Access Featured Nationally in The 74!
Dear Access Supporter,
We have some exciting news to share! Access Academies was recently profiled by The 74, a leading national publication for education news and insights. It’s the first time Access has received national press coverage, and we are thrilled to see a spotlight shined on the important work our team does supporting almost 500 underserved students through their educational journey — and on our overall impact across the St. Louis region. It’s titled, ‘Access: How a St. Louis Nonprofit Guides Kids from Middle School to College,’ and you can read it here.
Why is coverage by The 74 such a big deal? Because it provides an opportunity to recognize Access’ extraordinary students, partners, and supporters like you! And now the nation knows that our program’s three pillars of service — counseling, enrichment, and scholarships — are achieving incredible results, with 98% of Access students accepted to top-quality college-preparatory high schools, 97% graduating high school on time (compared to 86% nationwide), and 93% accepted to college or other post-secondary institution around the nation.
In addition, preliminary results from our comprehensive evaluation with Saint Louis University have demonstrated that Access’ high school graduation rates for both African American (99%) and Hispanic (96%) students exceed the national averages for both racial and ethnic groups, as well as the graduation rates for both groups in public and charter schools in Saint Louis City and County.
We could not achieve these results without you and recognize that Access is only as successful as our partnerships. Our dedicated students, staff, families, partner middle and high schools, teachers, community organizations, and generous donors are all essential to fulfilling the Access mission. Without everyone working together, we couldn’t give every student, every chance, every day.
We invite you to further champion our students’ success by attending or donating to our 15th Annual Celebration Dinner on May 30, 2024, at the Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis. Every dollar raised at this year’s dinner will help us continue to provide critical resources for our students, strengthen our programs, and bolster the vibrancy of our region. As always, thank you so much for championing our vision and propelling our students forward.
With gratitude,
Shelly Williams
Executive Director
[email protected] | 314.724.7071