I'm writing as a parent of a child who benefitted greatly from participating in the Aim High program during the summer. It gave her confidence, and also made sure she was better prepared and focused on going to college. Her teachers and friends in the program have made a life long impact. Aim High has also been helpful once she was in high school to identify scholarship opportunities and ongoing learning. The outreach of the staff and teachers is amazing.
I have served on the board of Aim High for two years, and have constantly been amazed with the quality of the organization. The program is rooted in a culture of support and high ambitions, which I've found to be prevalent at all levels of the organization. I've also been very pleased with the organization's efficiency. Dollars go very far with this group, and it couldn't be for a more worthy cause. I couldn't be more enthusiastic about Aim High: great people + great culture + great model + great need + great execution = great results.
Aim High was just two years old, serving about 70 students on the Lick-Wilmerding High School campus, when I arrived as the school's head in the summer of 1988. It has been a great privilege to be involved with this extraordinary program for the past 28 years and to marvel at its growth -- first partnering with San Francisco's Urban School, then with SFUSD and to become an independent non-profit organization in 1998 that now serves over 2,200 students at 18 campuses. Throughout, the "Aim High Magic" has touched thousdands of deserving young people and hundreds of aspiring (and inspiring) teachers. Having witnessed Aim High enriching, indeed shaping, so many lives over the years, it is a pleasure to serve on its board, and my wife and I continue to designate Aim High as our #1 philanthropic beneficiary. Al Adams, Head, Lick-Wilmerding High School 1988-2011
As a Board Member, I write this Top-Rated review with pride and commitment. As a mission driven organization that continues to thrive after 30 years of service to the community, Aim High continues to elevate and innovate as the Gold Standard for free summer learning and enrichment!!! This past summer Aim high served 2181 students, provided summer jobs for 524 staff and graduated 509 rising 9th graders.
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As a student I benefitted from the tightknit community and compassionate teachers at Aim High who cared about making a genuine connection with the students, investing in us and our dreams, passions, and untapped abilities. What I loved especially about the program was its philanthropic atmosphere, promoting a communal give-and-take dynamic, where graduates of the program could come back as volunteers and give back to a program that provided so much. I returned to Aim High as a teacher, and got to sit on the other side of the desk with students, embodying the Aim High values, and invest in and watch the growth of so many bright, vivid and dynamic young minds. It was just as enriching and rewarding as my experience as a student. There truly is Aim High Magic to be felt when being part of this program. I wish every student in need could take advantage of this opportunity.
Aim High is an organization that stands out amongst the crowd. As a new board member, I was drawn to serve because Aim High is changing lives for students, teachers and broader communities. In the summer of 2016, we served over 2,200 students and employed over 500 educators across 17 sites in the Bay Area. 500 Aim High students graduated this year and we are proud to have successfully transitioned them from middle school to high school.
As a board member, I see that Aim High is highly efficient and a well-run organization. The passion and leadership of the Aim High staff is evident in everything they do. Whether it’s crafting a stimulating yet fun curriculum for students or ensuring a high return on investment for donors, the staff is thoughtful and purposeful in their decision making. I strongly encourage new donors, teachers, parents, local school districts and students to get involved.
Celebrating 30 years of service to students from lower-income neighborhoods throughout the Bay Area, Aim High is peerless in terms of the impact it has. It serves over 2100 students every summer, graduating over 500 of them to a successful transition to high school. Employing over 500 paid staff each summer, it is one of the largest teacher professional development programs in the Bay Area. By employing graduates of the program as teachers, it encourages the next generation of teachers and leaders, and creates a cycle of improvement in the communities that it serves. More than an "education" non-profit, Aim High truly does provide life changing opportunities during the summer and beyond, for its students, their teachers, and the neighborhoods that the live in.
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Guided by research, Aim High's program was developed to address three critical but often overlooked factors in what it takes to improve educational outcomes for under-resourced students. Specifically, Aim High focuses on summer, middle school, and teacher professional development.
