Washington D.C.

826DC
Ages: 6-18
826DC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Throughout the school year and even in the summer, 826DC offers a wide roster of programs for students that include in-school sessions, workshops, after-school tutoring, and innovative student publishing opportunities that range from personal chapbooks to professional-looking anthologies.

A Better Chance – National *
Grades: 4-9
A Better Chance seeks to increase substantially the number of well-educated young people of color who are capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American society. This is done by facilitating their entry into independent college preparatory schools. Through its network of member schools, A Better Chance is able to leverage an estimated $20+ million per year in financial aid for talented, economically disadvantaged youth of color. More than 96% of A Better Chance's graduates go on to college directly after high school, a majority entering our country's most selective colleges.

Asian American LEAD (AALEAD)
Grades: K-12
Founded in 1998 by Ms. Sandy Dang, AALEAD’s mission is to promote the well-being of low-income and underserved Asian American youth through education, leadership, and community building. Our highly dedicated staff and Board deliver specialized afterschool programs, one-on-one mentoring, academic support resources, and life skill development for students. We also assist parents with school-related issues affecting their children.

Black Student Fund (BSF) *
Grades: PreK-12
The Black Student Fund (BSF) is dedicated to bringing people together by maintaining access to independent schools for Black children from low to modest income households. The BSF was established in 1964 and provides scholarships as well as essential support services to Black students in grades pre-kindergarten through twelve. The Black Student Fund prepares children for life and helps to create a rich, equitable educational environment in which students and adults from different racial and economic backgrounds benefit from regular interaction.

Capital Partners for Education
Grades: 8-12
Capital Partners for Education works with motivated, low-income Washington, DC area youth to get to and through college via a proven combination of mentoring, partnerships with quality high schools, tuition assistance, and a customized array of academic, career, and life skills development.

Capitol Movement (CMI)
Ages: 6 and up
At Capitol Movement, Inc. (CMI) it is our mission to build better lives through dance. We strive to provide programs and opportunities for all, despite socioeconomic barriers, by offering traveling classrooms for schools and community partners in need of arts education programming. We assist young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds via dance scholarship programs as well as training at our summer camp intensives, annual conventions, and outreach classes.

 

Chess Challenge in DC
Grades: 6-8
Chess Challenge in DC seeks to promote the academic, social, and leadership development of youth in the District of Columbia. Using the game of chess, children learn to think strategically; develop self-discipline and positive social skills; and increase their self-esteem.

College and Career Connections (CCC)
Grades: 8-9
CCC’s flagship program, OnTrack!, provides early college and career exposure for 400 youth from DC’s lowest-income communities. This two-year program provides an interactive series of classroom workshops during the school day to all eighth and ninth grade students at partner schools.

College Success Foundation DC (CSF-DC)
Grades: 6-College
We provide a unique integrated system of supports and scholarships for underserved, low-income students to finish high school, graduate college and succeed in life. The CSF-DC model provides a pipeline of supports beginning in 7th grade and continuing through college completion and initial employment. CSF-DC helps students successfully navigate the critical transition from middle to high school. At other levels, emphasis is on the 9th to 10th grade transition, the high school to college transition, the first to second year persistence in postsecondary programs and degree completion to employment and career.

CS@GW – George Washington University
Grades: 8-12
CS@GW (Computer Science at George Washington) provides summer courses in game development, animation, Java, and robotics. No programming knowledge required. Middle school and high school students are invited to apply.

D.C. Boys Choir
Ages: 9-13
The mission of the D.C. Boys Choir is to identify musically talented young male students and help them to develop self-esteem by revealing and nurturing their creativity through artistic expression.

District of Columbia National Guard (DCNG) Youth Leader's Camp
Ages: 11-15
The District of Columbia National Guard (DCNG) Youth Leaders' Camp is a 2-week residential leadership development program for boys and girls ages 11-15. Since 1968, the DCNG, through its Annual Youth Leaders’ Camp, has provided over 6000 students throughout the D.C. Metropolitan area the opportunity to learn and implement the principles of leadership, citizenship, and good sportsmanship through classroom discussions, competitive sports, and recreational activities. Campers are exposed to recreational and educational summer experiences, adding to their interpersonal growth and development, returning them to their communities as role models and responsible future leaders.

Emerging Scholars Program (ESP) *
Grades: 4-6
The purpose of the Emerging Scholars Program (ESP) is to recruit a limited number of rising fourth-grade children to participate in a program of academic training and social enrichment with the goal of enrolling them in an independent school for their sixth-grade year. Once enrolled, it is anticipated they will continue in the independent school system.

For the Love of Children (FLOC)
Grades: 1-12
For the Love of Children (FLOC) provides educational services beyond the classroom to help students succeed from first grade through college and career. FLOC brings together students, volunteers, families, and community partners in proven programs that teach, empower, and transform.

Girls Inc. of DC – National
Grades: 6-18
Our goal is to provide every girl with a safe after school environment where she can try new things, master physical, intellectual, and emotional challenges and develop the goals and skills that will lead her to a successful future. We do this by focusing on health and wellness, financial literacy, college preparation, career exposure, leadership development and the STEM fields.

