A Letter from the Co-Founders
Dear Friends and Partners,
We are passionate about improvement and believe that growth is a constant endeavor. Our improvement journey is guided by a strong desire to ensure access and opportunity for all students and a profound sense of hope and possibility.
We founded RISE in 2015 in partnership with educators who share our aspiration to chart a new path forward by reimagining what’s possible in our schools and for our students. This was the start of an improvement journey that continues to this day.
We set out with an ambitious mission that remains our north star: ensure all students graduate with a plan and the skills and confidence to achieve college and career success. Like any journey, ours has included new discoveries, exciting milestones, unexpected twists and turns, and occasional roadblocks, but we keep moving forward!
We constantly ask ourselves: What’s working, for whom, and why? What’s not working, and what can we try or adjust? These seemingly straightforward questions require humility, reflection, and the desire to improve.
Barbara Dalio Co-Founder and Board Chair
Even as we embark on our ninth year of this work, we are discovering more impactful and efficient ways to support student outcomes. Just this past year, we discovered new FAFSA innovations in response to the problematic release of the new federal application, expanded the RISE Data Hub for the first time to help educators in new schools access the information they need, and welcomed new school partners to join us on our improvement journey.
The journey is all the more powerful when we embark on this work together. When we discover new shortcuts and inspiring vistas, we want to bring more schools along on the journey with us. And when we experience roadbumps, we offer one another support, ideas, and encouragement.
Please continue reading our 2024 annual report to learn how the RISE team and school partners continue this journey together as improvement partners in support of our wonderful students and communities.
Emily Pallin Co-Founder and Executive Director
Introducing the RISE Network
The RISE Network’s journey began in 2015 with an important focus: support high school educators and teams in their work to increase the number of students graduating on time and ready for postsecondary success.
We knew then – and continue to experience now – that far too many students who grow up in historically marginalized communities are impacted by the systemic challenges that persist in today’s education system. These challenges result in inequitable outcomes for students who may not have access to the same opportunities as their peers in neighboring communities. When coupled with a patchwork of disconnected data systems
Network of Networks:
RISE’s many networks are more interconnected than ever and led by our Chief of Network Success, Nichelle Woodson. Pg. 6-7
Grade 9 Symposium:
Now in its third year, RISE’s Grade 9 Summer Symposium saw a record number of districts in attendance. Pg. 6-7
that fail to provide comprehensive, actionable, or accessible data for educators, as well as structural impediments like school schedules, district policies, and cross-district barriers to collaboration, these challenges have a compounding effect on a student’s ability to advance towards on-time graduation and postsecondary success.
RISE works to disrupt these challenges by building a community of educators across many districts who work together to address issues affecting student outcomes. From the start, we knew that one solution or one approach could not solve every problem. Our communities and schools are unique and require different strategies in different formats, at different times. That is why RISE supports school teams on their unique continuous improvement journeys to identify new ideas that can improve student
Freshman Focus Network Growth:
Following a highly successful pilot year, the FFN doubled in size in year two. Pg. 8-9
Summer Bridge Impact: Students who attended Summer Bridge outperformed their Grade 9 peers who did not attend. Pg. 10-11
outcomes. Grounded in high-quality and accessible data provided by the RISE Data Hub, which was built in close collaboration with our network of educators over many years, school teams pinpoint areas of focus based on their current student needs, identify a potential strategy to address that focus area, and then work to implement that idea and capture lessons learned as they work to refine or adjust their approach over time.
Part of RISE’s approach is understanding that while every school community is unique, school teams shouldn’t need to design every strategy from scratch. Yet too often our educators aren’t provided the space to connect with peers in other schools to learn about what’s working in their contexts. That is why we focus on bringing talented educators together in networked communities where they can problem-solve together
Data Hub Expansion:
The impact of the RISE Data Hub has increased exponentially as more schools and districts adopt this custom data tool.
Pg. 12-13
Improvement Teams:
Hear directly from RISE educators working on teams to improve student outcomes across grade levels. Pg. 14-15
and share best practices. Our network can use these spaces to scale practices that have shown success in one school to many others, leading to improved student outcomes for many more students.
