Project Success-Students Undertaking Creative Control

“Line 11a explanation - the 990 is signed and reviewed by the executive director and approved in their monthly meeting”

“The conflict of interest policy is reviewed annually and any conflicts are brought to the appropriate personnel or board member's attention”

“As a part of a comprehensive performance management program, project success has implemented a formal compensation review process for key employees including the executive director. The process is managed by the chair of the board and the chair of the governance committee with assistance of a third-party hr consultant: 1. Comparable salary from similarily situated organizations for functionally like roles is obtained and relied upon to determine an appropriate range of pay. 2. The compensation recommendation is reviewed and approved by the full board of directors and appropriately documented in the minutes including: a. The decision and the date it was approved b. The members of the board who were present for the debate and the votes cast by those who voted on it c. The comparability data obtained and relied upon (and documentation about why and deviation from the data's ranges were approved), and d. Documentation the approval occured without the participation of any board members who had a conflict of interest”

“The conflict of interest policy is reviewed annually and any conflicts are brought to the appropriate personnel or board member's attention”

“Project success believes the key to success exists within each student if empowered to unlock it. Our vision is that every child entering middle school will graduate high school with a plan for their future and have the skills and resilience that will take them through the rest of their lives. Minnesota faces very real inequities between students' access to developmental experiences and relationships that prepare them for future success. Since 1994, project success (ps) has helped more than 100,000 students dream big and dig deep into discovering their potential through a model of experience learning that is unique nationally in methodology, scale and access and proven to help students build the skills and relationships needed to increase academic engagement and prepare for success in life, college and career. Methodology: over the course of 7 years - from 6th through 12th grade - we engage students and their families in- and outside of class with: 1) a curriculum designed for whole-child development; 2) developmental experiences through the arts, expeditions and certificates; and 3) mentorship with caring, professional, culturally competent, diverse educators called "facilitators". The relationships we build with students and families - sometimes for seven or more years - allows us to reach students that may otherwise fall through the 'cracks,' especially during times of uncertainty. Scale: ps has developed strong school partnerships that allow us to work with each student at 26 minneapolis public schools (mps), totaling nearly 16,000 students. Ps is the only mps community partner given time on a regular monthly basis to conduct programming (our goal-setting workshops) with each student in every english, special education (sped), and english learner (el) classroom. In fact, we are the only organization that works with nearly an entire district's middle and high school student population. Access: while other programs are available, barriers to access them -time, transportation, childcare, meals, language, cost, selection criteria, cultural and religious practices, and cognitive, behavioral and physical differences - have made it more challenging for students and families to participate. We specialize in addressing and eliminating barriers and providing a welcoming, inclusive environment so students are more likely to show up, and we reach students other programs may not. Our participants have told us so. Project success programming positively impacts academic engagement and achievement and readiness for life, college and career through our work in three areas: *social and emotional skill development: ps students build an integrated identity with self-awareness and regulation, knowledge and skills, positive mindsets and core values that are critical to their academic success and life and career readiness. *school connectedness: students are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors and succeed academically when they feel connected to school and the academic work they are expected to do. Ps students connect what they are doing in school with their own goals and dreams, therefore developing a stronger commitment to learning. *access to developmental experiences: students learn better and more when they have a rich variety of opportunities through which to grow and develop skills, knowledge and a sense of purpose. Ps students develop greater competency and the ability to make choices about and take an active role in their own life paths. Independent evaluations by the university of minnesota center for applied research and educational improvement (carei) report that: *91% of middle school students in project success indicated the program "helped me think about my future and 88% said the program "helped me to set goals." *90% of high school students said project success "helped me create a plan for after graduation." *when asked who "assisted you in future planning," 89% of high school students rated project success ahead of frien”

