History
Jan Link, founder, and Director of Academic Link Outreach (ALO) put into practice this maxim for more than fifty years. Her passion for the academic success of students is unparalleled. After thirty-six years of service in public schools as a teacher, curriculum director, elementary and high school principal, Jan knew she must promote her vision to provide continued academic support for students. Many students need more instruction and more time-on-task to find academic success.
Instead of retiring she opened an academic support and enrichment center in Kirkland. Two decades later, her daughter, Leslie Mix, continues to provide one-on-one and small group support but ALO branched out into schools with LEARNING LABS. The goal is to reach more students at the school setting and at no or little cost.
Jan continues to serve students of Washington with her creativity, commitment, and intense passion of academic success for all children. She lives by the motto: “Give a man a fish and he has food for a day; teach him how to fish and he has food for a lifetime”.
Two major aspects of study were holding the students accountable to the expectations of the system and motivating them to become independent learners.
PATH students were held to very high standards of earning A and B Grades and passing the State test. PATH showed that every student can excel when held accountable by parents and staff, with support available when needed. The goal was for them to have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, no D or F grades, pass the “College Knowledge” test, and be involved in at least two school or community activities. Monthly parent/student meetings were held to develop a team effort and support an academic culture among the students.
We teamed with parents, monitored and documented grades and worked with students to be a self-advocate. We sent congratulatory notes and emails. Earning D or an F resulted in a letter, a To Do list, or a phone call home to discuss roadblocks and how to address them. We met one afterschool a week for academic support.
At the end of 9th grade, 49 students were in the program for two students had moved out of state. Sixteen students earned all A’s. Three more earned all A’s plus one other grade. 61% (176/290) of the grades were A, 29% (82/290) grades were B, 9% (26/290) were C, and 1% (3 of 290 grades) were D. There were no F’s. We felt confident and successful with the PATH students.
Ending the grant, at the end of 9th grade, we continued to monitor students through high school graduation.