On Saturday, June 18, NAZ celebrated our Family Academy and high school graduates for completing their respective educational achievements. Families from Minneapolis’ North side descended on the Trailhead at Theodore Wirth Park for an afternoon of recognition, food, fun, and music. NAZ staff, Alicia Smiley, lead the decorating of the venue beautifully with a colorful read more…
*From the MinnPost article written by Dr. Amy Susman-Stillman, NAZ Vice President of Evaluation, along with intern Marissa Marsolek. Last year, when the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ) summarized the literature regarding the impact of COVID-19 on students and education, we reached troubling conclusions about the state of our students’ mental health and learning, the learning read more…
Reading is an essential part of learning. Scholars should be reading all year long, not just during the school year. Without practice, scholars can lose up to two months of reading skills while school is out of session. This is known as “Summer Slide”. To prevent the “Summer Slide” with your scholars, here are some read more…
Juneteenth, aka Emancipation Day, is a paid holiday for the Northside Achievement Zone staff. This has been a celebrated holiday by African Americans for decades and our staff will be out of office. On June 19, 1865, the last enslaved descendants of Africans were informed of their freedom in Galveston, Texas. That announcement marked the read more…
The Stonewall riots against police brutality in 1969 were largely led by queer people of color, namely Stormé DeLarverie, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. The activism from members of the Black and transgender community has had a lasting impact on the gay rights movement and demonstrates that the celebration of Pride, at its core, read more…
“Freedom is like religion to us Justice is juxtapositionin’ us Justice for all just ain’t specific enough One son died, his spirit is revisitin’ us” -“Glory” by Common and John Legend It’s absolutely providential that George Perry Floyd Jr., was murdered by a white police officer on Memorial Day in 2020. Though not killed in read more…
We all know that supporting our scholars with their social and emotional wellness is critical to their overall success in life. We can’t expect them to process information when they’re distracted, stressed, tired, or feel unsafe. Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) strengthens us as individuals to be prepared for life when it shows up at read more…
It’s (almost) that time of the year again, and fun summer programs will be here before we know it! Below is a list of free and low-cost summer programs for NAZ scholars. Keep an eye on this list as it continues to grow! St. Kate’s Fashion Workshop St. Kate’s University runs a week-long fashion workshop read more…
If Minneapolis Public Schools teachers strike on March 8th, 2022, several organizations have offered daycare, meals, and/or programming to affected scholars. Please verify with the site to see current availability. The Minneapolis Boys and Girls Club will have programming and meals for scholars: Jerry Gamble Club 2410 N. Irving Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55411 K-12 are welcome read more…
All of us at the Northside Achievement Zone grieve with the families, friends, and classmates of all the young, gifted, and Black young men gunned down and killed simply because they were young, gifted, and Black. We mourn deeply and demand justice for all our Black young men who embodied the hope of our community read more…
