Harlem Lacrosse and Leadership Corporation

The class of 2023 represents an important milestone for Harlem Lacrosse. Four years ago, as this cohort entered high school, our board approved a new strategic plan for the organization. The guiding principle of that plan was our commitment to serving students from 6th grade through high school graduation. We used the strategic planning process to highlight our core belief that we can have the biggest impact, by serving a smaller number of students, with great depth, over the course of many years. The plan articulated our commitment to depth over breadth, and our belief that long term outcomes require long-term engagement, and investment. The class of 2023 became the first cohort of Harlem Lacrosse students to enter high school, with this strategic vision in place. The class of 2023 includes 61 students, of whom 35 are the first in their family to attend college, and 36 who are now playing college Lacrosse. Collectively, they've earned more than $1.5 million in grants and scholarships to attend their postsecondary institutions this year alone.academic achievements:harlem Lacrosse participants are student-athletes, pursuing success on and off the field. This school year, participants continued to demonstrate academic success and growth. Student-athletes' families shared that being part of hl improved academic motivation (90%) and academic performance (85%) in the classroom. Hl participants averaged an 80.4% gpa with a 3.7% gpa growth from the previous school year. Most importantly, students who averaged below a 70% gpa last school year showed an improvement of 34% in their gpa this school year. Students who struggled the prior academic year achieved the largest increases in their gpa this year. In addition to academic growth, school attendance also increased. Students who were chronically absent last year attended on average 5 more days of school this year.athletic achievements:lacrosse is at the core of everything we do. Our commitment to building Lacrosse competency has enabled us to field competitive boys and girls national teams that proudly feature elite players from all five Harlem Lacrosse regionsa testament to the athletic growth players experience within our program. Across the board this year, student-athletes saw tangible growth in their physical fitness. Participants averaged an increase of 11 laps on the pacer fitness test demonstrating significant increases in healthy fitness zones as measured by the boston children's hospital. Participants also grew an average of 8 repetitions on the wall ball stickwork test used to measure Lacrosse skill acquisition.social-emotional growth:a foundation of the Harlem Lacrosse model is a focus on supporting youth to develop critical social emotional skills and mindsets that help them to achieve their goals. This year, 94% of hl students grew in at least one of our five core areas of social emotional growth. 89% of families reported that their children improved relationships with their peers and 87% of families reported that their child had improved relationships with adults as a result of Harlem Lacrosse. Furthermore, 92% of families reported that their child improved their growth mindset and 82% of school partners indicated that hl students increased their self-regulation as a result of Harlem Lacrosse. Harlem Lacrosse plays a critical role in forging meaningful relationships in the lives of participants and building soft skills in the classroom, on the field, and in the community.