2017 Program Highlights 

One-on-One Program

School Tutoring and Mentoring Program for Grade School Students

• 190 Students - 185 Volunteers in 2017
• Student Grade Level Equivalency scores improve more than national average

Each student is matched with a trained volunteer who fosters character virtues and academic improvement. Students and volunteers meet at Summit each week to work on academics and goal setting, a character talk and sports.

College Bound Program

High school students

Meet weekly for:

• Study
• Character talks
• Advising
• Career speakers
• Sports
• College visits

In 2017, 36 students visited colleges, historic and cultural sites on the East Coast.

58 students volunteered as Junior Counselors for the Summer Program, which included 300 volunteer hours and job training.

Summit Summer Olympics

Academic and Character Programs

• 8-week program with 1/2 day sports, 1/2 academic classes
• 440 students - 380 students completed the summer.
• 33 college counselors - 20 counselors were Summit students as kids
• 223,472 pages read by students earned 200 students a trip to Six Flags and $7,000 in scholarships
• 22 career speakers - doctors, lawyers, a judge, a sheriff, firemen, engineers, auto tech, journalists
• 7 field trips included hiking, swimming, archery, parks, museums, Holy Hill, the beach, Six Flags

Parent Program

Parents met for:

• Summit staff interviews with parents and students
• Meetings with their child's mentor
• Parent seminars on topics focused around supporting their child's academic and moral growth
• Summit family gatherings

Summit students are breaking stride from their peers in MPS and getting closer to their grade levels every semester. 

It's no secret that in the city of Milwaukee, graduation rates and tests scores of students are some of the poorest in the country. According to the Department of Public Instruction, the state public high school graduation rate of 88% ranks Wisconsin as one of the top states in the country; however, this rate for the Milwaukee Public Schools is 60.6%, and lower for Hispanics at 56.4%. Additionally, the number of MPS students who are proficient in Math and Reading is 20 - 30% below the state average as early as the fourth grade (Note: students were tested with the WKCE standardized tests).

Summit tests students at the beginning of each semester with the Renaissance Learning STAR Reading and Math tests to track grade level equivalency growth. Of students taking tests at Summit for the first time, only 11% are proficient in Reading and 23% are proficient in Math, as illustrated in the graph below.

However, that changes with each semester that students spend at Summit. With programs that complement the formal education system, students are motivated to improve their academics and character virtues by means of a one-on-one approach emphasizing individual attention by well-trained volunteers in our after school tutoring and mentoring programs and by our summer college staff during the summer program. The corresponding graphs illustrate the rate by which students improve each semester they attend Summit programs.

The first graph shows the percent of students that achieve grade level each semester in the programs. The initial entrance test scores reflect what is occurring in Milwaukee schools, with only a small amount of students achieving grade level (Semester 0). However, after 7 semesters in the program, many Summit students have achieved grade level or above, with many more students on their way each semester!

Notes:

Tests Used at Summit: Renaissance Learning, Inc. STAR Math and Reading Tests

*"Proficient" is defined as scoring at or above the 40th percentile among all students in the same grade nationwide who took the Renaissance Learning, Inc. STAR Math and Reading Tests.

Parents report improvement in their child's academics and character since coming to Summit. 

Parents are the primary educators of their children. At home, children first learn virtues by the example of their parents and other family members that set them up for success later in life. However, with the many conflicting messages being sent to young minds by the media and our culture, many parents need help supporting the academic and moral growth of their children. Summit strives to support parents with programs for both students and their families.

Parent surveys collected from 2010 - 2016 with 399 respondents indicated that after attending Summit, their child has improved in academics and character.