“Certificates- the project success institute: the institute was built on the reality that for today's students to stay in school and prepare for post-secondary success, they need significantly more support and resources-especially low-income students and students of color which make up 65% of the minneapolis public schools student population. Students need to explore career opportunities, to develop hard competencies, life and soft skills, visit colleges and workplaces first-hand to for research and selection, and integrate all these elements into a practical plan as they make post-secondary plans. But the reality is that students are facing fewer career-planning and independent learning opportunities due to declining funding and access to guidance counselors and courses like financial literacy - in fact, minnesota's student-to-counselor ration ranks 48th in the nation. In september 2018 - after a year of pilot testing - project success launched new programs at the project success institute, offering minneapolis high school students workshops and 10-week courses to earn certificates in the arts, financial literacy, wellness, and computer coding. They complete the program with a broader sense of the occupations and lifestyles available to them, and skills needed to succeed in post-secondary education and the workplace. Several aspects of the institute distinguish it from other programs. First, programming happens during the evening and weekends when school-based college and career centers are closed. Second, because project success is so strongly embedded in the schools, we are aware of needs and possibilities that can have an immediate impact. And third, while other programs are available in our community, students have shared that barriers to access the programs - including time, transportation, cost and relevancy - have made it more challenging for them to participate. Because of our long-term, trusting relationship with students and their families all 26 of our partner schools, our proven methodology in experience learning, and our expertise in providing programs at a large scale successfully addressing both access and equity, our students are more likely to participate. They have told us as much. During the 2020-21 school year, the institute was closed to students physically but continued online for students through live, interactive meetings, courses and activities. More than 156 unique students developed skills, knowledge, and career- and life-readiness through earning certificates in coding, cooking, financial literacy and creating musical theater. Total student participation was 258, which means more than 100 students participated in more than one trimester - more than doubling our average annual attendance. Average attendance rate was 99% per 2-hr weekly class. Students from every mps high school participated. Objectives included helping students gain technical, workforce readiness and social and emotional skills as well as awareness of the career path options after high school. The ps institute saw more than 2,700 web page views.”

“Curriculum: project success' goals for students are informed by social and emotional learning frameworks, such as the collaborative for academic, social and emotional learning (casel), and include clear objectives built into our curriculum. Our curriculum is incorporated into all project success activities, maximizing students' experiences by building skills needed for a successful transition to adulthood and the motivation to achieve their goals, which leads to an increase in academic engagement. Our curriculum objectives are cumulative, building on each year with students over seven years. Our goals are to motivate and empower students to know more about themselves, each other, and their values; identify support; make conscious decisions; reflect on their experiences in relationship to their futures; overcome obstacles; set and achieve goals; create a plan for their futures; and successfully transition to high school, college, career and life. Our curriculum is built and delivered with culturally responsive teaching strategies and facilitated by professional and diverse staff called "facilitators," who stay with students as they move through grades, developing supportive relationships along the way. The foundation of our curricular model is our in-class goal-setting workshop. Through workshops, project success serves the entire student body in every partner school, rather than a small slice of the population. Facilitators lead monthly goal-setting workshops in every english/language arts, sped and el classroom for each student (there are no selection criteria). They provide time and space for facilitated discussion and exploration to help students discover who they are and what they want out of life so they can build the connection between academic persistence now and success in meeting their goals in the future. Each ps facilitator spends 2 hours a month training in culturally responsive teaching (crt), ensuring that we acknowledge and value the cultural backgrounds, identities, and ancestral knowledge that each student and their family brings to our community. Through ps, student voice and power are elevated, and crt strategies are proven to teachers, improving classroom climate. Students deepen their relationships and feel seen, valued and heard. Through the trust we build with students, we hear from them every day about their needs, goals and dreams. We are the only program that comes to every english, sped and el classroom, every month for each student. Throughout all grades, our classroom workshops are regularly adapted to meet the unique needs of the classroom, a group of students, and individual and cultural learning styles, and are continuously evaluated for quality and effectiveness. In march 2020, the covid-19 pandemic triggered a stay-at-home order from minnesota governor tim walz, drastically changing how our teachers and project success could deliver curriculum. Moving swiftly and embracing technology and innovation, our staff dynamic-adapted our curriculum to a 100% virtual environment in new ways. Students remained in distance learning through june 2021 and project success continued to create new ways to innovate content delivery and connections with students. During the 2020-21 school year, ps provided both pre-recorded and live virtual workshops in our partner teachers' google classrooms monthly for each student designed to help students prepare for their futures. Each month, ps provided wither recorded videos (called "ps go") for each grade that our partner teachers built into their lesson plans, or live workshops delivered by our facilitators. Facilitators delivered more than 1,000 workshops during the school year. Teachers shared that ps workshops in their google classrooms were a boost in student engagement and allowed teachers to see students who only turned on their cameras for ps workshops.”