Higher Achievement
Grades: 5-8
Higher Achievement's rigorous afterschool and summer academic program closes the opportunity gap for middle school youth in at-risk communities. The program's proven model provides a rigorous year-round learning environment, caring role models, and a culture of high expectations, resulting in college-bound scholars with the character, confidence, and skills to succeed. From 5th through 8th grade, Higher Achievement scholars spend 650 hours a year learning an advanced curriculum that is aligned to state standards. This commitment is in addition to attending school for the standard 900 hours a year.

Horizons Greater Washington 
Grades: K-8
Horizons Greater Washington is offered through a private-public partnership on the campuses of independent schools Maret, Norwood and St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School. This successful program allows children living in families with limited income from kindergarten through eighth grade to experience academic enrichment opportunities with the Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) program as well as swimming instruction, reading instruction with reading specialists, and hands-on learning projects through community field trips.

“I Have a Dream” Foundation – National
Grades: 1-12
The "I Have A Dream" Foundation is working to ensure that all children have the opportunity to pursue higher education. We empower children in low-income communities to achieve higher education by providing them with guaranteed tuition support and equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and habits they need to gain entry to higher education and succeed in college and beyond.

Institute for College Preparation (ICP) – Georgetown University
Grades: 7-12
Georgetown University’s Institute for College Preparation (ICP) is a pre-college academic enrichment program that provides comprehensive support to District of Columbia area public middle and high school students to empower them to graduate from high school and succeed in college. Georgetown’s ICP adopts students, starting in the 7th grade, from targeted middle schools and supports them through their first year of college. ICP strives not only to educate students in the academic sense, but also to instill confidence and to build a desire for education in students by providing them with highly enriching experiences.

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
Grades: 7-12
The Young Scholars Program provides the most personalized, generous scholarship experience in the nation. The Foundation works closely with Scholars and their families to construct a tailored educational program that includes, but is not limited to, support for summer programs, distance learning courses, and music and art instruction. Some Young Scholars attend a private school if none of their public school options adequately serve their academic potential; however, many stay in their public schools.

Latin American Youth Center (LAYC)
All ages
The mission of the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) is to empower a diverse population of youth to achieve a successful transition to adulthood through multi-cultural, comprehensive, and innovative programs that address youths' social, academic, and career needs. Programming includes educational enhancement, social services, the arts, etc.

Latino Student Fund (LSF)
Grades: PreK-12
The mission of the Latino Student Fund (LSF) is to provide opportunities for a strong academic foundation for PreK-12th grade students of Hispanic descent to promote higher education and professional leadership. The LSF has many services available for Latino families and students. Our educational programs support Latino students in grades PreK-12 and our supplemental services support the entire family. Youth services include the scholars program, tutoring, mentoring, college prep, SAT prep and more.

Mentors of Minorities in Education's (MOMIE) Total Learning Cis-Tem
Ages: 5-12
M.O.M.I.E’s purpose is to transform education for at-risk children of color through an educational model that uses social justice and cultural education as the foundation for improving academic outcomes for our children. M.O.M.I.E's Educational Model uniquely integrates creative and culturally-relevant out-of-school time programs, opportunities for parent and community engagement, and the sharing of educational tools and resources for the community.

New Community for Children
Grades: K-12
Children enrolled in NCFC programs are given the opportunity to bolster their academic skills, find expression through arts and recreational activities, and build a positive self-esteem during out of school hours. Our staff cultivates a safe and positive environment in which children are constantly engaged, challenged, and growing as positive and well-informed decision makers. Children participate in programming Monday through Friday after school during the academic year and for six weeks in the summer.

Project Match *
Grades: 8
For the past 30 years Project Match has transformed the lives of talented students of color by placing them in world class independent boarding schools where they can receive the intellectual and social preparation to be leaders in their professions, communities and the nation.

Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK)
Grades: 3-12
The Summer Engineering Experience for Kids program (SEEK) is the National Society of Black Engineers’ (NSBE) premiere solution to the underrepresentation of African American students in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. The free, three week program is a STEM pipeline designed to expose African American children to STEM fields as early as the third grade and through the twelfth grade. In addition, this exposure will be provided by utilizing NSBE members, who are young, Black, collegiate students, majoring in STEM fields.

Washington Tennis and Education Foundation (WTEF)
Grades: 1-12
The Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF) is a premier educational and tennis organization for underserved children in Washington DC. The mission of WTEF is to improve the life prospects of low-income, underserved children and youth in the District of Columbia through athletic and academic enrichment. We seek to keep children off city streets during out-of-school time, in a safe environment they can trust, to engage them in productive activities that teach discipline, build confidence, improve school performance, and encourage a healthy lifestyle.

Young Ladies of Tomorrow (YLOT)
Ages: 9-17
Ever since its founding in 1993, Young Ladies of Tomorrow, Inc. (YLOT) has worked with pre-adolescent and teenage girls (ages 9 – 17) who have become involved in the juvenile justice system. In hopes of redirecting their course toward meaningful and productive futures, YLOT offers counseling, therapeutic recreation, job training, mentorship, and other services/opportunities for its participants.