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”

“Mission & vision: project success motivates and inspires young people to dream about the future, helps them take steps to get there and gives them the tools they need to achieve their goals.our vision is that every child entering middle school will graduate high school with a plan for their future and have the skills and confidence that will take them through the rest of their lives. Innovative approach: project success is a catalyst for self-discovery that ignites possibility with students. We invest deeply in youth because we believe the key to success exists within each individual if empowered to unlock it. Our proven methodology inspires deeper engagement from students, increases academic performance, and sets the stage for future success. Since 1994, project success (ps) has been connecting students to their purpose through proven methodology of experiential learning called dig. Dig is identified by three strategic objectives for students, grades 6-12: dream big: this phase opens minds. Championing boundless thinking and risk-taking to empower trust in oneself and others. Ps helps students create purposeful futures, helping them unlock opportunities that express their true authentic selves by imagining the possibilities, making sense of their choices, and having fun along the way. Ignite possibilities: this phase connects to ideas. Teaching the value of successes and failures to embolden critical thinking and understanding. From 6th to 12th grade, ps is a trusted companion in students' lives. Engaging in experiential learning is an invitation to learn, be immersed in new perspectives, and exposed to new challenges. Students get to know themselves - and the world around them - better. Grow exponentially: this phase moves to action. Preparing promising futures via unique resources - to expand one's personal vision. Over seven years, students gain the information and tools to grow broadly and deeply. Through dig, students build the agency, competencies and integrated identity research has shown that young adults need to fulfill their goals. For three decades and counting, hundreds of thousands of students have benefited from project success and our proven methodology, dig - advancing self-fulfilling futures for youth in minneapolis, mankato and beyond. Curriculum: dig is fulfilled through a proprietary curriculum of four components: workshops: in-class activities guide cumulative development for students, gaining tools, purpose, and confidence. Each month, a ps facilitator guides experiential programming that complements the students' academic work. Annually, 17,000 students in minneapolis and mankato area public schools participate in in-class workshops. Arts: theater experiences create a springboard for discussion, inviting risk-taking and possibility. Observing live theater performances and participating in staged productions gives students a window into the performing arts, from front of stage to behind the scenes. Annually, 9,000 students and their families attend live theater and other arts experiences. Expeditions: adventure trips to colleges, workplaces, cities, and nature settings open new perspectives for one's potential in the world. Supervised trips (locally to globally) are purposefully planned based on students' interests, availability and need. More than 3,000 students experience outdoor field trips, bwca and apostle island trips, college and career tours, and global experiences. Institute: certificates and other programs build critical life and career skills that enrich one's independence. Participating in out-of-school courses and events led by diverse and experienced content experts satisfies students' interests and provides relevant skills for the future. Annually, more than 1,000 students participate in institute programming including certificates, career pathways, and the best buy teen tech center at project success. Nearly all programming is offered at no cost to students and families. For the few progr”

“In-class workshops: the foundation of our curricular model is our in-class goal-setting workshop. Through workshops, project success works with the entire student body in every partner school, rather than a small slice of the population. Facilitators are embedded in every english/language arts, special education (sped) and english learner (el) classroom for each student (there are no selection criteria) to lead monthly goal-setting workshops. Workshops provide time and space for facilitated discussion and exploration to help students explore "who am i? What do i want for my future?" so they can build the connection between academic persistence now and success in meeting their goals in the future. Each ps facilitator regularly trains in culturally responsive teaching, 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 our teaching 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 6-12 grade student in minneapolis public schools (mps) and for each 6-8 grade student in mankato area public schools (maps). 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. During the 2024-25 school year, our team of 11 facilitators worked with 17,446 students at 22 schools through 4,510 monthly in-class workshops, helping them build self-awareness, explore interests, and envision their futures. By hosting monthly workshops, weaving our curriculum into lesson plans, and collaborating with ps facilitators, our 224 partner teachers helped students connect what they're learning in school to who they are and who they want to become - deepening classroom relationships and creating space for meaningful conversation.”

“Arts - professional theater experiences for students and families: research has shown impressive benefits of arts education on entire school culture - especially student motivation, attitudes, and attendance. Numerous reports discuss the ways that increased access and involvement in the arts encourage students to stay in school, and succeed in school, work, and life. Unfortunately, in minnesota, there is a "donut effect" to the access of arts education offerings where inner city schools and rural schools report less access, and schools in the suburban ring tend to report offering better access. This "donut" disproportionately affects students and families of color, indigenous students and families, or low-income families. Project success thoughtfully selects productions with our 50+ theater partners, matching show content to the curriculum in our workshops and emphasizing the cultural relevance of the production to ensure that students see themselves reflected on stage. Ps program staff coordinate production selection, obtaining tickets at no cost through theater partners, sending invitations to each student (offered in four languages), providing online guides, taking reservations, contacting families in their own languages, offering transportation and child-care and more. All ps students and their families are invited to attend at least 80 professional arts experiences throughout the year. Ps theater experiences and theater field trips (during the school day) are managed by the ps theater team, which manages each professional theater partner relationship, coordinates offerings with partner teachers, and works with the greater ps program team to facilitate the student/family experience. The team includes program coordinators, and a theater curriculum manager who researches each production, builds curriculum and online guides, and works with workshop and other program staff to invite and prepare students for each experience. 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. During the 2024-25 school year, 1,100 students and families experienced live theater in the evenings and on weekends, some for the first time (for a total of 6,909 tickets used), strengthening connections and sparking discussion. 4,383 students and 325 teachers also participated in theater field trips and artist residencies during the school day, increasing access to the arts and sparking creativity. School musicals: middle school is a critical time for students to build their confidence, belief in their ability to succeed, and 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 middle school 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 an”

