Higher Achievement was founded in 1975 by Greg Gannon, a teacher at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC. Gannon believed the program would address a serious and underappreciated community problem: the gap in opportunity between his Gonzaga students and the youth in the housing project across the street from the school. He founded Higher Achievement to create learning opportunities for underserved youth — so they could have equal access to success, both in school and beyond.
Higher Achievement incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 1985. In 1999, it reorganized as an outcomes-based model for high-level academic achievement during out-of-school time.
In 2006, with grants from Atlantic Philanthropies, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and the William T. Grant Foundation, Higher Achievement launched the first longitudinal, randomized study of an out-of-school time program. Results from the study prompted additional investments in Higher Achievement’s expansion. In 2009, Higher Achievement opened achievement centers in Baltimore, MD, followed by centers in Richmond, VA, in 2011 and Pittsburgh, PA, in 2012.
For over 40 years, Higher Achievement has worked with more than 10,000 youth. On average, 95 percent of Higher Achievement scholars graduate from high school on time. Scholars who complete the program show improved attendance and demonstrate improved attitudes and behaviors toward their peers, adults, and their own learning. The organization has received extraordinary national and local recognition for its work.
Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. Higher Achievement seeks to build a world where every child’s promise and potential is realized, regardless of circumstances. Higher Achievement closes the opportunity gap during the pivotal middle school years. By leveraging the power of communities, Higher Achievement’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.
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