Emily K Center

The Center operates four programs that are all aligned with The goal of providing academic support, college readiness and college completion support for students who face The most pronounced barriers to successfully navigating and completing higher education. Our three enrollment-based K to college programs are described below.the pioneer scholars program ensures that our elementary and middle school students are building their academic and personal leadership skills, achieving in school, and laying The foundation for future college success. During The 2022-2023 academic year, a total of 67 students participated in The pioneer scholars, including 34 elementary students and 33 middle school students. The program operated in person five days per week for an average of 7.5 hours per week of instructional time, plus an additional 7.5 hours per week for pre-programming activities, including physical recreation and homework assistance. In a widespread environment of learning loss, our scholars demonstrated modest learning gains and ended The year above state metrics for their demographic: for students in grades 3-8, 68% met or exceeded statewide reading benchmarks and 57% met or exceeded math benchmarks. Additionally, in an effort to stem summer learning loss, The pioneer scholars program also operated a four-week summer scholars program. Fifty students attended summer scholars and completed a total of 84 hours of in-person, project-based academic enrichment and skill-building designed to ensure their readiness for The year ahead. Lastly, in addition to academic enrichment and support, all students benefited from The integration of socioemotional learning into programming. These activities were designed to proactively build students' ability to manage emotions, cope with stress and problem-solve. Additionally, 10% of students received targeted individualized support or interventions to address specific socioemotional challenges.the scholars to college program is designed to assist high school students who face barriers to higher education to succeed academically and personally, graduating from high school scholarship-eligible and college-ready. This year, our 114 enrolled high school students participated in an average of up to 5.5 hours of weekly curriculum-based instruction, individualized academic coaching and college advising, 1:1 tutoring, standardized test preparation, college visits, leadership development and cultural enrichment activities. Additionally, students attended a one or two week summer "boot camp" totaling an average of 15 hours of direct instruction. Our juniors in The class of 2024 participated in 12 hours of act test prep. As a result of this intervention, our scholars demonstrated a 61% increase in their scores, and 87% of our scholars demonstrated proficiency, as compared with The local district proficiency rate of 38%. The highest gains were in math (113%) and science (700%). 100% of our high school seniors graduated high school on time, and this group of 28 seniors earned 186 college acceptances to 63 colleges. The majority (94%) of their direct college costs are covered by gift aid. Finally, socioemotional learning embedded into scholars to college programming included setting healthy boundaries, goal setting, coping with stress and anxiety, defining and solving problems, managing your emotions, and managing financial and school decisions. 18% of students in this program received 1:1 socioemotional support to assist them in overcoming specific challenges. The scholars on campus program ensures that students who complete The scholars to college program and opt to continue in our college completion program successfully transition to and complete higher education by supporting their development in The areas of academic and campus engagement, career development, and financial responsibility through a robust advising and support model. This year, 106 scholars on campus students, who are in their first through sixth year of college, participated in pre-college transition programming, capacity-building workshops, individualized advising and coaching, campus visits and professional mentoring. First year persistence rates for scholars on campus students was 93%, and The six year completion rate was 85%, in contrast to 35% for students across The nation.

In addition to college access programming, The Center enhances The impact of local organizations through facility partnerships by serving as a home and resource for nonprofits, schools, and community groups as they convene, learn, and grow. We continued to serve as The home gym for two schools and support numerous other organizations with weekly, monthly and annual meetings, programming, and event space. In 2022-23, The Center partnered with more than 20 organizations. The Center is open to facility partner usage on average 55 hours a week and provides space for free to over 90% of these partners, resulting in significant rental savings for these organizations.

The Emily K Center's game plan: college program provides postsecondary information, advising and support to high school students in durham through strong partnerships with our local school district as well as local community based organizations. Through this program, we are able to contribute to both The district's and The Center's shared goal of ensuring that all students have equitable access to The information and support they need to pursue their postsecondary goals. Students who will be The first in their Family to attend college, who come from low income Family backgrounds, and who are members of racial/ethnic groups that are under-represented in higher education are The target population for this program, although any student who resides in durham and/or attends a durham public schools high school can access The services.this year, The game plan: college program served 2031 students through The delivery of 100 curriculum-based workshops and 29 special events or initiatives. As a result of participating in college access workshops, students reported a 76% increase in knowledge gained about The college access topic presented. Additionally, our game plan: college team met The postsecondary planning needs of high school students through The delivery of 413 1:1 advising sessions to 234 students. These sessions supported students to move forward in their postsecondary exploration, planning and application completion processes. While our delivery of these services is designed to support any student who resides in or attends a high school in durham, we are especially focused on reaching students within our target population. Our most intensive service, 1:1 advising, was predominantly delivered to students within this target population: 44% of students will be The first in their Family to attend college, 49% of students participate in The free and reduced priced lunch program (24% were unsure), and 74% of students were from racial backgrounds that are traditionally under-represented in higher education.