First, summer matters. Research shows that summer learning loss disproportionately negatively impacts students who are less well off. While improvements in school-year education are necessary to improve the outlook for all students, they are not sufficient to close the achievement gap between upper and lower income students. Aim High combats summer learning loss and attempts to narrow this achievement gap through its free academic and enriching summer learning program.
Second, middle school matters. Research shows that success in middle school is a strong predictor of a successful transition to and ultimate graduation from high school. Aim High's multi-year program, offered to students in the summers before their 7th, 8th, and 9th grade years, promotes success in middle school and a successful transition to high school. Aim High hopes to reach middle school students that are statistically at risk for dropping out of high school, support them and set them off on a high school graduation trajectory.
Third, teacher professional development matters. Research shows that more experienced teachers are generally better teachers, and that access to professional development opportunities is strongly tied to how long teachers remain in the profession. Every summer, Aim High provides weeks of training and development opportunities to the over 400 teachers that it employs, and gives those teachers an opportunity to hone new skills during the summer months so that they may be employed during the school year for the benefit of all of their students, not just their Aim High students.
Aim High is a model for targeted intervention to improve the educational outlook for under-resrouced students. It deserves your support and deserves to be replicated.
It is with pride and humble gratitude that I have been a part of the Aim High family for 15 years. I started as a site director in Chinatown. During that summer, we were to celebrate a mile-stone year of my Co-Director, Matt Reno. As I interviewed students, teachers and parents for anecdotes and appreciations about Matt, I'll never forget what Deborah (an intern at the time) told me. She said, "Matt Reno saved my life. I was an Aim High student but got side tracked and wasn't going to return. I was getting into trouble, failing out of school, and disconnecting from my family. Matt came and found me and encouraged me to return. I got back on track and haven't lost site of what's important to me since. He is why I graduated, became a TA and am now a teacher here." This is one of many Aim High stories. All of which are a testament to the incredible families Aim High serves, the fantastic teachers Aim High employs and the tremendous impact Aim High makes while building community. Congratulations on 30 years, Aim High!! We will all benefit from many more!
My first introduction to Aim High was many years ago when it was operating under the auspices of Lick Wilmerding High School. I watched the program in action one day, and was stunned by the high quality of the program. I am an independent school educator, experienced in evaluating curriculum and the way it is delivered by teachers. What I saw that morning, delivered free to under-served middle school children, equaled, and in some areas, surpassed the very best middle school independent programs. The specific markers I looked for were all there: teachers skillfully calibrating their methods, minute by minute, as the lessons proceeded; intensely engaged students accepting the challenge of stretching themselves so that they were creating the knowledge, finding the answers, instead of being told them. I watched happy kids in a nurturing community realizing that learning is self empowering. So when Aim High became an independent not for profit organization, I became a board member.
Since that time Aim High has grown to serve 2,200 students. And, by diligent, data-based evaluation, both internal and external, has consistently refined and improved the program. Moreover, by intentional, carefully considered strategies, Aim High has managed its growth, not only to serve more children, but also to grow continually stronger as an organization with ambitious plans to expand to 6,000 students by 2020.
Research tells us that middle school is critical. Research also tells us that children in low-income situations fall behind academically in the summer. Thus Aim High's focus is exactly where it should be: an exemplary summer program of academics and youth development for under-served middle school children.
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I have been involved with a great many non profit organizations, and I can say with no reservations that Aim High is the best run of them all. Every minute of contributed work by volunteers, and every dollar given the organization goes directly to provide a life-changing educational experience to wonderful middle school boys and girls from low income families. There is just no waste. The mission is clear, its execution superb. If you want to make a difference, get behind this excellent organization
I am a board member at Aim High and proud to be associated with a high functioning organization that has consistently delivered outstanding programs to Bay Area students for over 30 years.
As a donor to Aim High, I am delighted with the incredible efficiency of its operation - expanding both the breadth and depth of its services each year and being responsible stewards of the organization's mission.
