This summer, I had the privilege of partnering with Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ) in Minneapolis. NAZ is an education non-profit that works towards closing the achievement gap in K-12 classrooms throughout North Minneapolis. Their strategy is a combination of holistic family support and cradle-to-career mentoring to help kids, specifically from racially diverse and low income backgrounds, succeed in school and life afterwards.
Throughout my time at NAZ, I worked as a researcher for a particular project the CEO and founder, Sondra Samuels, has been cultivating. Referred to as Project Moonshot, the goal is to incorporate digital learning platforms into the classroom to improve cultural relevance of curriculum, increase parent involvement, and aid children who have fallen behind in their learning. The final product is a complete reimagining of how we teach K-12. NAZ has partnered with Allen Interactions, a leader in corporate education strategies, to launch Project Moonshot in the form of a pilot program at Ascension Catholic School in North Minneapolis. This summer was spent putting together the research, ideas, and concepts into a presentation to draw investors for the pilot program. Most of my time was spent looking into various E-learning platforms, such as Duolingo and Khan Academy, so the team could have more context on the digital learning world.
Overall, I am grateful for the experience NAZ has provided. I was able to get a glimpse at what’s required to make serious change in this world during the project and I am really impressed and grateful for the work this organization has done and continues to do.