Summary
Help us teach critical thinking and literacy to 150 kids in high-crime urban 'hoods and create 10 community markets for their projects. Build and sustain a culture that values at-risk kids' thinking.
What is the issue, problem, or challenge?
45% of at-risk DC kids will not graduate from high school, only 44% read proficiently, and many have low critical thinking skills. Research shows that thinking and reading well matter. Critical thinking improves content knowledge and school success, and the ability to read lowers rates of unemployment, welfare, and incarceration. At-risk students' inabilities to think and read have a documented, detrimental, lifelong impact. This project will improve thinking and literacy among 150 DC youth.
How will this project solve this problem?
Using research-based methods, we build strong minds through words. We facilitate workshops where young people create word-based projects, which community leaders then pay to access. These two steps ensure both short-term success and long-term change
Potential Long Term Impact
We will improve critical thinking and literacy skills for 150 young people, increasing their educational and employment options. We will increase the perception that these young people are valuable citizens through 10 community markets.
Project Message
My experience with Lifting Voices changed me. In the past it always seemed like my life was falling apart. These awesome teachers turned me around and helped reveal the true me.
- Jirbron, fifth-grade Lifting Voices participant
Funding Information
This project has been retired and is no longer accepting donations.
Additional Documentation
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
Resources