“Arts - professional theater experiences for students and families: the national endowment for the arts reports that arts engagement can help narrow the achievement gap, contributing to graduation rates, college completion rates, and setting students up for greater employment opportunities. Unfortunately, access to arts experiences for low-income students has declined by about 20% over the past decade, meaning those most likely to benefit are less likely to have access. Before each school year begins, project success staff works with our theater and school partner staff to identify theatrical productions that address issues relevant to the program's participants. Project success staff then reads the suggested scripts to determine the appropriateness of the themes and language for the different grade levels of our students, constructing theater "seasons." our 40+ generous theater partners donate the tickets, and project success sends invitations to students' households, takes reservations, greets students and their families at the theater and provides free transportation and child-care, if needed, through a dedicated volunteer driver and child-care worker force. Project success also works with theater and school partners to coordinate class and school field trips to see theater during the school day. Project success' classroom workshop themes are tied into the plays to which the students are invited. These discussions and events enable project success staff to continue to adjust the theater experiences and classroom workshops to the needs and interests of the participants and allow our teacher partners to capitalize on engaging experiences that help students connect with their academic work. Through project success, students and their families - many of whom would not otherwise have the means to experience the twin cities' vibrant arts community - attend diverse theater performances together, enriching their shared family and school community experiences and increasing opportunities for bonding interactions, which can lead to more positive family and school relationships and greater home/peer support for youth - shown to have a positive impact on student achievement. In march 2020, the covid-19 pandemic drastically changed how project success brings arts to students and families. All our theater partners were forced to cancel the rest of their seasons. We responded by providing workshop videos and activities that follow along with performances and films easily accessible online through our new project success virtual environment. During the 2020-21 school year, project success provided the opportunity for 500 unique students and family members to attend virtual performances through ps handpicked online theater opportunities to view on their own, and to for teachers to use as virtual "field trips." ps also worked with professional theater partners and artists to offer virtual artist residencies in students' english classes. School musicals: middle school is a critical time for students to build their confidence and belief in their ability to succeed and bolster their sense of belonging. Schools are experiencing dwindling resources allocated for providing quality arts programming for students, which has shown to improve student confidence and achievement. Project success offers students opportunities to participate in an annual school musical, which helps students build the perseverance, confidence and skills that are needed to put on a high-quality production, experience success, and develop peer and community support. Project success coordinates the entire production. Students work in front of and behind the scenes, interacting directly with professional artists and quality equipment. They rehearse every day after school for eight weeks, culminating in school and public performances for hundreds of audience members. Project success staff incorporate our curriculum goals into each rehearsal to help students understand the relevan”

“Expeditions - college and career tours: using our proven curriculum, we design our college tours to empower students think critically about their post-secondary education options, open new doors for their future, and create actionable plans to achieve their dreams. Our college and career tours ignite new career possibilities for students as they explore their future options and connect with real life professionals to deepen their understanding of various career fields and the education and training needed to pursue them. Ps organizes and hosts state and national college tours to an average of 25-30 colleges/university campuses annually. Our curriculum includes an intentional look at not just the college institutions, but also allow time and space for students to think critically about what the surrounding neighborhood offers its community - to see beyond the academics. We offer in-state tours at no charge and scholarships are offered to students who do not have the means to pay for the cost of out-of-state tours. Our global experience tours to boston and washington d.c. Include tours of boston university, harvard and howard university - a historically black college and university (hbcu) for 90 english learner and 60 african american students, respectively. Project success college and career tours visited both colleges and a variety of workplaces to explore careers in healthcare, entrepreneurship, cosmetology, performing arts and culinary arts. Hands-on, behind-the-scenes tours of professional workplaces allows students to imagine themselves in that space. This programming connects our certificates program (see line 4d) and our college tours to deepen the impact of our diverse programs for students. The coronavirus pandemic had a significant impact on how we help student with their college and career planning. Ps adapted and innovated to offer the following activities for students: *college and career tours - ps provided 35 live and pre-recorded admissions and workplace chats online, now a library of options on our website, available at any time. More than 300 students registered for the live events and visits to our college and career web pages for viewing videos totaled more than 7,500 views. *college success workshops - 35 unique students spent multiple days of their spring break with ps facilitators engaging in live online activities about the college experience with topics including choosing a school, how to pay for college, and making the most of the college experience. *college conversations podcast - more than 32 interviews with mps students and alumni, and experts on college-related topics designed to inform students' decision-making process. Episodes feature topics such as first-generation scholars, financial aid, community and campus support, choosing the right college, stem college and careers, business degrees, being a college athlete and pathways after high school. Analysis of project success participation data by the minneapolis public schools department of research, evaluation and assessment shows that: *67% of all students who attend project success college tours are more likely to graduate on time than students who do not participate. *high school students who participate in at least one project success college tour show an increase of 2% in graduation rates across all populations. *african-american and latino students who participate in a college tour show a 5% average increase in grade point average (gpa), or 21% after 4 years, greater than those that did not participate. Expeditions - outdoor and wilderness adventures: each school year, project success offers outdoor and stem experience learning opportunities aimed to introduce our students to the nature in their own "backyards", build supportive peer and adult relationships and sense of belonging, and see themselves in stem-related career fields. For example, river and outdoor adventure field trip days are designed to help sixth grade students transition s”