Welcoming New Board Members At High Jump, our Board of Directors plays a vital role in advancing our mission to expand access to life-changing educational opportunities for Chicago’s middle school students. With gratitude for the steadfast leadership of our current board, we are proud to announce the addition of five new members whose experience, vision,…
Over the past 35 years, thousands of deserving students have brought the very best of themselves to our program and put themselves on the path to thrive in high school and beyond. High Jump cultivates courage and curiosity by empowering students at a pivotal time, building their confidence, and supporting them in navigating the sticky…
On June 30, 2025, High Jump will welcome Molly Gilbride as Chief Advancement Officer. Leading High Jump’s development, marketing, and communications strategy, Molly will oversee planning and execution of fundraising to meet goals and develop multi-year growth plans. In alignment with senior leadership and the board, Molly will play a key role in the organization’s…
Recently, Zak, a 7th-grader from High Jump’s 36th Cohort, sat down with Eleanor Nicholson, Co-Founder of High Jump to talk about High Jump. High Jump is a two-year tuition-free academic enrichment program for kids who are curious and want to learn. The program helps prepare students academically, gives them a sense of community, and gets…
On October 28, 2024, High Jump will welcome Shaz Rasul as Chief Programs Officer. Leading strategy and day-to-day operation of all programs at High Jump, Shaz will oversee our campus-based Scholars program, neighborhood-based Community Scholars program, and Alumni Scholars program extension. Shaz will also supervise program recruitment with an eye toward growth and equity in…
High Jump is so honored to have our 2024 Spring of Opportunity Benefit featured in Modern Luxury’s Chicago Social. Back in May, over 500 members of the High Jump community gathered at the Four Seasons Chicago to celebrate hope and opportunity in education. Attendees got to hear about the impact of High Jump directly from…
At High Jump’s 2024 annual benefit, founder Eleanor Nicholson shared the vision that launched the program and the hope and gratitude that propels it. Read on for Eleanor’s full speech. I’m grateful to the fabulous High Jump team for giving me the opportunity to speak briefly with you tonight as I look back 35 years.…
We’re delighted to welcome guest writer Vivi Corre. Vivi’s study of psychology and education, passion for educational equity, and love for working with youth inform her writing. Vivi learned about High Jump as a volunteer tutor while attending the University of Chicago Laboratory High School during her 2017-18 academic year. She recently graduated from Mount Holyoke…
When we look at the impact that High Jump has had over the course of the past 35 years, the data paint an incredible story of how High Jump has fostered success for students who are of limited economic means in Chicago; 100% of High Jump alumni graduate from high school; 98% attend college; and…
After 35 years of growing High Jump’s Scholars Program from our first cohort of 16 students to our most recent cohort of 225 students, we are so proud and excited to announce the next step of our continued growth: the formal adoption of our Community Scholars pilot as High Jump’s second ever official program! Community…
High Jump’s annual Moving Up Ceremony is the culminating event to honor students’ two years of hard work. Each graduating High Jump student gets to walk across the stage and receive their certificate—a physical reminder of all the work they’ve put in over the past two years and of all that they’ll carry with them…
Every year in May, High Jump holds space for a celebration two years in the making: our student’s annual Moving Up Ceremony. Held at the University of Chicago Lab Schools’ Gordon Parks Arts Hall, the ceremony serves as the culminating event to honor the hard work of each and every graduating High Jump student. Throughout…
Since its inception, High Jump’s emphasis has not been to put students on a specific path towards a specific definition of success, but to instead empower them with the experiences and resources to forge their own paths and their own definitions of success. Over the course of the past two and half decades since she…
We are excited to announce that High Jump has been chosen as one of the beneficiaries of the 15th annual Invest For Kids Conference! This a great honor that will support our work to bring equity to education for Chicago middle grade students who have exhibited academic ambition and potential and who are of limited…
One of the pillars of High Jump is ensuring that our Scholars are not just prepared to thrive while they are in the program during middle school, but that they will continue to thrive during high school, college, and beyond. We are committed to supporting our scholars through every waypoint along their educational journeys, and…
After over 34 years of High Jump’s administrative offices being housed in the Latin School of Chicago, this summer, High Jump has made the big leap to establishing ourselves in a new office space all our own. When High Jump was founded in 1989 by Latin’s former Upper School director Eleanor Nicholson, not only did…
The Sustaining Leaders Fund is an essential group of donors dedicated to supporting High Jump’s mission to equalize educational opportunities in Chicago. The members of this community are pillars that strengthen High Jump’s ability to provide impactful programming to students who need it most. The Sustaining Leaders Fund donors provide a foundation for growth resulting…
Chicago’s 11 Selective Enrollment high schools rank among the best in the city; however, by design not all students who apply get to attend one of them. Of the 26,000 applicants last year, fewer than 5,000 were offered spots. Last week, High Jump Chief Executive Officer Nate Pietrini spoke with Sasha-Ann Simons of WBEZ’s Reset…
Foundation and Corporate Grants make up a significant part of High Jump’s revenue stream (1/6). Pursuit and access to institutional funding provide long-term financial sustainability and promote continued growth and development within our organization. Grants can pave the way to meeting organizational goals such as: Moreover, the pursuit of these goals has resulted in the…
Mila Koumpilova, Chalkbeat Chicago – Apr 14, 5:14pm CDT Will the pandemic reshape Chicago’s high-stress high school applications? was originally published by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization covering public education. Sign up for their newsletters here: ckbe.at/newsletter Maile Solis’ son wants to follow an older sister to Lane Tech College Prep, one of Chicago’s selective-enrollment…