Background
Non-profit 501(c)(3) Succeed2gether was formed in the winter of 2009 in response to cutbacks in community support systems for low-income families struggling to meet daily needs. Since our inception, we have continued to grow and currently serve over 240 students with educational programs that focus on closing the opportunity gap and ultimately closing the achievement gap. We do this through our After-School Tutoring Program (ASTP), our After-School/Weekend Workshop Program, our Spring Break Stay-cation Program, and our Summer Enrichment Program (SEP).
In addition, Succeed2gether’s Resource Center at 11 Pine St. provides an important connection to the Greater Montclair community. Our service programs, co-sponsored by Toni’s Kitchen, include clothing collections for distribution, Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) sign-ups, and a backpack program for our students providing our families with weekly supplies for making nutritious, home-cooked dinners.
Geographical Area Served
Succeed2gether meets the unique needs of school-age students from Greater Montclair and Essex County, including East Orange, Bloomfield, Orange, and Newark. We provide free and affordable educational programs to these low-income students who may be at-risk academically or who can excel with enrichment.
Our programs help to ensure students are engaged, inspired, and have the skills to stay in and do well in school. While the dropout rate across New Jersey was reported most recently at 1.6% in January 2013, far below the national average of 7.4%, some of the communities we serve including Montclair, Orange, Bloomfield, East Orange, and Newark experience drop-out rates that exceed 30%. In addition, 23% of children in Essex County, NJ live below the federal poverty level. 12% of Montclair High School students qualify for free lunch and 5% are eligible for reduced lunch.
Succeed2gether Programs
Succeed2gether serves the school-age children of Greater Montclair with a high-quality, one-on-one After-School Tutoring Program. We use an all-volunteer team of tutors who are recruited from the community. They are typically retired teachers, professionals, high-school honors students and college students.
We recruit, train, and provide on-site support to over 60 volunteer tutors. They in turn provide individual instruction in language arts, math, science, and social studies for both low and high achieving low-income, primarily minority students in grades 1-12 at the Montclair Public Library. Tutoring takes place Monday-Thursday from 3-6pm and runs from September-May.
Homework assistance and fun learning activities supplement this effective one-on-one tutoring experience, facilitating proficiency in core subject areas. An individualized curriculum is developed from assessment tests and tutor evaluations, services usually only found in expensive private tutoring centers. Each student may receive up to 30 tutor hours, conservatively valued in the private market at more than $2,000 for a total of more than $140,000 in free services for some of Essex County’s most vulnerable students.
