Our Program

We realize the teenage years are critical ones for every young person, and many times they lack the necessary adult support, inspiration, confidence and skills to set and achieve meaningful goals. Each year, Project SUCCESS motivates and inspires over 11,000 middle and high school students in Minneapolis and Saint Paul public schools to define their needs, work hard to live up to their potential and achieve their dreams, thereby improving academic performance, keeping them engaged in school and reducing at-risk behaviors. We do this through three inter-linked program services that are delivered continuously for as many as seven years of their life:

• Goal Setting Workshops in the Classroom
• Theater Experiences
• Special Programs and Services, such as One-on-One Assistance, College Tours, BWCA Adventures and other Special Programming

All components work within the Project SUCCESS philosophy, which is to provide a non-judgmental, supportive setting where students can speak out and be heard, and where they learn to assess themselves and their options regarding their future. And all program components are designed to help students gain confidence in creative thinking, decision making, goal setting and resourcefulness while developing the skills to plan their future.

We are unique in that we

• serve every student in every school we serve;
• we are the only program with access to every English classrom every month for every student;
• we work with students continuously for as many as seven years;
• we focus on the student's own short term and long term aspirations, including the possibility of college; and
• we use the performing arts as a springboard for inspiration, confidence, creativity and discussion in the classroom and at home.

Goal-Setting Workshops are held monthly in each English classroom, for every student in every school we serve. Workshops are led by highly trained Project SUCCESS facilitators - with the endorsement of teachers and administrators - using our proven curriculum specifically designed for the students at each grade level. The closer students get to graduating, the more practical our program becomes. We call this process "dreaming with your eyes open," and 90% of participating students report taking a positive step toward achieving their goals. During the 2010-11 school year, we delivered 3,510 goal-setting workshops to more than 10,500 young people in 15 Minneapolis and Saint Paul middle and high schools.

Project SUCCESS uses professional theater to inspire students, help them look at the real-life issues they face, demonstrate they are members of a larger community and as a springboard for discussion in the classroom workshops and at home. We invite students and their families to at least 8 performances annually, thanks to our 32 professional theater partners. We coordinate the entire experience, including providing transportation and child-care. During the 2010-11 school year, we, along with our theater partners, provided the opportunity for over  20,000 students and their families to attend 205 evening and weekend performances at professional Twin Cities theaters.

Project SUCCESS offers special programs and services outside of the classroom, such as college tours, artistic experiences (e.g. artist residencies and Project SUCCESS-produces plays), week-long Boundary Waters canoe trips and weekly after-school one-on-one counseling sessions. These programs are designed to offer students more opportunities to refine and achieve their future goals, build confidence and leadership skills and take part in new experiences that will broaden their world-view and help them inform their future.

Project SUCCESS offers students the opportunity to:

• learn about themselves;
• expand their horizons through theater, meeting new people and being exposed to key resources;
• create a work plan for their life in and out of high school;
• share memories and new experiences with their families;
• connect with a caring, skilled and supportive facilitator who can mentor and guide them to helping set and carry out their goals;
• take part in activities (theater, workshops, after-school guidance sessions) that lead to increased engagement in school; and
• participate in a program whose only focus is to help them succeed.