PREPARING SENIORS FOR FUTURE SUCCESS
Dear supporters,
While February was a cold month of Indiana weather, it was a month full of record-setting mentoring metrics and classes taught. I couldn’t be more grateful to serve with a team of big-hearted transformational influencers of students.
Every team member made great contributions in February and showed great adaptability and commitment to the mission and vision of student transformation, while meeting them where they are at. However, leading the way in 1:1 and Small Group Mentoring, containing Pathways to Purpose or holistic mentoring, were Ms. Mandy, Ms. Anyea, Ms. Kenneddie, Ms. Gisela, and Ms. Vanessa. Very proud of our entire team of sacrificial servant-leaders.
This year to date through February, 814 high school students and 167 alumni have been mentored through Elevate. We've also served an additional 135 elementary students in cross-age Literacy Mentoring and 75 middle school students through our Dream Alive collaboration.
As we dive into the month of March, our social media and communication are focused on spotlighting our Pathways to Purpose mentoring impact this year.
Through our Pathways to Purpose College & Career mentoring, each Elevate student receives personalized career coaching and navigation services. Together with a full-time Teacher-Mentor, students design an individualized postsecondary plan and take meaningful, practical steps to achieve it. For example, pictured in the header are a few students among a large group of Purdue Poly High School-Englewood Elevate seniors who went on a recent Ball State University college visit.
People often ask me, how do we partner with the community? Due to our mission to create sustainable change in our city, we maintain an annual SMART goal for 25% of our programming to be completed in community partnership. We track our community partner engagement monthly as well - for example, in February, 212 students engaged with community partners.
Throughout their journey, Elevate teacher-mentors walk alongside each student—guiding them from initial career exploration and program research to earning credentials that lead to viable-wage careers. Our students strengthen critical soft skills through our employability training and develop the technical, job-specific abilities needed to succeed in targeted career pathways.
Regarding our Pathways to Purpose mentoring impact for this program year, our team facilitated 1,635 career coaching sessions, 180 students attended college visits, and 162 completed 2-year post-secondary actionable plans. Not to mention, 150 students had academic check-ins in February alone. This contributed to the breadth and depth of the impact Elevate wants for these future “thriving contributors.” Your advocacy and support have made this possible!
Looking to next year, along with our core college and career mentoring best practices, we are preparing to focus on providing project-based career experiences and in-person, work-based learning opportunities through our classes and partnerships.
Thank you for supporting students as they discover their purpose and prepare for a successful future.
Serving with you,
Aaron Story
CEO & President, Elevate Indianapolis
