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August represents a period of transition at tnAchieves! Not only is it an opportunity to reflect on summer accomplishments, we also begin to look forward to a new group of students - hello, Class of 2024!!
The Class of 2024 will be the 10th cohort of TN Promise students! During our earlier days, our board chairman, Randy Boyd, and I had a conversation about how amazing it would be to send 10,000 students to college; keep in mind, 493 students applied our first year as knoxAchieves! Now, 10 years after the launch of TN Promise, we support more than 15,000 students each and every year as they transition from high school to college! While our program looks very different 15 years from our launch, our mission (and our deep commitment to our students) remains the same. You are receiving this newsletter because at some point in the last 15 years you have played a part in the tnAchieves story! Whether you are a current student, graduate, parent, mentor or community partner, we hope you know how much your piece of the tnAchieves story means to us! And I believe, we are just getting started! This summer was our busiest yet with summer programs at all 13 Tennessee community colleges, a record number of community service hours and an opportunity to connect with so many of our valued stakeholders. Throughout June and July more than 600 students participated in a summer program, which help prepare them for their first semester of college. Impressively, 89% of students found success and 96% stated that they felt more prepared for college after participating in a program. We are grateful to our community college partners for supporting these annual programs! On July 5, TN Promise students completed a record number of community service hours - more than 350,000! Students volunteered through local organizations, helping to meet the needs of their communities. They also participated in job shadowing experiences which help prepare them for future career opportunities. Thank you to the thousands of community partners that connect our students with amazing volunteer opportunities. To date, our students have given back over 4.5 million hours of community service!! As we continue to think about how we can best serve students, we have enjoyed spending time in communities learning how we can be more helpful. From Memphis to Blountville, we have appreciated perspectives and feedback from our stakeholders. Sharing the impressive impact of proactive college coaching and completion grants has been so exciting. After gathering for our annual August staff retreat, our team is primed and ready to serve the Class of 2023 as they begin college! For the next three weeks, our team will be on campuses around the state becoming acquainted with their new cohorts. These meetings will be a launching point for proactive coaching as students navigate their journeys through college. We are more than PROUD of these students who are taking a major step by showing up to their very first college class! I believe that this will be our best fall yet, as we dare to try new things and continue to put students first - always! Don’t forget to sign up to mentor with the Class of 2024! Krissy Krissy DeAlejandro President/CEO, tnAchieves |
