Achieve Twin Cities joined long-time and new partners and supporters on May 18 to celebrate the official expansion of our career and college readiness programs in Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS).

After a successful two-year pilot program at the invitation of Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) leadership, we are officially expanding to serve all eight SPPS comprehensive high schools, building on the strong career and college readiness groundwork already laid by the district. We’re partnering deeply with district leaders, counseling teams and other staff to create a vibrant system of support that ensures all students have full and equitable access to a wide range of career and postsecondary opportunities.

Speaking at our celebration was our president and CEO Danielle Grant, SPPS superintendent Joe Gothard, Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation president and CEO Eric Jolly, Cargill Foundation senior director Katie Clark Sieben, and two members of our Saint Paul career and college readiness team, including Doyen Kulee from Creative Arts Secondary School and Zoey Haines from Central High School.

A highlight of the event was a panel of eight SPPS students who shared their college plans, their hopes for life after high school, and the support they received at their schools to make a post-graduation plan.

Our great thanks to everyone who joined us that day – as well as those who have provided initial support for our expansion, which allows us to serve an additional 9,000 students in Saint Paul. We count on our community’s support to ensure that every student has full and equitable access to postsecondary education and purposeful, life-enriching careers as we all work to create a more just and vibrant community.

Watch the video of our event