EMILY KRZYZEWSKI CENTER INC

THE CENTER OPERATES FOUR PROGRAMS THAT ARE ALL ALIGNED WITH THE GOAL OF PROVIDING ACADEMIC SUPPORT, COLLEGE READINESS AND COLLEGE COMPLETION SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS WHO FACE THE MOST PRONOUNCED BARRIERS TO SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATING AND COMPLETING HIGHER EDUCATION. OUR THREE ENROLLMENT-BASED ELEMENTARY THROUGH COLLEGE PROGRAMS, (K TO COLLEGE PROGRAMS) ARE DESCRIBED BELOW. THE PIONEER SCHOLARS PROGRAM ENSURES THAT OUR ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE BUILDING THEIR ACADEMIC AND PERSONAL LEADERSHIP SKILLS, ACHIEVING IN SCHOOL, AND LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE COLLEGE SUCCESS. DURING THE 2023-2024 ACADEMIC YEAR, A TOTAL OF 92 STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN THE PIONEER SCHOLARS, INCLUDING 59 ELEMENTARY STUDENTS AND 33 MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS. THE PROGRAM OPERATED IN PERSON FIVE DAYS PER WEEK FOR AN AVERAGE OF 7.5 HOURS PER WEEK OF INSTRUCTIONAL TIME, PLUS AN ADDITIONAL 7.5 HOURS PER WEEK FOR PRE-PROGRAMMING ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING PHYSICAL RECREATION AND HOMEWORK ASSISTANCE. IN A WIDESPREAD ENVIRONMENT OF LEARNING LOSS, OUR SCHOLARS DEMONSTRATED MODEST LEARNING GAINS AND ENDED THE YEAR ABOVE STATE METRICS FOR THEIR DEMOGRAPHIC: FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES 3-8, 52% MET OR EXCEEDED STATEWIDE READING BENCHMARKS AND 58% MET OR EXCEEDED MATH BENCHMARKS. ADDITIONALLY, IN AN EFFORT TO STEM SUMMER LEARNING LOSS, THE PIONEER SCHOLARS PROGRAM ALSO OPERATED A FOUR-WEEK SUMMER SCHOLARS PROGRAM. 74 STUDENTS ATTENDED SUMMER SCHOLARS AND COMPLETED A TOTAL OF 108 HOURS OF IN-PERSON, PROJECT-BASED ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT AND SKILL-BUILDING DESIGNED TO ENSURE THEIR READINESS FOR THE YEAR AHEAD. LASTLY, IN ADDITION TO ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT AND SUPPORT, ALL STUDENTS BENEFITED FROM THE INTEGRATION OF SOCIOEMOTIONAL LEARNING BASED ON THE CASEL FRAMEWORK INTO PROGRAMMING. THESE ACTIVITIES WERE DESIGNED TO PROACTIVELY BUILD STUDENTS' ABILITY TO MANAGE EMOTIONS, COPE WITH STRESS AND PROBLEM-SOLVE. THE SCHOLARS TO COLLEGE PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO ASSIST HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO FACE BARRIERS TO HIGHER EDUCATION TO SUCCEED ACADEMICALLY