ACES announces Greater Minnesota pilot program through partnership with Northfield Public Schools, Healthy Community Initiative
Today, ACES announced the Fall 2022 launch of its out-of-school time programming in Northfield, Minnesota. In collaboration with Healthy Community Initiative (HCI), a youth-focused partnership-building organization in Rice County, ACES will lead an innovative academic and social emotional learning (SEL) afterschool program in Northfield Public Schools.
“Over the last three decades, ACES has helped thousands of students across the Twin Cities strengthen their academics and build crucial social-emotional skills,” said Christina Saunders, ACES Executive Director. “We’ve seen students improve test scores and increase school attendance, develop meaningful relationships peers and mentors, and so much more. At a time when our young learners need support more than ever, we are proud to take this important step – in partnership with Northfield Public Schools and HCI – to make a difference for students in the Northfield community.”
This pilot program will bring ACES’s innovative, hands-on programming to students at Northfield Middle School (NMS). NMS is located just south of downtown Northfield and serves 970 students in grades 6-8. Students enrolled in ACES will receive daily small-group classroom sessions, individual mentorship, and unique experiential learning opportunities. ACES’s custom curriculum is carefully designed to help students strengthen foundational math skills and build social-emotional competencies, all through the lens of sports.
“One of our district’s strategic commitments is partnerships that help us accelerate progress toward our student achievement benchmarks,” said Matthew Hillmann, Northfield Public Schools Superintendent. “Our team expressed deep confidence that the partnership with [ACES] would do precisely that. There is a strong and natural alignment between the ACES model and what we are striving for at Northfield Middle School.”
“HCI is excited about the opportunities the ACES program will bring to the youth in our community,” said Jodi Lundell, HCI Senior Director. “We look forward to supporting this initiative, ultimately preparing youth to succeed in school, career, and community.”
About ACES
ACES’s mission is to reduce the academic opportunity gap and improve the likelihood of success for underserved students. In collaboration with schools and community partners, ACES provides afterschool math and social emotional programming for students in grades 4-8. In September 2021, ACES returned to in-person programming in the Twin Cities while simultaneously launching an ambitious, three-year strategic growth plan. In addition to piloting the ACES program in Greater Minnesota, the plan includes further expansion within the Twin Cities and the quadrupling of student enrollment by 2024. To meet these objectives, ACES has already added two partner schools in Minneapolis and Saint Paul and doubled student enrollment to exceed pre-pandemic numbers.
About Healthy Community Initiative
Healthy Community Initiative (HCI) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to building partnerships and encouraging community collaborations that support, value and empower youth. HCI currently collaborates on more than 30 initiatives, bringing together programs and individuals to positively impact young people in Northfield, Faribault, and all of Rice County. Since its founding in 1992, HCI has provided behind-the-scenes support to help community leaders leverage resources, develop meaningful partnerships, and implement effective youth programming.
Learn more at https://healthycommunityinitiative.org/.