The final piece of our college readiness programming is our intensive two-week Bridge to College (BTC). Jailyn, who just completed her first year at Howard University, reflects back on program’s impact and believes it is not just beneficial, but essential.  She shares, “In BTC I learned about things I needed to know going into my first year. I found it really helpful that the program was run, in part, by current college students. They shared advice about everything like handling classes, office hours, and balancing school with social time. We even practiced time management with mock schedules that we had…

Alexa, a member of our graduating class who is headed to Smith College in the fall, had much to say about our Transition to College workshops. She shared that she felt “liberated” by the meetings asthey provided her with the answers to all her college related questions. Alexa also understood that the programming was just as critical for her parents as it was for her. She noted that DTS provided a safe space for her parents to “discuss their feelings about me going away and how my leaving home impacts them.”  She went on to say that “connecting with other parents going through the same thing reassured my mom and…

This month we launched the first part of our new and needed Career Awareness and Readiness programming. We have built this curriculum from both ends so 9th graders begin exploring career options as soon as they join DTS.  The final piece, beyond career awareness, is job readiness – something that is outside of our staff’s expertise. Therefore, we have partnered with Future Map to provide this essential and missing element.  Future Map, a nonprofit organization that helps first-generation, low-income college graduates prepare for the workforce through career coaching and related workshops, has already begun working with DTS college students.  In this first collaboration, Future Map will help students implement skills, both tangible and soft…

We are proud to share the final, collective list of all the outstanding colleges our students were accepted to this year! With some colleges receiving 25% more applications than ever before, weknow the competition was fierce. Our students received strong financial aid offers comprised of both need-based and merit aid. Thank you for supporting them on this journey and we look forward to sharing their decisions with you next month!

Ernesto, a recent high school graduate, began his first year of college from home. However, his college reopened for the spring semester and he is now at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. Before departing Los Angeles, a generous DTS supporter equipped Ernesto with winter clothing and dorm essentials. He is now nearing the end of his first month on campus and instruction has been a hybrid of remote and in-person classes. He finds the campus environment to be very conducive to learning. He shares,  “The town is centered around the school and the surrounding area serves to support the school and…

As we begin 2021 and the second half of our academic year, we are mindful of the role that self-esteem and self-efficacy play in the work we do with our students.  All students are capable of succeeding once they believe they can, but sometimes it takes someone else believing in them to ignite an awareness of their own potential. Since our beliefs inform our ambition and our sense of worthiness, our staff team works to expand students’ definition of what is possible. Caroline and Isaac, members of our 9th-grade class who joined DTS in August and set their intention to…