NAZ Newsletter: Celebrate 500 Families in NAZ!

500 Families are Now Enrolled in NAZ!

Five hundred Northside families have put their children on a path to college! We set an audacious goal of more than doubling family enrollment by the end of 2013, and that goal was surpassed eight weeks early!

More than 1,300 Northside kids are now in a cradle to college pipeline. Our partners and staff did an excellent job of recruiting students who were not on a college track. Today, they are “NAZ Scholars”—and their parents have made college a top family priority.

“Each of our 500 families work harder than any of us. They are determined that against all odds, their children will succeed. NAZ and our partners are committed to backing them with a whole community of support, and won’t leave them until their children graduate from college,” said NAZ President and CEO, Sondra Samuels. “I’m thrilled we’ve reached this incredible milestone ahead of our goal. Now the real work begins.”

Read news coverage and watch videos from the StarTribune and Minnesota Public Radio that feature Geoffrey Canada helping NAZ make the announcement.

NAZ Scholars Jumped Ahead this Summer

One hundred seventy NAZ student scholars in grades K-5 completed summer programs at our partner sites, Plymouth Christian Youth Center, Ascension, Patchwork Quilt, and Beacons. All programs follow the same evidence-based practices, called a NAZ Solution Plan.

Scholars were tested at the beginning and end of the three-month session, and the results are powerful:

• 64% gained half a grade level or more in reading
• 45% gained a full grade level or more in reading

See more results on the NAZ mid year report.

Tickets on Sale for Nov. 16 NAZ Ball

The tenth annual NAZ Ball will be the biggest and most exciting celebration in our organization’s history. The Ball is the largest annual fundraiser for NAZ, and is a great opportunity to treat yourself and your friends to a special night of fun and good will.

Saturday, November 16
The Depot in Downtown Minneapolis
225 3rd Avenue South

Buy tickets and tables now! Tickets are $100 and a table for 10 is $1,000 ($75 of each ticket and $750 of each table is tax deductible).

Highlights include Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak as emcee, the return of one of the most popular R&B bands in the Twin Cities, Soul Tight Committee, and a specialty cocktail from Target—come try your first “Targetini”!

Friends of the Future will be recognized with a special ribbon and nametag at the Ball.

Sondra Samuels Featured in Mpls. St. Paul Magazine

NAZ President & CEO, Sondra Samuels, is honored in the October issue of Mpls. St. Paul Magazine. Read the full story.

Family Spotlight: Jaquan Gets a Team of Support

Eight year old Jaquan was placed in Level 4 special education and suspended from his NAZ after school program due to behavior.

NAZ pulled an entire team together to support him, called “Team Jaquan”. The team quickly identified behavioral health as a barrier to his learning. Through behavioral health counseling, it was discovered that anxiety is the cause of his problems at school.

With Team Jaquan supporting him, he has moved up to a Level 1 special education program, returned to his after school program, and set his own academic goals.

After a really hard day at school, his Academic Navigator asked if anything positive happened. He said, “Well, I found out today that I love to learn”.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan Highlights NAZ in TED Talk

We are thrilled that HUD Secretary Donovan recognized NAZ as an example of innovation during his recent TED Talk.

He contrasted the heartbreak of young Terrell Mayes—a three-year old who was shot when a stray bullet entered his North Minneapolis home—with the hopefulness of NAZ’s work with families. “In Terrell’s neighborhood in Minnesota, we’ve started the Northside Achievement Zone. And we’ve brought together not just the federal agencies, but 60 different organizations to try and reimagine what a kid’s life can be there … so what we now need to do is scale this approach up across the country.”

Scroll forward to 15:40 in the video to hear his remarks.