Nearly 400 champions, supporters, and student ambassadors joined us on October 19th to celebrate Student Leadership Network’s impact on advancing educational equity. For the first time in the event’s history, the (Em)Power Breakfast honored three alumni across both of our girls’ education and college access programs who are creating change in their communities. The theme for this year’s event – “Writing the Next Chapter” – truly reflects our organization’s commitment to continued learning and growth. We are incredibly proud of our growing alumni network as together, they are a key part of our future success.
We had an excellent start to the school year! Our students at The Young Women’s Leadership School (TYWLS) of Manhattan, formerly of East Harlem, have settled into their new home and are enjoying all the benefits of their spacious new location. We are also thrilled to announce that Devon Eisenberg, co-founder and principal at TYWLS Bronx, was honored with the People and Parks Award on September 28th by the City Parks Foundation. Additionally, Ivy Prep, a kindergarten through eighth-grade girls charter school in Atlanta, has been working with our Girls’ Education team for the past two years and this year joins our network as our first Georgia affiliate!
CollegeBound Initiative (CBI) is operating in 33 partner schools throughout New York State this school year, including our newest partners, Spring Creek Community School in Brooklyn, Urban Assembly Maker Academy in Manhattan, and International Preparatory School and Burgard High School in Buffalo. The CBI team has been training on and preparing to support our students with changes to the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. The need for guidance from our directors of college counseling is more important now than ever, with a shortened timeline to apply for FAFSA impacting our families’ abilities to estimate financial aid and navigate college affordability. This year alone, nearly 17,000 students in NYC, Rochester, and Buffalo will be impacted by our college access and success programming. Thanks to your support, we continue to make a difference in the lives of so many young people who deserve for their dreams to come true.
Through FY23, we doubled our impact, serving nearly twice as many students compared to this time last year, with growth across all of our programs. Given the majority of this growth came from our district work in Buffalo, we are excited to build on this momentum and support other districts to improve postsecondary outcomes for their students. We deeply appreciate your continued support as we partner on another inspiring year!
Always my best,
Yolonda B. Marshall
Chief Executive Officer