedicated to "doing something bold" and wanted to form a partnership between the independent Pingree School in South Hamilton, Massachusetts and nearby inner-city communities of underserved students.
Prep@Pingree serves as a bridge between the cities of Lawrence and Lynn in Massachusetts and the Pingree School community. In the six years since the program's inception, over 125 middle school students from Lynn and Lawrence, who may not otherwise have the resources for such an experience, have spent five tuition-free weeks during the summer at the Pingree School. During the summer session they have experienced rigorous academics combined with afternoon and off-campus explorations such as trips to Boston to visit the Museum of Science.
Relationships between students, teachers and counselors are at the core of the program's success. Students stay connected to the program during the year through supplemental support and experience a network of like-minded, ambitious peers who aspire to attain high levels of academic achievement. Upon graduation from Prep@Pingree, students continue to receive academic support, benefit from secondary school placement counseling and attend other activities during their eighth grade year. Showing great results, to date, 14 Prep@Pingree alumni have matriculated to Pingree School and nearly two thirds of alumni have matriculated to other independent or parochial secondary schools.
Prep@Pingree's founders sought not only to offer inner city students an independent school experience for a summer, but also to ensure that they had the opportunity to attend one for high school. Over the last six years, Prep@Pingree students have earned over $500,000 in scholarships to attend Pingree School, as well as scholarships to other independent schools in excess of $750,000.
For more information about Prep@Pingree please contact Steve Filosa, Executive Director at sfilosa@pingree.org or visit Prep@Pingree (http://www.pingree.org/pages/sitepage.cfm?page=9888).
Founded in 1963, the mission of A Better Chance is to increase substantially the number of well-educated young people of color who are capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American society. A Better Chance is the oldest national organization of its kind working to open educational opportunities at the nation's finest college preparatory schools for students in grades 6-12. Their signature College Preparatory Schools Program (CPSP) annually identifies, recruits, refers and supports approximately 500 academically talented Scholars at over 300 member schools in 27 states. Member schools include the most rigorous and prestigious independent day, boarding and public schools in the country. The CPSP has grown from 55 students at nine schools to 1,800 students enrolled in 2007. Almost 12,000 students have been successfully placed since 1963.
A Better Chance has developed an efficient, high-leverage business model with a national staff of 25 and five regional offices. For approximately $7,000, A Better Chance can place a student in an excellent college preparatory school where he/she will receive an education valued at an average of $100,000. More than 95% immediately enroll in college following graduation. For more information, please visit: A Better Chance (www.abetterchance.org).
A sampling of A Better Chance's methods include:
Identification
· Work nationally through a network of volunteers, educators, alumni, and community organizations to identify high-performing students who might otherwise be overlooked.
Recruitment
· Conduct CPSP information sessions throughout the country.
· Provide students with information and fee waivers for the standardized tests (ISEE and SSAT) necessary for admittance to college preparatory schools.
Referral
· Deploy a comprehensive assessment model that includes both quantitative and qualitative predictors of academic and life success.
· Match student applicants with member schools that offer them the best opportunity to fulfill their potential.
· Refer candidates for placement in a national network of 300 member schools.
Academic & Family Support
· Sponsor summer residential orientation for all new Scholars to help ensure success in a new academic, cultural, and social environment.
· Offer academic opportunities, internships, college tours and college and career planning workshops.
New Jersey SEEDS is an organization committed to educating future leaders. To this end, staff members have been developing and implementing a summer leadership training program for SEEDS Scholars. The New Jersey SEEDS Alumni Leadership Institute consists of three summers of leadership training, with each summer having a particular thematic focus.
The goals of the Leadership Program are to:
· Develop the decision-making and communication skills of Scholars;
· Raise Scholars' awareness of current events and the world around them;
· Provide Scholars with opportunities to challenge themselves in a safe setting;
· Encourage Scholars to lead lives of contribution, seeing themselves as role
models and trend-setters.
The theme of the Alumni Leadership Institute's first strand is Making Change: Democracy in Action. Making Change focuses on activism, social policy-making, and the role of government. Scholars engage in experiential education, working on projects that advance their understanding of political engagement. The second strand of the Leadership Institute, Media Matters, is an exciting opportunity for scholars to explore the media within their lives, the community and the larger society. Media Matters encourages scholar awareness, creativity and active participation in the creation of media messages. Money Musts is the third strand of the Leadership Institute. This is an opportunity for SEEDS scholars to learn about personal finance, entrepreneurship, the stock market, and economic theory.
New Jersey SEEDS hopes that graduates of the Leadership Program recognize that giving back is one of the most valuable and rewarding forms of leadership. We expect some graduates to return as interns in the program, providing training and mentoring for younger students. For more information, visit: NJ SEEDS (www.njseeds.org).
In 1985, Mr. Russell B. Wight, Jr., viewed a PBS documentary about the City of Newark that focused on the rising rate of teen pregnancies and the increasing number of high school dropouts. In response to this documentary, Mr. Wight contacted a few individuals in Newark and indicated that he wanted to provide scholarships for students to attend boarding high schools. He believed that the students of Newark would have a better chance of attending college if they went to school away from the distractions of the inner city.
After recruiting several students from the Newark Public School system and the local YMCA youth leagues, the first five students were sent to Blair Academy, The Gunnery, The Peddie School, and The Taft School in 1986. In the initial years of the Foundation, we recruited students in their eighth grade year. In the mid-1990s, two of our college graduates initiated a program for the eighth graders to help them transition into boarding school. That initiative evolved into STEP - Scholars Training Enrichment Program. With STEP, we started to recruit students from the seventh grade, allowing us to better prepare our students for the academic and social rigors of boarding school life.
In the past twenty-two years, the Foundation has placed hundreds of students in boarding schools and colleges. In the coming year, we will have 105 scholars attending over 40 boarding schools--the largest number enrolled in one year. We match each student with an appropriate school, keeping his or her specific interests, aptitudes, goals, and academic abilities in mind.
We empower our students by encouraging them to assume leadership positions at their schools and in other settings. We sponsor a series of leadership development and team building activities, including college tours & career guidance workshops, retreats, cultural events and internship opportunities. Students also receive individualized academic counseling and on-campus visits from staff members. We require our students to perform community service in their local communities and encourage our alumni to remain active with their boarding school communities.
We also work closely with our alumni. Through our College Admission & Advising Program, we help scholars prepare for the college admission process and provide alumni with academic, career advising and support services during their undergraduate and postgraduate studies. We also have an Alumni Association that focuses on keeping the alumni connected with the Foundation and with each other.
As a program, it is also very important that we empower our families. We have an active Parents Support Group that meets on a regular basis and assists the staff in numerous activities. Many of our parents continue to be active members even after their children have graduated from college.
The students and families that we serve make the Foundation a true family foundation. Our students and their families truly make a difference in the lives of others and reflect the spirit of the Wight Foundation family.
For more information on The Wight Foundation, please visit: The Wight Foundation (www.wightfoundation.org).
