School & Campus Partnerships

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Our Partnership Approach

We recognize that many amazing families and educators are already hard at work in kids’ lives and that much magic is worked in homes and schools. Our aim is to magnify that magic by teaming with parents, guardians, teachers, and school leaders in various ways at different points throughout a child’s educational journey, often making use of nights, weekends, and summers when school is not formally in session. We rely on great communication and teamwork to maximize our opportunities to serve each child with excellence, and we always seek ways to remind them to lean into the support and resources already being made available to them.

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Middle School Partnerships

For PATH Tucson, we partner with two of ACE’s longtime collaborators in mission- Santa Cruz and St. John the Evangelist Catholic Schools. Everyone who matriculates into 6th, 7th, and/or 8th grade at either school is a part of our initiative through their college graduation or until they opt out. By attending one of these two schools on the south side of Tucson, a student automatically gets enrolled in weekly PATH Persistence Class, is eligible to apply to participate in PATH Rising Summer, and will be supported after 8th grade through PATH GPS.

  • Singular focus on our mission to provide radical accompaniment, opportunity, and formation for underrepresented students beginning after 5th grade through college graduation.
  • Regular sharing of data analysis (including insights into 8th grade graduate outcomes).
  • Openness to use of our work for school public relations/marketing opportunities.
  • Admissions recruitment support (as relevant).
  • 11 years of support through an explicitly Catholic lens for scholars and families.
  • Open lines of communication as we work together to provide the best possible support for each student.

  • Openness to students participating in a cohort with students from other schools.
  • Time and space for local PATH coordinators to check in with participating students must be available on a regular basis.
  • Assistance in program awareness building and student recruitment efforts will include but not be limited to sharing of paper & electronic materials and facilitation of information sessions.
  • Regular access to student data (grades, attendance, test scores, behavioral notes, etc).
  • Open lines of communication between teachers/counselors/leaders and our coordinators.

High School Partnerships

Our participants in PATH Tucson matriculate into over 15 different high schools across the city, and while we would love a formal partnership with each, that is not yet the reality. The more formally and closely we partner with a high school, the more a student can expect us to be involved in their school environment (conferencing with their teachers and counselors, visiting during the school day for 1-on-1 check-ins and mini-workshops, etc.). The deepest partnerships we form include hosting some of our programming (like our middle school Rising Summer, which can become a great tool for exposure-based recruitment.

  • Singular focus on our mission to provide radical accompaniment, opportunity, and formation for underrepresented students through college graduation.
  • Regular sharing of data analysis (including insights into graduate outcomes).
  • Openness to use of our work for school public relations/marketing opportunities.
  • Admissions recruitment support (as relevant).
  • Adhering to all host site protocols for safety and respectful use of space.
  • Open lines of communication as we work together to provide the best possible support for each student.

  • Openness to students participating in a cohort with students from other schools.
  • Time and space for local PATH coordinators to check in with participating students must be available on a regular basis.
  • Assistance in program awareness building and student recruitment efforts will include but not be limited to sharing of paper & electronic materials and facilitation of information sessions.
  • Regular access to student data (grades, attendance, test scores, behavioral notes, etc).
  • Open lines of communication between teachers/counselors/leaders and our coordinators.
  • Openness to students participating in a cohort with students from other schools, including private, public, and charter schools
  • Support for participants in matriculating into any combination of 2- or 4-year public and/or private colleges.

  • Openness to participants on campus at a given time ranging from approximately 10 to 22 years old.
  • Office space for up to 3 full time coordinators.
  • In the school year, space will be needed in the afternoons, evenings, and/or weekends for whole group gatherings (up to 100 people) and cohort gatherings (20-40 people).
  • In the summer, full use of multiple classrooms, cafeteria, assembly space, and physical activity space will be needed.
  • Access to office machines and supplies (copier, staples) will be needed.

College Partnerships

We know that opportunity is abundant in variety, so it is appropriate that our participants explore and eventually attend colleges & universities around the country. While we do all that we can to visit them when possible, we know that it’s most efficient and most effective to have good campus partners in place who are able to be even more supportive in ways particular to their own institution and with much more frequency. As such we work to develop strong campus partnerships in areas including but not limited to academic support, financial aid, campus ministry, multi-cultural services, and first-gen support.

  • Singular focus on our mission to provide radical accompaniment, opportunity, and formation for underrepresented students through college graduation.
  • Regular sharing of data analysis (including insights into graduate outcomes).
  • Openness to use of our work for school public relations/marketing opportunities.
  • Admissions recruitment and retention support (as relevant).
  • Open lines of communication as we work together to provide the best possible support for each student.

  • A commitment from at least one designated university employee to check in on and support our student(s) on their campus.
  • Open lines of communication between teachers/counselors/leaders and our coordinators regarding student progress.
  • Efficient and effective connections with the offices in charge of financial aid, academic support, mental and physical health, spiritual programming, residential life, academic advising, and career readiness (regardless of the designated employee’s role and positionality on campus).
  • We are currently in talks with various universities about building formal MOUs specifically focusing on financial aid guarantees dependent on admissions qualifications.

Connect with PATH

We believe that we are better together, so whether you are in a current PATH region or interested in conversations about potential partnership or replication, we are always happy to connect. Be welcome to reach out to us any time at path@nd.edu!