Student Leadership Network Celebrates 25 Years of Innovation and Equity in Education

With an Unrivaled Leadership Model for Success, SL Network Continues to Provide Life-Changing Higher Education Opportunities to Students in Underserved Communities Around the U.S.

New Schools to Open in Staten Island and Las Vegas Fall 2022

Nearly 50,000 students have benefited and thrived from SL Network’s Signature Approach to Education

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This academic year marks the 25^th anniversary of the founding of Student Leadership Network (SL Network), an organization dedicated to achieving equity in education by helping students in diverse, underserved communities nationwide gain access to higher education. In this milestone year, SL Network is focused on expansion with two new all-girls schools opening in the fall. Additional priorities include growing its college access programming to reach more students and bolstering college graduation rates. SL Network has worked with nearly 50,000 young people to date, and through its high-performing network of schools and college preparedness programs the organization has cemented its legacy in education innovation by providing the services and support necessary to make equity in education a reality.

“My career in journalism spanned 19 years and during that time I reported on quite a few education stories nationally. I got a good look at the serious shortcomings and failures of public education in this country, particularly in underserved communities” said Ann Rubenstein Tisch, Founder and President of SL Network. “We had broken school systems that were leaving thousands of students under-educated We were derailing generations of young people, leaving them on paths to poverty and stagnation. I was moved to act; first with one school, and then with 15 more. The Young Women’s Leadership School (TYWLS) of East Harlem, was the first single gender public school to open in the United States in more than 30 years. It was founded on the principle that a quality education is a civil right. We succeeded because equity in education is a right and just value.”

Growth and Expansion of a Proven Education Model

NEW ALL GIRLS’ SCHOOLS

The educational model SL Network has constructed provides the structure and support necessary to set students up for success as they pursue higher education. Every student deserves to have equal access, tools, and support to pursue higher education. Unfortunately, there continues to be political, economic, and social barriers to college access that directly impacts the representation of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in higher education. Part of SL Network’s mission is to make sure these students have the chance to reach their full potential by providing them with the support and opportunities to close these gaps and explore higher education early on in their school journey – most times as early as 6^th grade. This model is the core of SL Network’s mission to achieve equity in education.

This fall, the organization will expand its footprint even further by opening two new single-gender schools in Staten Island and Las Vegas. TYWLS Staten Island will open with a class of 60 sixth graders, adding an additional grade each year, up to grade 12. Young Women’s Leadership Academy of Las Vegas is a tuition-free public charter school open to girls and gender-expansive students. This Young Women’s Leadership Network affiliate school will open with up to 150 students in sixth and ninth grades and add a grade per year until it is a full middle and high school. It will focus on science and the arts and be capped at 600 students when fully phased in. Both schools will focus on the high achievement embrace of the “whole girl” and empower each student personally and civically.

BRIDGE THROUGH COLLEGE PROGRAM

Currently in a pilot phase, the Bridge Through College Program (BTC) is a direct service program intended to support SL Network alumni who are first-year college students with campus belonging and reaching critical college persistence milestones. SL Network alumni who are college juniors and seniors are the peer leaders of this support. Research shows that near-peer models have been incredibly effective at increasing graduation rates, as well as contributing positively to many other benefits, such as creating important social networks and a sense of belonging for students. All SL Network alumni will have access to tools and resources developed around three core program areas – financial aid renewal, financial planning, and academic planning – via a robust and interactive alumni portal.

25^th Anniversary Initiatives in 2022

In honor of the 25^th anniversary, the organization is publishing a coffee table book celebrating a cross-section of alumnae from the five NYC TYWLS schools over the years. The commemorative book will also include spotlights on graduates who are currently in leadership and mentorship roles, school leaders, teachers, and staff.

Additionally, in looking to the next 25 years, SL Network is focused on continuing to expand its footprint in order to bring the organization’s life-changing programs and schools to more students across the country. To that end, SL Network has launched the Equity in Education Pledge (EEP). This fundraising pledge is an appeal to philanthropists to raise $25 million during this milestone anniversary year. In an effort to support our work to disrupt the cycles of generational poverty, the funds from EEP will be used to send more students to college and helping more of these students graduate from college, while also changing the face of leadership.

Additional anniversary-related initiatives will be announced throughout the coming months.

“The ongoing work that we do to achieve educational equity for all means so much to our students and their families,” said Yolonda Marshall, Chief Executive Office of SL Network. “We continue to create impactful programming and solutions that help to close the socioeconomic achievement gap in education, and the next step in our mission to support underserved students is expanding our reach into new communities, new districts, and new states.”

About Student Leadership Network

Now in its 25th year, Student Leadership Network supports young people growing up in diverse underserved communities to gain access to higher education, helping them fulfill their dreams. The organization impacts students at 26 New York public schools and 16 all-girl’s affiliate and partner schools across the country. SL Network supports over 20,000 students nationally every year through its three pillar programs:

• The Young Women’s Leadership Schools (TYWLS), a high performing network of all-girls NYC public schools
• CollegeBound Initiative (CBI), a comprehensive college access program for young women and men.
• Young Women’s Leadership Network (YWLN), a national network of all-girls schools including six affiliate schools in California, Maryland, Missouri, New York, and North Carolina, and our partner network of ten schools in Texas, the Young Women’s Preparatory Network (YWPN).