PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — An education nonprofit that helps students prepare for life after high school is aiming to expand big on its reach and programming.
Heights Philadelphia helps students with college and career guidance. On Monday at the Free Library, Heights released a strategic plan to expand its programming to 5,000 students by 2029.
Heights counselors currently serve 3,000 students in 23 Philadelphia middle and high schools.
“It’s a 10-year vision for impact where we’re really mobilizing the city, students, families and our organization to point to economic mobility for young people here in Philadelphia,” Heights co-president Sara Woods told KYW Newsradio.
Heights staffers helped Malea Williams, a senior at George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science, prepare her essays for college applications.
“Not only just writing the essay, but like school selections. Making sure the FAFSA CSS [College Scholarship Service] profile is done. So Heights has done a tremendous job in preparing me,” Williams said. “They helped me formulate my ideas.”
Dock Brown, a senior at Parkway Center City Middle College, plans to major in business. He said the college and career counseling from Heights has been invaluable.
“It is really comforting, especially when you see someone that looks just like me, Black and Brown students. And it just allows me to feel more confident,” Brown said. “Especially when, like, you feel insecure about your GPA or about your resume and stuff like that, it just allows me to feel more comfortable about what I’m doing.”
Heights is the product of the merger of Philadelphia Futures and Steppingstone Scholars more than a year ago. The nonprofit made headlines a year ago when now-retired Eagle Jason Kelce pledged support from his foundation.
“He supported it financially but also he has been connected to students,” Woods said. “We are so excited that that actually wasn’t a one-time thing. And that’s what we want all of our partners to do.”
Heights co-president Sean Vereen said the organization aims for greater corporate support and government partnerships over the next decade.
“We hope that when we do this at scale, serving these kids across that span, we’re really going to create an opportunity for many more students,” Vereen explained. “They’re having experiences in a community that supports them, whether they’re going to college or directly into a career. And the opportunity is to connect to real jobs.”