After hearing from two students and a teaching assistant currently in High Jump, we want to share with you once again the real and powerful impact of the program as told from the perspective of students who went through it. But this time, we wanted you to hear from two of our alumni who graduated…
Read MoreFor over 30 years, High Jump has changed the lives of more than 2,500 middle school students in Chicago. While our first cohort in 1989 had just 16 students enrolled, High Jump has grown over the years and now serves more than 285 new students each year through our programs. After three decades of honing…
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More than 3,400 high-achieving, low-income students in Chicago enter sixth grade each year. These students have limited means to invest in their education, with long-term implications; middle school performance is highly predictive of a student’s future high school achievement. And research from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute shows that the middle school years are critical…
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It’s academic enrichment, social-emotional learning, and high school choice support. And, it’s one of the few enrichment programs that Chicago middle school students of limited economic means can access. The program, designed to help students develop skills to get to and through college, is tuition-free and occurs during a student’s seventh and eighth-grade years. Each…
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Moving Up is the culmination of two years of hard work for students ready to embark on their high school journey. Cohort 31 began the program in 2019, the summer following their 6th-grade year. After putting in the 700 hours of challenging but rewarding work, 157 students graduated from the program this year. Held at…
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By the spring of 2020, we knew that our summer program would have to be quite different than in years past. Thankfully, the changes we made for summer were strategic, research-informed, and ultimately successful. With the threat of COVID-19 greater than ever, we used the same structure for our fall programming. Here’s how we adapted…
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This summer has presented many new challenges that make continuous inquiry and analysis crucial to improving virtual programming for High Jump students. Incorporating weekly surveys from students, families, teachers, and teaching assistants has provided reflections and feedback that reinforce what’s working and reveal areas of improvement. As we look to the Fall and beyond, surveys,…
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