Asian American LEAD

The AALEAD After School Program provides educational empowerment for middle and high school aged youth by educating them on identity development and leadership skills from a STEAM centered curriculum including college and career readiness, financial literacy, and workforce development. Programs create a safe and supportive space to embrace identity and engage in opportunities for leadership and civic engagement. AALEAD serves youth in weekly after school programs through a community-based model in D.C. and at designated school sites aligned with demographic needs within Arlington County, Fairfax County, and Montgomery County. In FY25, AALEAD supported 378 youth attending 19 public and charter schools with afterschool programs across DC, MD, and VA. Across all programs, 501 youth were served in afterschool, summer, and mentoring programs. According to cumulative surveys, in developing leadership skills, 86% of participants reported feeling more confident in their leadership skills because of skills learned and opportunities provided by AALEAD. Approximately 90% of participants reported being better informed on how to take steps to achieve their educational goals, while 92% felt they had a place to belong as a result of the community focus within programs.

AALEAD's Mentoring Program connects youth aged 8-18 with caring adults 21+ years old, to form relationships that provide youth with a safe avenue to express their feelings and frustrations, improve their self-esteem, and foster positive self-identity. The program follows an evidence based social and emotional learning framework that gives mentees opportunities to explore new interests and develop hobbies, motivate them to pursue higher education, and prepare them for careers with support from their mentors. In FY25, the Mentoring Program had a total of 40 matches with a one-to-one ratio of adult mentors and youth mentees.