AND PERSONALLY, GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP-ELIGIBLE AND COLLEGE-READY. THIS YEAR, OUR 112 ENROLLED HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN AN AVERAGE OF UP TO 4.5 HOURS OF WEEKLY CURRICULUM-BASED INSTRUCTION, INDIVIDUALIZED ACADEMIC COACHING AND COLLEGE ADVISING, 1:1 TUTORING, STANDARDIZED TEST PREPARATION, COLLEGE VISITS, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND CULTURAL ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES. ADDITIONALLY, STUDENTS ATTENDED A ONE OR TWO WEEK SUMMER "BOOT CAMP" TOTALING AN AVERAGE OF 15 HOURS OF DIRECT INSTRUCTION. OUR JUNIORS IN THE CLASS OF 2025 PARTICIPATED IN 15 HOURS OF ACT TEST PREP. AS A RESULT OF THIS INTERVENTION, OUR SCHOLARS DEMONSTRATED A 5% INCREASE IN THEIR SCORES, AND 55% OF OUR SCHOLARS DEMONSTRATED PROFICIENCY, AS COMPARED WITH THE LOCAL DISTRICT PROFICIENCY RATE OF 40%. THE HIGHEST GAINS WERE IN SCIENCE (144%) AND READING (22%). 100% OF OUR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL ON TIME, AND THIS GROUP OF 24 SENIORS EARNED 155 COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES TO 53 COLLEGES. THE MAJORITY (96%) OF THEIR DIRECT COLLEGE COSTS ARE COVERED BY GIFT AID. FINALLY, SOCIOEMOTIONAL LEARNING EMBEDDED INTO SCHOLARS TO COLLEGE PROGRAMMING INCLUDED SETTING HEALTHY BOUNDARIES, GOAL SETTING, COPING WITH STRESS AND ANXIETY, DEFINING AND SOLVING PROBLEMS, MANAGING YOUR EMOTIONS, AND MANAGING FINANCIAL AND SCHOOL DECISIONS. 20% OF STUDENTS IN THIS PROGRAM RECEIVED 1:1 SOCIOEMOTIONAL SUPPORT TO ASSIST THEM IN OVERCOMING SPECIFIC CHALLENGES.THE SCHOLARS ON CAMPUS PROGRAM ENSURES THAT STUDENTS WHO COMPLETE THE SCHOLARS TO COLLEGE PROGRAM AND OPT TO CONTINUE IN OUR COLLEGE COMPLETION PROGRAM SUCCESSFULLY TRANSITION TO AND COMPLETE HIGHER EDUCATION BY SUPPORTING THEIR DEVELOPMENT IN THE AREAS OF ACADEMIC AND CAMPUS ENGAGEMENT, CAREER DEVELOPMENT, AND FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY THROUGH A ROBUST ADVISING AND SUPPORT MODEL. THIS YEAR, 102 SCHOLARS ON CAMPUS STUDENTS, WHO ARE IN THEIR FIRST THROUGH SIXTH YEAR OF COLLEGE, PARTICIPATED IN PRE-COLLEGE TRANSITION PROGRAMMING, CAPACITY-BUILDING WORKSHOPS, INDIVIDUALIZED ADVISING AND COACHING, CAMPUS VISITS AND PROFESSIONAL MENTORING. FIRST YEAR PERSISTENCE RATES FOR SCHOLARS ON CAMPUS STUDENTS WAS 96%, AND THE SIX YEAR COMPLETION RATE WAS 80%, IN CONTRAST TO 62% FOR STUDENTS ACROSS THE NATION.

