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How MYA’s Passion for Accelerating Student Outcomes Has Led to a Shift in Strategy

One of the best things about building our partnerships with schools is being able to see first-hand the amazing progress they’re making to provide inspiring educational experiences for students. 

During our visit to the School District of Philadelphia’s Middle Years Alternative (MYA) school, we were able to learn about their successes, challenges, and the exciting upcoming projects they are developing, including: 

  • Assessing the impact of student-focused programs

    MYA conducted a review of their current programs, some of which started before the pandemic, to see what was working best for students in a post-pandemic world and whether new programs should be introduced to better support their students’ needs. Through this process, MYA researched the Ignite Reading program—where students are connected virtually with a reading specialist and tutor, and data has shown it to produce up to two years of student growth within just one year. MYA now plans to launch the Ignite Reading program in the fall.

  • Reimagining their collaborative practices

    MYA has established a real-time collaboration process between school leadership and classroom teachers centered on enhancing support for students throughout the school day. For example, in their daily social and emotional learning (SEL) instruction, teachers instructing students in the morning are able to identify a student who needs additional support, and can then effectively communicate this to the school leadership team who will inform the afternoon teachers.

  • Creating an opportunity for career exploration

    On May 16th, 2024, students will be able to engage with over 35 presenters from career industries, such as healthcare, technology and robotics, photography and more. Additionally, MYA plans to introduce career-based electives in their school offerings next school year to further support their design of a career exploration lab.

This is just a small sampling of the advancements MYA is making, in part, thanks to the grant from Elevate 215 and the supportive partnership we’ve created because of it.

If you want to know more about the impact at MYA, check out this video: