HARLEM LACROSSE AND LEADERSHIP CORPORATION

THE CLASS OF 2024 SAW A COHORT OF 61 STUDENTS GRADUATE AS HARLEM LACROSSE STUDENT-ATHLETES. THESE STUDENTS BENEFITED FROM UP TO SEVEN YEARS OF ATHLETIC, ACADEMIC, AND SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL ENRICHMENT SUPPORTED BY A TRUSTING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STUDENT, THEIR FAMILY, AND HARLEM LACROSSE. OUTCOMES FOR THIS COHORT ARE COMPELLING, WITH 100% PURSUING POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION AND EARNING A COLLECTIVE $1.6MM ANNUALLY TO AID IN THEIR PERSISTENCE. THESE GRADUATES JOIN A GROWING AND IMPRESSIVE HARLEM LACROSSE ALUMNI NETWORK THAT IS STARTING TO FIVE BACK TO THE FUTURE GENERATIONS OF HL STUDENTS. ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS:HARLEM LACROSSE PARTICIPANTS ARE STUDENT-ATHLETES, PURSUING SUCCESS ON AND OFF THE FIELD. THIS SCHOOL YEAR, PARTICIPANTS CONTINUED TO DEMONSTRATE ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND GROWTH. IN A POST-COVID WORLD, SCHOOLS ARE FINDING CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM RATES TO BE A SIGNIFICANT BARRIER TO LEARNING WITH A 28% CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM RATE NATIONALLY. HARLEM LACROSSE IS SUPPORTING STUDENT-ATHLETES IN ADDRESSING CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM. PARTICIPANTS WHO WERE CHRONICALLY ABSENT THE YEAR PRIOR ATTENDED AN AVERAGE OF SIX MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL IN 2024. STUDENT-ATHLETES' FAMILIES SHARED THAT BEING PART OF HL IMPROVED ACADEMIC MOTIVATION (90%) AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE (85%) IN THE CLASSROOM. HL PARTICIPANTS AVERAGED AN 80.8% GPA AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, STUDENTS WHO AVERAGED BELOW A 70% GPA LAST SCHOOL YEAR, SHOWED AN IMPROVEMENT OF 15% IN THEIR GPA THIS SCHOOL YEAR. STUDENTS WHO STRUGGLED THE PRIOR ACADEMIC YEAR ACHIEVED THE LARGEST INCREASES IN THEIR GPA THIS YEAR. ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENTS:LACROSSE IS AT THE CORE OF EVERYTHING WE DO. OUR COMMITMENT TO BUILDING LACROSSE COMPETENCY HAS ENABLED US TO FIELD COMPETITIVE BOYS AND GIRL'S NATIONAL TEAMS THAT PROUDLY FEATURE ELITE PLAYERS FROM ALL FIVE HARLEM LACROSSE REGIONS---A TESTAMENT TO THE ATHLETIC GROWTH PLAYERS EXPERIENCE WITHIN OUR PROGRAM. ACROSS THE BOARD THIS YEAR, STUDENT-ATHLETES SAW TANGIBLE GROWTH IN THEIR PHYSICAL FITNESS. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, WE MEASURED THE IMPACT OF OUR ATHLETIC PROGRAMMING. THE PACER TEST IS A MAXIMAL EXERCISE TEST ADMINISTERED AS A BACK-AND-FORTH SHUTTLE RUN. WITH PROGRESSIVE INCREASES IN PACE, CHILDREN COMPLETE AS MANY LAPS AS POSSIBLE. LAP SCORES ARE INTERPRETED USING HEALTHY FITNESS ZONE MINIMUM STANDARDS. A SCORE 100% INDICATES A CHILD IS IN THE HEALTHY FITNESS ZONE. YOUTH IN THE HFZ ARE LESS LIKELY TO DEVELOP METABOLIC SYNDROME, DECREASING THEIR RISK FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND DIABETES. THE NUMBERS TELL A COMPELLING STORY: OUR PARTICIPANTS' HFZ SCORES INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY BY AN AVERAGE OF 29.8 PERCENTAGE POINTS OVER THE 2023-24 SCHOOL YEAR. THE MOST SIZABLE IMPROVEMENTS CAME FROM THOSE STARTING WITH LOWER FITNESS LEVELS (HFZ<100), DEMONSTRATING OUR PROGRAM'S PROFOUND IMPACT ON VULNERABLE CHILDREN WITH REMARKABLE STATISTICAL CONFIDENCE.SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL GROWTH:A FOUNDATION OF THE HARLEM LACROSSE MODEL IS A FOCUS ON SUPPORTING YOUTH TO DEVELOP CRITICAL SOCIAL EMOTIONAL SKILLS AND MINDSETS THAT HELP THEM TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS. THIS YEAR, 94% OF HL STUDENTS GREW IN AT LEAST ONE OF OUR FIVE CORE AREAS OF SOCIAL EMOTIONAL GROWTH. 94% OF FAMILIES REPORTED THAT THEIR CHILDREN IMPROVED RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR PEERS AND 87% OF FAMILIES REPORTED THAT THEIR CHILD HAD IMPROVED RELATIONSHIPS WITH ADULTS AS A RESULT OF HARLEM LACROSSE.FURTHERMORE, 94% OF FAMILIES AND 92% OF SCHOOL PARTNERS REPORTED THAT THEIR CHILD DEVELOPED A GROWTH MINDSET AS A RESULT OF HARLEM LACROSSE. HARLEM LACROSSE PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN FORGING MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS IN THE LIVES OF PARTICIPANTS AND BUILDING SOFT SKILLS IN THE CLASSROOM, ON THE FIELD, AND IN THE COMMUNITY.