Higher Achievement Richmond

Congratulations to our 8th-grade graduates! 🎓

At our annual Green Apples graduation ceremony, scholars, mentors, and staff received recognition for embodying Higher Achievement's culture principles of spirit, respect, excellence, and collaboration.

Each year, Higher Achievement selects one outstanding 8th-grade scholar to receive our "Maureen Holla Award." This year's Maureen Holla award winner, Lemaris, created a unique artistic and written reflection of his time at Higher Achievement in the form of a book, with each chapter representing a piece of his experience.

At the graduation ceremony, Lemaris shared, "I'm leaving here tonight feeling better about my future than when I came in. And that's because of this program and every person in this room."

We are excited to announce that we have already awarded 8 scholarships for alumni through our Last Dollar Alumni Fund Scholarship, and applications are still being accepted!

This scholarship is designed to support alumni as they work toward college completion or finishing a trade program. Each year, we hear from alumni facing unexpected financial obstacles that can disrupt their progress. The Last Dollar Alumni Fund provides flexible financial support—up to $1,000—to help remove these barriers.

Learn more and apply on our website: https://ow.ly/e18X50YWgxz

Thanks to the support of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, scholars had the opportunity to put STEM learning in action during a field trip to the Chincoteague Bay Field Station.

Scholars explored marine organism anatomy through a hands-on shark dissection and discovered the intertidal zone at Toms Cove on Assateague Island.

Higher Achievement scholars explored possibilities for their futures during a field trip to Virginia State University.

Scholars toured the campus, ate at the dining hall, and visited Randolph Farm, VSU's agricultural learning center. Scholars fed fish at their on-site fish hatchery, and learned about aquaculture, horticultural crops, nutrient management, and water quality while touring the greenhouse and demonstration garden.

Shout out to our scholars making a difference! Boushall Achievement scholars recently led a community service project collecting and distributing hygiene supplies. They assembled bags and filled seven community hygiene boxes, distributing them throughout the community.

We were thrilled to welcome scholars, families, mentors, and supporters at Love Out Loud last Thursday! Our scholars' talents were on full display -- from powerful poems to creative works of art.

One of our scholar poets, Indaysa, reflected on the importance of creative expression in their poem, "Creativity is What Makes Us":

“Yes, I am so creative and lucky to be me.”
Don’t you see?
Being creative is what makes the world go round and round
for you and me.
That shows how lucky we are to have creative people:
the builders to the scientists.
We are all creative!

Thank you for being part of the community that celebrates and nurtures our scholars’ talents. We are grateful for your support, and for the support of our poetry partner, Podium RVA, and our art partner, ART 180.

We are proud to announce a new program investment that will extend Higher Achievement's support beyond 8th grade.

Our new Last Dollar Alumni Fund Scholarship provides flexible financial support, up to $1,000, to help Higher Achievement alumni overcome financial obstacles that may impact their ability to complete college. This fund is designed to remove barriers without the red tape often associated with traditional scholarships.

We are accepting applications now through August 21!

Apply today, or share with a Higher Achievement alumni: https://higherachievement.org/last-dollar-alumni-fund/

Our scholars at Boushall are leading a community service competition and are currently collecting hygiene supplies. They will be assembling bags and filling seven community hygiene boxes, and you can support their efforts by purchasing supplies from their Amazon wishlist by April 9: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3SKNQ0MMOBL49?ref_=wl_share

Help us honor our 50-year history and build on our legacy of educational support through your tax-deductible year-end gift.

Gifts of all sizes make a tremendous impact: https://higherachievement.org/limitless/

Every elective, every mentoring group, and every field trip is possible because this community believes in a more equitable and just future for the next generation—and chooses to invest in it.

At the end of their 8th grade year, scholars look back on their time at Higher Achievement and look ahead to what is to come in high school. This spring, Zoie shared the following poignant reflection:

"Thank you so much Higher Achievement for guiding me through middle school. It’s bittersweet leaving because I know it's my time to step into another season in my life...I’m going to keep climbing higher in life, no matter what, because you showed me how get up when you fall, it never lasts, you will get through the mountains and hills in this life...”

Scholars like Zoie are resilient, talented, and ambitious. Your gift nurtures their talents through rigorous academic enrichment, caring adult mentors, and comprehensive preparation for high school.

Make a gift today to expand access to opportunities for the next generation of learners and leaders like Zoie: https://higherachievement.org/limitless/