Our Impact
All The Way Up is working hard to provide crucial educational opportunities for adult learners whose needs were not met by conventional educational paths. An individual’s level of educational attainment is directly tied to their financial and professional opportunities, and thus the economic development of families and the community as a whole. By helping our students get their GED/High School Equivalency Certification, All The Way Up provides them with an essential stepping stone for financial stabilization and increased civic participation: a high school education. With the help of other organizations and foundations we can make bold long-term changes in the lives of our students and their families.
Not only do we prepare students to take their High School Equivalency Exam, but we also focus on teaching skills that are applicable to everyday life. Our students ultimately leave our program better prepared to get higher-paying jobs, improve their financial health, and become more interactive members of their communities. Our long-term vision is to "put ourselves out of business" by helping the most possible adults get a high school education. We see a future where only a small anomaly of adults in Newark lack a high school education, instead of the current 22%.
Measuring Our Success
We track students' progress in terms of grade level improvement by using the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (CASAS) at the beginning and end of each semester. This exam allows us to see the academic improvements of our students and helps us to understand what areas students might need to focus on more with their tutors and instructors. Increased enrollment and retention are ongoing evaluative metrics we use to ensure we are meeting the needs of our students. Program success is also measured by increased volunteer hours from tutors, which we track using weekly check-ins and form submissions.
We help our students create SMART Goals as another way of helping students measure and achieve small successes while they work toward the larger goal of finishing their classwork with us. At the beginning of each semester, students attend an orientation meeting with their tutor or another member of All The Way Up’s staff to set and record SMART Goals. A SMART goal is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Throughout the semester, the student and their tutor will work together to ensure that they are not only working towards their goals but are also achieving their goals. We want to not only congratulate the student but record the achievement for internal record-keeping purposes.
My zoom teacher has a unique approach to teaching, fostering a positive and inclusive space that motivated me to show up week after week. With the Next Steps Coach's guidance made navigating the complexities as I approached the end of my semester much more manageable.
I love the ESL class because I'm able to communicate with others, I learn new stuff each day, and the teacher is so patient with all of the students.
I have tried this a thousand times or more before with other GED programs but this is my first time ever having so much confidence to go and test. All The Way Up not only demonstrates what it's like going through the wilderness, they also walk you through it. For anybody struggling to start, I'm telling you now that this is the real deal.
