(HW-SC) has been named a winner in the Central New York 2016 Nonprofit Awards. HW-SC won in the Collaboration category, based on a longstanding successful partnership with the Syracuse City School District. The awards will be presented at a luncheon on March 31, at the Oncenter in Syracuse.
HW-SC helps more than 1,000 students annually in the Syracuse region, through collaborative efforts including:
- Each day, 42 HW-SC youth advocates (YAs) offer guidance to participants and families in Syracuse’s six high schools.
- YAs trade up-to-the-minute news with teachers and counselors about students’ challenges and successes – even homework updates – to ensure a clear pathway to success.
- SCSD and HW-SC also work together to facilitate supportive programs at the HW-SC Phoenix Center and Syracuse high schools.
- The District supports an extensive HW-SC summer program in which students receive reinforcement that helps them stay on track to return to school each fall without losing momentum.
Hillside leaders also have a strong working relationship with the Syracuse Board of Education and with Superintendent Sharon Contreras (a member of the HW-SC Advisory Board) and her team. In her letter of support for the nomination, Superintendent Contreras called HW-SC a “most beneficial initiative” and praised its positive results for at-risk Syracuse students. “Despite the challenges we face in our district … this partnership has been instrumental in the District’s graduation rate increases and the decrease in the number of drop-outs,” she wrote.
The program’s outcomes validate this teamwork: In the 2014-2015 academic year 96 percent of Syracuse seniors retained in HW-SC since ninth grade graduated on time.