Two hundred Philadelphia high school seniors were able to pick up a little bit more than their cap and gown at graduation rehearsal this year. Promise Corps and 12PLUS gifted the 200-plus students with a bag of life essentials to celebrate them moving forward in their diverse post-secondary steps.  Whether it includes moving into their first apartment, transitioning into college life at a…

Students are gearing up to complete their grades for the third marking period across the School District of Philadelphia. Thanks to special support from Promise Corps Coaches and the magnificent teachers at West, students are feeling more motivated than ever to get these assignments done and finish the school year on a high note. “It’s…

This week, I took the opportunity to chat with my colleague and friend, Nijah Lewis, one of the four Promise Corps College and Career Coaches serving at West Philadelphia High School this year. Nijah and I talked about the experience of serving the wonderful students at West, what inspires her outside of her work, and…

     It’s about that time for seniors in high school to start getting their college acceptances! With the excitement of solidifying the next steps and getting ready for postsecondary success comes the logistics of going to college: money. While most seniors have filled out FAFSA and PHEAA, some students may be experiencing some anxiety around still…

Monday, January 18, 2021, The United States of America observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day. To honor his memory, people are given the day off from school and work and many all across this country choose to be of service to others in need. Americorps observes this day with its members not as a day…

This week we are highlighting the career of SOCIAL WORK! Normally, when people think about this career, they automatically think of someone working at the Department of Human Services in Child Welfare removing children from abusive homes and placing them in foster care. While that is a route a Social Worker can choose to go,…

Happy New Year! As we welcome students back “into” school this week please join me on a walk down memory lane to reflect on the past few months that kicked off the 2021 program year for Promise Corps. I want to keep this reflection on a happy note, but we must address the elephant in…

For December’s professional development session, Promise Corps coaches learned about the history of racism in Philadelphia’s criminal justice system, were trained in mentoring Black youth, and ended the day with a virtual holiday party, bringing the corps’ 2020 to a close with some cheer. Though this school year has brought numerous challenges in the virtual setting, coaches have still found ample learning…

As we all know, COVID-19 has changed our daily lives for most of 2020. One of these changes for many Americans is virtual learning. This new world of virtual learning has resulted in us re-inventing how we educate our students and in turn, has adjusted how Promise Corps assists our scholars. Here is sneak peak…