Seven high school aged Reach for Excellence alumni returned to work as paid interns this summer, bringing energy and creativity to the program. From leading Q&A sessions with rising 9th graders to organizing Spirit Week and Field Day, these interns strengthened their own skills while making a lasting impact on our scholars.
Reach welcomed seventh and eighth graders on August 16, 2025, marking the start of 16 Saturday sessions for 2024/2025. During the Saturday sessions, seventh graders will strengthen writing, reading, math, and critical thinking, while eighth graders will focus on SSAT prep, high school applications, and persuasive writing.
This July marked not only the end of a school year for Reach for Excellence, but also my two-year anniversary as Executive Director. We celebrated the graduation of 30 middle schoolers in Cohort 2025 W at our Stepping Up Ceremony.
On Saturday, July 12, our rising 9th graders, Cohort W, celebrated their graduation from Reach for Excellence at the Stepping Up Ceremony. Students, families, and alumni gathered to recognize the hard work and commitment of this class. Dr. Amber Pearson, Cohort 2009 G, served as the speaker.
On June 2, Reach for Excellence welcomed 86 eager scholars to begin five weeks of enrichment. Over the summer, students have breakfast before taking one hour each of math, language arts, social studies, and computer science.
It was good to see our donors at An Evening to Support Reach for Excellence and the Tim Cambias Memorial Scholarship Fund. Thank you to everyone who supported the event, the alums who spoke about their Reach experience, the planning committee and hosts Agnes and Pete Law. Tim Cambias Memorial Scholarship recipients will be announced this summer.
Career Day was a couple of weeks ago and we are still celebrating our alums! Exposing Reach middle school students to highly successful alumni and their diverse careers is a key component of the middle school program.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Young Scholars Program is a competitive pre-college scholarship that provides educational support for high-achieving students with financial need.
Research shows significant differences between the SSAT scores of low-income students and their wealthier peers. Overall, students from lower income families earn lower scores, highlighting the issue of systemic inequalities in education access and preparation. School quality and families’ ability to afford tutors or test prep are contributing factors.
Thank you for your incredible support in 2024. It is a game-changer for our students and programs, bringing us closer to our core mission of creating educational equity and access to quality enrichment programs for middle schoolers while enriching the lives of high school students by providing them with pre-college summer opportunities.