Achieve Twin Cities

Our tremendous thanks to Target for being a Diamond Sponsor for our Annual Celebration! As a loyal, long-time partner, Target has also provided generous financial grants, Step Up high school internships, leadership on our board of directors and other programmatic support. Don't miss our October 24 celebration at Nicollet Island Pavilion, which will gather our community to celebrate our young people and the power of career and college readiness support for over 17,000 Minneapolis Public Schools and Saint Paul Public Schools students each year. Get your tickets today at https://lnkd.in/guKMAiwY.

This summer, our team members Tina Kue from North High School and Colin Peters from Washington Technology Magnet High School took on an extra assignment – providing dedicated FAFSA support for Minneapolis Public Schools and Saint Paul Public Schools graduates to help ensure they could secure financial aid for fall postsecondary classes. With FAFSA completion dropping sharply this past year, Achieve received financial support from the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and the U.S. Department of Education FAFSA Student Support Strategy for this additional summer work to boost rates and help mitigate the potential impact on fall enrollment. Tina and Colin offered FAFSA workshops, one-on-one advising, drop-by help sessions and a dedicated FAFSA hotline. Learn more about this FAFSA support and its long-term benefits for students and their families. https://lnkd.in/g_GQ_TEd

Join our team! We're seeking a new human resources assistant to support various human resources tasks and initiatives, using a people-centered lens to help nurture a positive organizational climate and culture. This is a new position that will report to the Achieve Twin Cities people & culture generalist. Priority is given to applications received by Friday, September 27. Learn more! https://lnkd.in/gERqr3EP

Caitlyn Cole, our director of career and college readiness, is being honored by the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) as its September Member of the Month! Huge congrats, Caitlyn! In NCAN's recognition, here's what Caitlyn shared about her work at Achieve: "I love that our CCR services are available to all students in our partner high schools while keeping focus on our young people with the most barriers. My team of passionate, youth-centered professionals is how we're able to offer such broad support. We all had different journeys in finding our way to career and college readiness work, and our unique experiences directly inform our value of honoring our students' unique journeys. We are constantly learning from each other, laughing together and lifting each other up when challenges feel insurmountable. Our team is who I wish I had when I was in high school." We're so proud of Caitlyn and her amazing passion, skill and leadership in this work at Achieve. Learn more on the NCAN website. https://lnkd.in/gMAiYcsW

Join our school-based team! We're seeking three new coordinators to manage our career and college readiness centers at Minneapolis Public Schools Roosevelt High School, MPS Contract Alternative Schools, and Saint Paul Public Schools Central High School. As key members of school counseling teams, CCR coordinators directly guide students in their career and postsecondary exploration and planning and support the implementation of CCR systems and activities in partnership with school and community-based staff. Learn more! Priority given to applications received by Monday, September 16. https://lnkd.in/gERqr3EP

We're so excited about the new school year! Our full team recently met up at the sparkling new Minneapolis Public Schools Career & Technical Education Center at North High School for our first staff meeting of the year. We shared highlights of the summer, heard from program leaders about our career and college readiness work in MPS and Saint Paul Public Schools high schools, and explored strategic planning for the months ahead. It was so great to gather with our colleagues and share the energy and excitement of this new year. Special thanks to the MPS CTE Center crew for their hospitality in sharing their beautiful new space!

With the arrival of fall, our Achieve Twin Cities Annual Celebration is coming up fast! Our tremendous thanks to Gold Sponsor National Grid Renewables, whose generous sponsorship supports our celebration and our career and college readiness programs with over 17,000 students in Minneapolis Public Schools and Saint Paul Public Schools high schools. Learn more about our celebration and get your tickets today at https://lnkd.in/gW4HK5gi.

Step Up has wrapped up another great summer, with over 1,030 Minneapolis young people completing work readiness training and paid career experiences with 72 employer partners throughout the Twin Cities! To celebrate a successful season, Step Up interns and supervisors were invited to attend a Minnesota Twins home game. Step Up also hosted a pre-game ceremony to honor its 2024 intern, supervisor and employer of the year award recipients. Recognized as Step Up's 2024 interns of the year are Emaleah Scott (who interned at Pillsbury United Communities), Kaelin Braziel (Anew Dimension Child Care Center), Jibril Ahmed (Minneapolis Public Schools Sullivan STEM Middle School’s STEM Cycling Class) and Nina Nguyen (Target data stewardship and quality team) . Receiving Step Up’s 2024 Supervisor of the Year awards are Cory Foss from University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center and Antavia Paredes-Beaulieu from MIGIZI. And recognized as 2024 Step Up employers of the year are Allina Health (represented by Liz Martin) and Agape Child Development Center (represented by Tyseanna Johnson). Our heartfelt congratulations to these talented interns and the dedicated supervisor and employer award winners who are building hope for the future by investing in the young people who will power our communities for decades to come! And special thanks to all of Step Up's dedicated partners for another outstanding summer. Step Up is a partnership of the City of Minneapolis with Achieve Twin Cities, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and Project for Pride in Living (PPL). Learn how you can become a Step Up employer in 2025! https://lnkd.in/gXWb3yHq

We're busy planning our October 24 Achieve Twin Cities Annual Celebration - and we're so thankful for our generous Gold Sponsor, U.S. Bank! U.S. Bank has provided outstanding financial and programmatic support to Achieve over the past two decades, including strong partnership for the Step Up Youth Employment Program, employee volunteers and financial resources. Thank you, U.S. Bank! Get your celebration tickets today and learn how you can join us as a sponsor. https://lnkd.in/gW4HK5gi

When you're at the Minnesota State Fair, be sure to stop by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education booth and meet members of our Achieve team! We're partnering with the Office of Higher Education to provide information to fairgoers on college admissions, financial aid, FAFSA completion and the new North Star Promise, a program that provides free college tuition at all Minnesota State colleges, University of Minnesota campuses and tribal colleges to help make postsecondary education affordable for more Minnesota students. This past weekend, Rose Yackley from our Saint Paul Public Schools Humboldt High School Career Pathway Center joined Aaron Salasek, direct admissions coordinator at the Office of Higher Education, to provide expert information and guidance. Pop by to learn more - and spin the wheel to win sunglasses!