WASHINGTON – Howard University Center of Career and Professional Success has partnered with Raising A Village Foundation for the upcoming school year in a collective effort to increase participation in student mentoring and tutoring.

The Center of Career and Professional Success provides career services through experiential learning and campus employment. As part of this federal work-study partnership, Howard University students will be afforded the opportunity to work with the Raising A Village Foundation’s Driven 2 Succeed program as Driven Student Guides and mentors. This experience gives them direct access to empower young scholars in D.C.’s underserved communities. Raising A Village’s goal for the school year is to ensure more than 1,000 District of Columbia Public Schools students receive quality, high-impact tutoring.

“Distance learning has significantly affected learning outsomces for so many students from underrepresented communities in the education system," said Melissa Knight, interm director of the Howard University Center of Career and Professional Success. "We are excited that our federal work-study program will help bring these students back on track with their educational goals.”

This Fall, Raising A Village will facilitate an in-person tutoring model that has expanded to 12 sites across Washington, D.C. Howard University federal work-study students have the opportunity to make an impact by serving as guides and increasing access to academic interventions for D.C. Public School students. 

“As an HBCU alumna, the opportunity to partner with other HBCUs like Howard University brings me joy because we can give students the ability to use their experiences and education to become difference-makers in children and families’ lives every day,” said Raising A Village Founder & CEO Jaleesa Hall. 

Vielka Vasquez, a sophomore psychology major, said she’s learned that adults can really impact the lives of a child and the importance for uplifting children.

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About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 14 schools and colleges. Students pursue more than 140 programs of study leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 12 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.

About Raising A Village Foundation

RAV was birthed out of Jaleesa Hall's college initiative, Driven Student Organization (DSO), which was founded on the campus of Clark Atlanta University in 2010. On the heels of DSO's success, in 2017, Hall launched RAV in Washington, DC. RAV is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization committed to providing high-quality intervention programs and community resources to children, youth, and families in the areas of education, health and wellness, and the arts. Initially, RAV began providing intervention programs and community resources through its Driven 2 Succeed (D2S) program at one K-12 private school and now 12 DC Public Schools and Community Learning Centers. For more information about Raising A Village, please visit www.raisingavillage.org. For more information about CityBridge Education's City Tutor DC initiative, please visit www.citytutordc.org. 

Media Contact: Aaliyah Butler; aaliyah.butler@howard.edu