2024: The Start of a New Partnership with Mankato Area Public Schools
2024 was a milestone year for Project Success as we celebrated 30 years of impact and a new partnership with Mankato Area Public Schools. This new partnership began after great conversations between district and school leadership in Mankato with Project Success staff Matt Dreier, Elia Dimayuga-Bruggeman, Marc Bromaghim-Oropeza, and Adrienne Diercks. Project Success kicked off programming in January 2024 with Workshops with all 6th and 7th grade students and their families at Dakota Meadows and Prairie Winds Middle Schools.
As the 2024-2025 school year began this fall, Project Success expanded to work with all students (6th-8th grades) at the two middle schools. We are also beginning to offer some programming to Mankato Central high school students. Project Success hopes to expand to Mankato high schools with full programming in future school years. See below for some of the key highlights from this year!
Each month, a Project Success facilitator guides experiential activities in classrooms. In middle school workshops, students focus on building community, identity, setting goals, and leadership while preparing for high school. Middle school workshops from January-June were led by Marc Bromaghim-Oropeza, a PS alum and staff with more than a decade of experience working with students in the classroom. This fall, Kristin Fox joined the Mankato facilitation team after two years working with Minneapolis students. Both Marc and Kristin have loved getting to know Mankato students and their dreams through in-classroom workshop activities.
In Spring 2024, Project Success hosted the first Theater Experiences event for Mankato students and families in partnership with Hennepin Arts. Project Success brought more than 500 students and families to see Disney’s touring Broadway Musical “The Lion King” at The Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. Since then, the Project Success team has been planning a calendar of theater experiences for the 2024-2025 school year. Fall theater experiences have included the following:
This November, the Tu Dance Residency Experience brought students the opportunity to express themselves through music and movement. Guided by the Tu Dance team, students designed their own call-and-response dance sections. One student shared, “I felt proud to come and try.” The teachers in Mankato are already looking forward to other collaborative opportunities in the spring.
Music brought the community together as our partnership with Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU) culminated for the Jazz Mavericks concert. 38 Mankato students and families joined to help fill the room with energy and excitement that thrilled both musicians and MNSU staff.
The excitement has continued in December with new experiences for students and their families. This week, 98 attendees joined Project Success for Miracle on 34th Street at the Merely Players Community Theatre. This special preview event marks the start of an exciting partnership with our first theater partner based in Mankato.
Families attending Miracle on 34th Street
On December 13th, twenty students from Central High School embarked on the first-ever Mankato Project Success College and Career Tour to St. Paul College. Students split into two groups, with one group learning more about the trades and the other engaging in hands-on learning experiences in cosmetology, culinary, and health services. All students gained new knowledge about college cost comparisons, credit transfers, and scholarship information from admissions presentations.
This winter, we will offer Mankato students their first Project Success Outdoor Adventure: Winter Adventure Day. Mankato students and their families will meet at Flandrau State Park in New Ulm to engage in winter activities including snow tubing, cross-country skiing, snowshoe orienteering, outdoor games, and more. Project Success will partner with local organizations including the Scouts BSA and educators from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to put together a great experience for students and families.
Photos from the first college tour to St. Paul College
We are grateful for this growing partnership with Mankato Area Public Schools. Mankato Area Public Schools Superintendent Paul Peterson said the in-class workshops from Project Success help students plan future goals, which can help boost school achievement. “What’s different about Project Success is it brings an outside voice into our schools and just provides another layer of enrichment for our kids,” Peterson said. “The fact Project Success had such a long history in Minneapolis before expanding to greater Minnesota was really powerful. All schools are looking for ways to create meaningful relationships for kids and help them find their purpose in life.”
We are looking forward to continuing our work with Mankato students and families in the new year!
Learn more about Mankato Programs
In August 2024, Project Success hired Dani Farrell to be the first ever Program Manager – Mankato to support program planning for Mankato students and families. Reach out to Dani if you have any questions or ways you are interesting in supporting Mankato programs.
