Edited by Lawndale Bilingual Newspaper

Student achievement across Chicago’s southwest side is on the rise due to an exciting collaborative program that seeks to provide youth with the desire to learn and grow. And now, The Resurrection Project (TRP) is expanding that program to another school in Pilsen.

Established at CPS’s Orozco Community Academy, in collaboration with Local Initiative Support Corporation’s (LISC) New Communities Program, TRP’s Elev8 afterschool enrichment program has been a success since its pilot phase began in 2007. The Elev8 model was designed to enhance academic achievement by providing afterschool enrichment programming for youth, increase parent to school involvement, and provide better access to health care for whole families.

The Pilsen-based program touts over 26 afterschool programs that are facilitated by a rich matrix of partners, including Alivio Medical Center, Gads Hill Community Center, Seven Generations Ahead, and West Town Bikes. Elev8 provides participants with a healthy afterschool environment to build upon skills and gain new interests that support their social and emotional needs, all while promoting the school as a community space for the whole family.

The Orozco community has seen so much success in the past six years that TRP is now expanding the initiative into more schools across Pilsen. As of this academic year, Elev8 will begin offering at-scale programming out of neighboring middle school William F. Finkl Academy.

The ultimate goal of The Resurrection Project’s education enhancement efforts is to improve student programming and parent participation in order to achieve an increase in student academic and social-emotional preparedness, matriculation rates, and school performance.  In the long-term, realizing these successes will result in safer, more stable, and economically thriving communities.