“Expeditions - college and career tours: through the ps dig methodology, ps college tour curriculum empowers students to think critically about their post-secondary education options, open new doors for their future, and create actionable plans to achieve their dreams. Ps career tours ignite new career possibilities for students as they tour workplaces, learn about the types of careers available to them beyond the most visible roles, and get firsthand experience of a workplace, profession, or industry to help them dream about and plan for their futures. Ps organizes and hosts tours to several college campuses and workplaces annually, introducing a wide diversity of college options, such as 4-year, 2-year, hbcu, tribal, and trade- specific, and career pathways and fields like healthcare, aviation, food science and professional sports management. Ps college and career tour curriculum includes an intentional look at not just the institution or organization but also allows time and space for students to think critically about what the surrounding neighborhood offers its community - to see beyond the academics or job. Offered on non-school days, ps provides transportation, food, and materials. Ps also offers college and career tours as school-day field trips in partnership with mps high school teachers. 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. During the 2024-25 school year, on non-school days and through field trips, 843 high school students participated in 27 ps college tours, helping them connect their passions to future pathways, learn how to make conscious choices, and reduce their uncertainty about what's next. Through ps, 88 students explored career possibilities through workplace tours with delta techops, mn twins, mn united, and vikings entertainment network. We plan on continuing to grow this program and integrate it more with college tours in the coming year. 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, ps designs river and outdoor adventure field trip to help sixth grade students transition successfully into middle school. Ps designs family outdoor adventure days to inspire students and their families to get to know the vast urban park system in the twin cities and learn more ways to interact with nature. Each summer, project success keeps inspiring students by offering two special annual overnight outdoor adventure trips for middle school students: one to the boundary waters canoe area wilderness (bwca) and one to the apostle islands national lakeshore. Since 1999, project success has taken middle school students to the bwca. During this seven-day adventure, campers learn to work together to paddle and portage canoes, set up and break down camp, cook their own food, clean up without making an impact on the natural environment, and spend every evening reflecting as a group on the activities of the day and the plan for the next day. This activity takes everything we teach during our in-class project success workshops and helps students apply that knowledge in a real-world experience. They develop positive behaviors and durable skills, such as goal sett”

“Project success institute: certificates and other programs build critical life and career skills that enrich one's independence. Participating in out-of-school courses and events led by diverse and experienced content experts satisfies students' interests and provides relevant skills for the future. Students need to explore career opportunities, develop technical and durable skills, gain hands-on experiences, 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 2025, we worked with mps to analyze the demographics of the students who participated in our 2023-25 college and career readiness programs outside of class. Of the participants, participation rate is higher among students who belong to historically marginalized or disinvested groups than the total student population: - 83% are bipoc - 78% qualified for free/reduced lunch - 85% of students are on track to graduate institute - certificates and "day of" programs at the project success institute, minneapolis high school students can attend workshops and multi-week courses to earn certificates in various focus areas. Students spend 2 hours/week over a 6 to 10-week course learning portable skills, knowledge and confidence for life and various careers after high school. Ps offers three trimesters of free courses for up to 300 students per year. Course offerings have included coding, cooking, baking, money management, podcasting, filmmaking, theater tech, and bike tech by project success, and entrepreneurship (offered virtually) by girls with impact, hosted by project success. All ps courses occur at ps headquarters campus in one of three learning spaces. Professional instructors lead courses, with support from volunteer mentors. Ps provides free shuttle transportation for all students, and additional 1:1 support is available for any student. The courses give students dedicated time outside of school to build skills and knowledge, self-sufficiency, explore potential education and career paths and build skills that will allow them to enter adulthood and the workforce after graduation with confidence. Students 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. Ps also offers "day of" events for student cohorts - both during the school day as a field trip and on non-school days. "day of" events - such as "day of filmmaking" offer high school students a focused exploration of career and life skills. They experience hands-on learning taught by subject matter experts. During the 2024-25 school year, in 6-10-week courses over three trimesters, 147 students earned 270 certificates of learning, including in subjects bike tech, filmmaking, culinary arts, budget-friendly cooking, creative writing, and website portfolio building. Ps also piloted "real life finance en espaol" for 13 spanish-speaking students at south high school, designed to meet both language and accessibility needs. Through these courses, students worked with ps facilitators and community experts to gain practical skills, expand their ideas of what's possible, and build confidence for life after high school. Students learned from 27 different community experts, who brought real-world perspectives, enriching the learning experience. Finally, ps launched the institute support team, employing current high school students to support program delivery (including supporting multilingual students with english language translation) and provide feedback for planning and implementation. Institute - career pathways project success has always been at the forefront of creating innovative programs that conne”

“The process has not changed from the previous year.”