Project Success Fall 2020 Program Updates

It has been six months since Project Success began operating remotely due to COVID-19. Working from home, our staff immediately began to innovate, enhance and update Project Success programs to create meaningful experiences for our 16,000 students as they shifted to distance learning. Now, as Minneapolis Public Schools begins a new school year remotely, PS is building on the success of our spring programs while adapting to the ever-changing needs of our students as they seek hope and purpose during these unprecedented times.

We have shifted our program areas to offer each one in a way that is accessible to students from home.

• In-Class Workshops, the foundation of our programming, are now delivered in teachers’ virtual classroom settings, with curriculum relevant to students’ current needs.

• Our College and Career Tours will host virtual student panels, partnering with schools locally and nationally. There are also admissions chats and virtual tours available from programming in the spring students can continue to access.

• The Project Success Institute previously held certificate classes at the Project Success office in the evenings. Now, students can participate in interactive classes through the Institute online; we have adapted familiar topics like cooking, financial literacy, coding, and musical theater for an interactive online model. If a student needs something at home to participate, PS provides expanded access to these programs through innovative add-ons, like ingredient delivery for students in the cooking program.

• Global Experiences has created engaging and informative ways for students to explore the world from the comfort of their own homes – for September, this has included a deep dive into Global Music Month. And a global pen pal program is in the works!

• Our Outdoor Adventure experts are encouraging students to explore and learn about nature in their own backyards by nurturing plants, playing Nature Bingo and attending webinars.

• Our Theater Experiences team will expand their online arts series, presenting recorded theater and musical shows while asking students thought-provoking questions.

These opportunities, with more to come, allow students to connect to their dreams and plans for the future — even as the world around them rapidly changes, and their school setting looks different than ever before. We look forward to continuing to meet students where they are, as we have for 26 years — connecting from a distance until we can reunite in person.