OUR MISSION: Project Success motivates and inspires young people to dream about the future, helps them take steps to get there and gives them the tools they need to achieve their goals.

OUR VISION: Every child entering middle school will graduate high school with a plan for their future and have the skills and confidence that will take them through the rest of their lives.

OUR VALUES: Kids First! A Non-Judgmental Environment. Love is the Key. Clear and Open Communication. Dependability, Reliability, and Trust. Willingness to Grow and Change. Develop Healthy Relationships. Sustain Excellence.

OUR COMMITMENT TO INCLUSION, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, ACCESSIBILITY

Project Success strives to connect students to their purpose by creating programming that truly serves our students and families. We envision a Project Success where inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility are fully integrated into everything we do. We hold racial equity work not as separate, but as embedded into our daily approach to our mission and to each of our actions, decisions, and plans. As an organization that serves every MPS 6th-12th grade student and their family in our own community, we will hold ourselves accountable by making our commitments explicit and play our part in creating a more equitable future.

TO OUR COMMUNITY

• We continually seek to understand and celebrate our students, who they are, and value their identity and culture as we help them connect to their purpose
• We ensure that racial identity, amongst all other identities, is not a factor with one’s ability to succeed and thrive within the organization or in our programs
• We create a culture of understanding, amongst our staff and board, of racism and critical self-reflection of our roles in oppressive systems
• We work to dismantle systems of oppression within our organization, with the partners with which we work, and in the community
• We consistently evaluate and improve our program to be culturally responsive to all of the students and families we serve
• We seek out and integrate student and family voice into all aspects of our programming – from the initial ideas, to the plans, to the execution, to the evaluation
• We are accountable to the communities we serve: Minneapolis students, families, and the broader communities in which they live, work, and play
• We actively do our part to advance racial equity and end racist practices

TO OUR STUDENTS

Project Success exists to help connect you, our students, to your purpose. We will work every day to honor your humanity and your experience. We are working actively toward the following commitments to you:

• Your racial identity, along with all the identities you hold, is not a factor in your ability to participate and succeed in our programs
• Your reality and the barriers you may face, based on who you are and where you come from, are legitimate and important in the eyes of Project Success
• You can talk to our professional and caring staff about the issues and barriers you may face. You will be heard and supported.
• You will continue to be given opportunities to engage in programming that include students from a variety of schools and backgrounds coming together, so you can learn about and from each other, hear different stories and perspectives, and build empathy and community
• You will continue to be given opportunities to engage in programming that is specific to your affinity group and your cultural lived experiences. For example, expeditions to Mexico City, visits to National Museum of African American History and Culture, and college tours to Tribal colleges.
• Through our curriculum, you will have the opportunity to share and better understand the barriers you and/or your peers may face based on race and we will help you uncover the tools and support you need to face them and/or change them
• By building long-term relationships, we will learn more about you and your lived experience. Our curriculum will continuously evolve to reflect and respond to you and your peers who participate in it.
• Your voice and perspective will be heard and included in program decisions, plans, execution, and evaluation
• You will see a diversity of backgrounds and stories in our staff team that reflect the backgrounds and stories of the MPS community
• We are on a path of learning and growing. We recognize the harm mistakes around race and racism can be. It is not your job to hold us accountable, but if you want to tell us when we made a mistake or a judgment error, we promise to learn from it.

In all Project Success programming we work diligently to break down barriers to access for students through:

• Free Programs: The majority of our programs are offered free of cost. Programs with costs associated offer scholarship opportunities, ensuring no student is turned away due to cost.
• Transportation: We provide access to transportation to and from our programming for those who need it, thanks to an incredible team of volunteer drivers, contractors, and PS staff.
• Staffing: Project Success Facilitators attend Expeditions with students, integrating PS curriculum throughout the experience and being a welcoming, familiar face for students.
• Individualized Curriculum: Our staff build curriculum that is tailored to each individual student, mindful of their abilities, spoken languages, and more.
• Childcare: For Theater Experiences, we help to ensure families can attend evening and weekend performances by providing childcare to those who are too young to attend a particular show.

---

OUR AREAS OF INFLUENCE – THE FOUR P’S 

Project Success staff and board members will focus our efforts within the following four categories, setting operational goals within each area and committing to continuous improvement and evaluation of our efforts.