What is High Jump?
High Jump is many things for the over 500 middle schoolers we serve from across Chicago. It’s two years of 100% tuition-free, high-dosage academic and social learning that helps them find their passions and purpose. It’s a safe space where students can make new friends and have one-of-a-kind experiences. And it’s a chance for them to double their academic gains and chances of graduating college.
High Jump is academic enrichment, social-emotional learning, and high school choice support. It is one of the few enrichment programs that Chicago middle school students with limited economic means can access. But first and foremost, High Jump is a community 35 years in the making.
Designed to help students develop skills to get to and through college, High Jump takes place during a student’s seventh and eighth-grade years, providing 5 weeks of intensive daily programming in the summer and 2 Saturdays monthly throughout the school year.
High Jump programming helps:
Fuel scholars with the meals and supplies they need
to make the most of each day.
Spark imaginations with eye-opening novels
and mind-bending science experiments.
Inspire learning and engagement with dedicated
teachers and laptops for students.
Grow a community with a curriculum and classrooms
that ignite passions and purpose.
Why High Jump? Why Middle School?
High Jump has helped more than 3,000 students since 1989. Yet, Chicago has over 3,400 high-achieving sixth-grade students each year who have limited means to invest in their education. So, providing a path for academic enrichment is fundamental to improving educational outcomes. Middle school performance is highly predictive of a student’s future achievement in high school. In addition, research demonstrates that the middle school years are critical to helping talented students reach their full potential for later college and career success (Thomas B. Fordham Institute, 2011).
Academic and Social-Emotional Support that Endures
Middle school students build confidence and strengthen core learning skills to prepare for rigorous college preparatory high schools that increase their likelihood of attending college. High Jump students’ math and reading test scores improve almost twice the rate of the average middle school student nationally.
A 16:1 student-to-teacher ratio – gives students more one-on-one time with teachers, promoting an emotionally supportive learning environment. Every High Jump 8th-grade student has the opportunity to work closely with teachers and staff to ensure a high school choice that will support their needs and goals.
Social-emotional learning is one of our program’s main pillars, ensuring students can navigate new spaces and develop relationships. High Jump is a safe space for students to practice self-advocacy and develop analytical thinking and self-expression. What students learn during the program will continue to inspire, support, and propel them in high school and beyond in a way that will profoundly impact their lives.
Ensuring Students Persist in their Education
College completion with a four-year degree empowers our alumni with access to high-quality jobs, upward mobility, and the ability to create change in their communities.
Following High Jump, students go on to attend top high schools and colleges in Chicago and across the country– and with an 87% success rate, they’re graduating from college at a higher rate than their peers.
4-Year College Completion Rates
87% - High Jump alumni Cohorts 18-20*
33% - All Americans 25 years or older
14% - All low-income students nationally†
41% - All academically strong low-income students nationally†
*within six years of high school completion
†within eight years of high school completion
Let’s get alumni college completion rates to 100%!
There are dozens of college access and readiness programs for students once they reach high school: Daniel Murphy Scholarship Foundation, LinkUnlimited, HFS Scholars, and more. Each provides college counseling guidance, college readiness skills, increased financial aid literacy, and a specific focus area.
So, let’s continue to provide community, friendship, and support to help students unlock the tools to ensure they persist in their education.
High Jump is just the beginning of a successful educational journey for many students. More than ever, we must continue to build equitable learning opportunities for Chicago’s middle school youth.