REACH gala next Thursday

I am one of the founders of Rewarding Achievement (REACH), a privately funded program that aims to dramatically improve academic trajectories for many thousands of low-income and minority high school students in NYC by encouraging them to take and helping them pass rigorous, college-level Advanced Placement exams.

 

We're having our first gala a week from Thursday, May 27^th, from 6pm-9pm at the Harvard Club.  Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein will be there, along with our most honored guests, 30 of our 2009-2010 REACH Scholar Seniors, some of the hardest working, most inspiring high school students in NYC, many of whom will be attending the nation's most selective colleges in the fall.  Fewer than 1% of African-American and Latino high school students in NYC pass an AP each year, so the students we're rewarding are truly remarkable. 

 

Here is some additional information about REACH and at the end of this email are details about the Breaking Barriers Awards Reception next Thursday.  Please let me know if you'd like to join us and support the program.

 

Since launching in October 2007, REACH has been a game-changer.  The combination of cash awards and various resources, including free comprehensive tutoring for students and training for teachers, has resulted in substantial increases in the number of students taking and passing AP exams at the schools REACH works with.  Last year, the number of AP exams passed by REACH students rose 19%, driven by a 26% increase by black and Latino students, far outpacing national (10%) and New York State (7%) increases.

 

REACH's impact is occurring on a large scale.  In less than three years, our program has trained more than 150 AP teachers from 32 inner-city NYC high schools and supported the hard work of over 10,000 students, more than 2,000 of whom have earned nearly $2 million in REACH Scholar Awards.  In addition, we have awarded their schools with nearly $1 million in performance-based grants to invest in academics.

 

How it works

 

Learn Earn Win (LEW) and the REACH Scholar Awards are at the core of the REACH program:  LEW is a series of free, intensive Saturday seminars taught by top AP experts from around the country.  For each of 15 AP subjects, LEW offers three full days of instruction (7 hours/day, 21 hours total), which really pays off: last year, 70% of eligible REACH students participated (2,300 students), and these students passed their exams at a 39% rate vs. only 17% among those who did not participate.  This year, more than 3,000 REACH students are participating and will sit for more than 6,000 exams. 

 

For all students who complete Learn Earn Win, for each AP exam score of 3, 4 or 5, they will earn $300, $400 or $500, respectively, in cash – what we think of as performance-based scholarships.

 

To ensure our students get top-notch instruction throughout the year, not just on Saturdays, REACH organizes a two-day intensive workshop in the fall, available to all AP teachers at participating schools.  REACH also rewards teachers directly and individually with classroom grants based on how many of their students pass AP exams.

 

Finally, last fall we piloted REACH Forward after noticing that many of our most gifted students last year were not attending the top colleges they should have been.  This "undermatching" by low-income students is a severe, chronic, national problem that results in terribly high college dropout rates.  To address this, REACH Forward organized a full-day informational session in the fall for the most promising students and matched them with mentors who encouraged them to apply to top colleges and helped them with their essays.  The early results are very promising.