Project Achieve!

Recently in collaboration with City High School and the Belin Blank Center at the University of Iowa we have started a new effort called Project Achieve.  This program is for high achieving minority students that are under-represented in Advanced Placement (AP) and upper level courses.  City High is farther into the process than we are having met with their students a few more times.  I have the fortune of working with City High Principal @jbacon23, City High Guidance Counselor Linda Hoel, @SouthEastjhic Guidance Counselor @BrianPIngram, and my wife @Drkkdegner, who is the administrator for Iowa's Online AP Academy, on this project.

I remember @casas_jimmy telling me about a conversation he had with 2013 NASSP Principal of the Year @TrevorLTGreene and when Trevor said, “everyone deserves to be part of something great.”  This has stuck with me and I am always considering this perspective when thinking about all of our students.  We are hoping to work with this group of students and show them that they our great and can and should be part of something great. 

Our first meeting @SouthEastjhic included hosting @drkkdegner, some University of Iowa students from National Society of Black Engineers (NESBE) and City High Senior Soumba Traore.  She talked to the group about her experience in taking upper level courses at the high school and why she believes it is important they do so.  She talked about owing it to her family and wanting to make them proud.  The best part of the luncheon that day is how she connected with these 7^th and 8^th grade students and gave them an example of somebody that is doing it and living it.  I was so impressed by the passion and resolve she showed these students and the time she spent talking to them after the meeting. One of the long term goals is to hook the junior high students in with a high school mentor that continues the message Soumba started.  

You could see a visible change in how these students exited the library (no it wasn’t from the pizza) after hearing from these different groups of people.  They were beaming with pride knowing that they are being recognized for the work they are doing. It is amazing what happens when you just tell students you believe in them and they can do it! Never forget the impact these conversations can have.  

Finally, I was reminded by reading a post by @danpbutler this morning that we don’t always have to have everything figured out to get started either.  In terms of this project we are not sure of how it will all come together but we did know that we needed to get started on this important work.   I am truly excited to see how this project takes off and the impact that is could have for the long term.