Jan knew she must promote her vision of providing continual academic support for students in need. In 2006, she founded Academic Link Outreach (ALO) a Washington non-profit 501(c)(3). Our goal is to provide easy access to additional academic support, outside the school day, with more instruction and time-on-task in the school setting.
The philosophy of the organization is exemplified in the following quote: ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.’
(Lao Tzu)
Past Programs of Academic Link Outreach
KITE: Kids in Training to Excel: (2007 to 2010)
Academic Link Outreach partnered with Communities That Care in Lynnwood, Washington to provide a homework, tutoring, and mentoring program in a large multi-family apartment complex. This was supported through a three-year grant. The goal was to better meet the academic needs of children, grades six through nine, where they lived. A high school teacher managed the twice-weekly study table with high school volunteers. Learning sessions were held twice a week during the summer. A manual was written to outline the support given. It includes site selection, personnel requirements, and day-to-day operations.
PATH to College Success (2010 to 2016)
In 2010, we received the opportunity to provide an afterschool academic support program within the school setting. We began our planning using insights gained from the KITE program. Operating inside the school made it easier to better monitor the students’ grades, offered more space for activities, and allowed us to involve many more students.
The Path to College Success Program started as a three-year project in collaboration with College Spark Washington and the Edmonds School District. A College Spark Washington grant provided funding. Its purpose was to determine what must be in place so students will be academically successful and college ready. The program followed a group of 50, sixth grade students entering Alderwood Middle School. As required by the grant, 75% of the students were low income and struggling. The program took the students through the two challenging transitions, from elementary to middle school, and
from middle school into high school.
The initial three-year study established an academic culture among the students, taught them study and test-taking skills, and continually monitored their grade achievement with continuous feedback. The two major aspects of the study were holding the students accountable to the classroom expectations and motivating them to excel. Students were held to high expectations of earning A or B grades and passing the state test. They were to maintain a 3.0 GPA or better, have no D or F grades, pass the “College Knowledge” Test, and be involved with at least two school or community activities. PATH to College Success showed that every student can excel when held accountable by parents and school staff, with additional support available when needed.
Monthly parent and student meetings were held to develop a parent/student team effort and support the academic culture among the students. We met with parents, monitored and documented grades, and worked with students to be their own self-advocate. We sent them congratulatory notes and emails to celebrate their academic success. Earning D or F grades resulted in a letter home, a task list, or a phone call to discuss the roadblocks and how to address them. We met after school, one day each week, for academic support.
2013 Path to College Success, 9th Grade, 2nd Semester Student Grades
Sixteen students earned all A’s.
Three students earned mostly A’s plus one other grade.
61% (176/290) of all grades were A
29% (82/290) were B
9% (26/290) were C
1% (3/290) were D
(0/290) were Fs.
At the end of three-year grant, we continued to follow the students through high school. 100% of our Path students graduated from high school.
Our Path to College Success program gave us the foundation and the framework for our current program, The Academic Success LEARNING LAB. In 2018, Academic Link Outreach began working with Olympic View Middle School in Mukilteo, Washington, to scale up what worked with 50 students in Edmonds to include 300 students entering sixth grade at Olympic View Middle School.
SES: Supplemental Educational Services (2010 – 2015)
The Supplemental Educational Services (SES) program was funded by the Federal ‘No Child Left Behind’ mandate. We provided one-on-one tutoring to low-income students throughout the state. For five years, we contracted with the Washington State Department of Education serving over 900 students with 135 tutors each year. This individual academic support was phenomenal for the students involved, mainly because we provided one-on-one tutoring.