THE EMILY K CENTER'S GAME PLAN: COLLEGE PROGRAM PROVIDES POSTSECONDARY INFORMATION, ADVISING AND SUPPORT TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN DURHAM THROUGH STRONG PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUR LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT AS WELL AS LOCAL COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS. THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, WE ARE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO BOTH THE DISTRICT'S AND THE CENTER'S SHARED GOAL OF ENSURING THAT ALL STUDENTS HAVE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION AND SUPPORT THEY NEED TO PURSUE THEIR POSTSECONDARY GOALS. STUDENTS WHO WILL BE THE FIRST IN THEIR FAMILY TO ATTEND COLLEGE, WHO COME FROM LOW INCOME FAMILY BACKGROUNDS, AND WHO ARE MEMBERS OF RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUPS THAT ARE UNDER-REPRESENTED IN HIGHER EDUCATION ARE THE TARGET POPULATION FOR THIS PROGRAM, ALTHOUGH ANY STUDENT WHO RESIDES IN DURHAM AND/OR ATTENDS A DURHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS HIGH SCHOOL CAN ACCESS THE SERVICES. THIS YEAR, THE GAME PLAN: COLLEGE PROGRAM SERVED 1,550 STUDENTS THROUGH THE DELIVERY OF 44 CURRICULUM-BASED WORKSHOPS AND 55 SPECIAL EVENTS OR INITIATIVES. AS A RESULT OF PARTICIPATING IN COLLEGE ACCESS WORKSHOPS, 86% OF STUDENTS REPORTED AN INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE GAINED ABOUT THE COLLEGE ACCESS TOPIC PRESENTED. ADDITIONALLY, OUR GAME PLAN: COLLEGE TEAM MET THE POSTSECONDARY PLANNING NEEDS OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THROUGH THE DELIVERY OF 275 1:1 ADVISING SESSIONS TO 171 STUDENTS. THESE SESSIONS SUPPORTED STUDENTS TO MOVE FORWARD IN THEIR POSTSECONDARY EXPLORATION, PLANNING AND APPLICATION COMPLETION PROCESSES. WHILE OUR DELIVERY OF THESE SERVICES IS DESIGNED TO SUPPORT ANY STUDENT WHO RESIDES IN OR ATTENDS A HIGH SCHOOL IN DURHAM, WE ARE ESPECIALLY FOCUSED ON REACHING STUDENTS WITHIN OUR TARGET POPULATION. OUR MOST INTENSIVE SERVICE, 1:1 ADVISING, WAS PREDOMINANTLY DELIVERED TO STUDENTS WITHIN THIS TARGET POPULATION: 40% OF STUDENTS WILL BE THE FIRST IN THEIR FAMILY TO ATTEND COLLEGE, 52% OF STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN THE FREE AND REDUCED PRICED LUNCH PROGRAM (22% WERE UNSURE), AND 86% OF STUDENTS WERE FROM RACIAL BACKGROUNDS THAT ARE TRADITIONALLY UNDER-REPRESENTED IN HIGHER EDUCATION.TWO NEW LARGE-SCALE INITIATIVES WERE THE NEXT STEP TEACHERS FELLOWSHIP, AND COLLEGE JUMPSTART! PROGRAM. NEXT STEPS TEACHER FELLOWSHIP IS A PILOT PROGRAM AIMED AT IMPROVING POSTSECONDARY CULTURE WITHIN DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOLS. 192 STUDENTS ENGAGED ACROSS TWO PILOT PROJECTS AROUND IMPROVING CONFIDENCE IN POSTSECONDARY ACCESS. IN THE FIRST PILOT PROJECT, THERE WAS AN AVERAGE NET DECREASE OF 22% LOW KNOWLEDGE/CONFIDENCE AND 19% INCREASE IN HIGH KNOWLEDGE/CONFIDENCE ABOUT POSTSECONDARY MILESTONES AFTER PARTICIPATING IN PILOT. WITHIN THE SECOND PILOT PROJECT, AN AVERAGE NET DECREASE OF 31% LOW KNOWLEDGE/CONFIDENCE AND 32% INCREASE IN HIGH KNOWLEDGE/CONFIDENCE ABOUT POSTSECONDARY EXPLORATION AND CAREER PLANNING AFTER PARTICIPATING IN PILOT. THE COLLEGE JUMPSTART! PROGRAM, A SUMMER MELT INITIATIVE, WAS AIMED AT INCREASING ENROLLMENT RATES OF LOCAL RISING COLLEGE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS. 52 STUDENTS WERE ENGAGED THROUGH THESE INITIATIVES, 90% OF WHOM FALL WITHIN OUR TARGET POPULATION BASED ON THE STANDARDS OR UNDERREPRESENTED RACE IN POSTSECONDARY ENVIRONMENTS, FREE/REDUCED LUNCH PRICES, OR FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS. 15 OF THE 52 ENGAGED PARTICIPATED IN ADDITIONAL ADVISING SESSIONS FOCUSED ON FALL ENROLLMENT MILESTONES.