As we embark on the next stage of our journey, we celebrate great progress, innovations, and student outcomes across partner schools. We also recognize continued opportunities for improvement. As our network grows, so too do opportunities to learn from the innovations and dedication that partner educators bring to this work. Now, more than ever, we are convinced that data, continuous improvement, and network communities can drive better and more equitable student outcomes, and that journey continues across the RISE Network.
Summer Academy Outcomes:
Rising seniors who attended summer academies achieved higher application rates than their peers who did not. Pg. 16-17
FAFSA Completion:
RISE Network students persevered in a challenging year to achieve leading FAFSA completion rates. Pg. 18-19
RISE’s Growing Network of Networks
RISE’s founding school partners aspired to create a community built by educators, for educators and focused on improving students’ college, career, and life outcomes. RISE educators share the belief that we can and must do more to ensure all students achieve their full potential.
Today, RISE’s Core Network of nine high schools and eight districts reaches over 13,000 students and is our most comprehensive and high-touch partnership model. These schools serve as demonstration sites (modeling implementation of impactful on-track and postsecondary strategies) and innovation labs (using continuous learning and data to drive improvements).
During the 2023-24 school year, RISE continued to expand its model and results through partnerships with 46 additional high schools.
This work included:
• Scaling our partnerships to additional high schools within our Core Network districts;
• Partnering with the State of Connecticut on the CT FAFSA Challenge;
• Doubling our Freshman Focus Network to 18 schools across four states; and
• Exceeding our attendance goals at the annual RISE Network Grade 9 Symposium for schools and educators around the region.
The 2023 Grade 9 Symposium engaged more states and districts than ever before, with 119 educators from 19 school districts in six states (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New York, Virginia, and Florida) in attendance!
Building on our success in facilitating improvement networks such as these, RISE took time to reflect on and evolve our programmatic model to bring all of the schools we work with together into one cohesive network of networks, under the leadership of RISE’s Chief of Network Success, Nichelle Woodson.
“Over the past six-and-a-half years at RISE, I have witnessed firsthand the power of establishing strong conditions, building educator capacity, and creating space for collaborative learning—and the incredible impact these factors have on schools and students,” said Woodson. “Moving to a ‘network of networks’ model is a natural evolution of our work, one that amplifies our collective expertise, fosters deeper connections among our schools, and will drive even greater outcomes for our students. I’m excited about this next chapter because it represents an impactful shift in strategy and a commitment to maximizing our impact through shared learning and continuous improvement.”
This refreshed programmatic model will enable us to bring together educators from 50+ schools, at varying stages of their own journeys, to provide support for continuous improvement and the exciting ideas that emerge as a result.
IN 2023-24, RISE SERVED:
55 SCHOOLS
32 UNIQUE DISTRICTS
6 STATES STUDENTS
OUR FIRST-EVER POSTSECONDARY SYMPOSIUM WILL BE HELD IN FALL 2025.
Freshman Focus Network: Collaborating to Scale Promising Practices
Imagine you are a school leader looking to strengthen the middle-to-high school transition and student experiences in Grade 9. Where do you begin? This was one of the many questions facing school administrators at Burncoat High School in Worcester, MA.
1,179 students attend Burncoat, primarily from Worcester’s Burncoat and Greendale neighborhoods. Roughly 70 percent of students identify as students of color, 67 percent are from low-income households, and 23 percent are multi-language learners. While planning to bring the school leadership team’s vision into reality for this school community, Dean of Students Dan Falcucci knew that other schools were tackling this exact question and that there was an opportunity to learn alongside those school teams.
Through a partnership between RISE and Worcester Public Schools, educators from Burncoat and other high schools in Worcester were able to participate in RISE’s Grade 9 Summer Symposium, a two-day event where educators gather to learn from RISE team members and peers from our school networks about the elements of successful Grade 9 practices they have implemented. Falcucci offers thoughtful reflections on this experience.
“After attending a RISE event, you need to reflect on what you have learned and think of what ideas or strategies you can put into place to give you some quick wins at your school,” Falcucci offered. “For Burncoat, our first priority was data visibility, so we started by focusing on data transparency and the prioritization of Grade 9.”
In response, Falcucci created a monthly newsletter focused specifically on 9th-grade work. This newsletter updates the full staff on Grade 9 progress, interventions, and best practices to provide a consistent platform for communicating all things surrounding the 9th-grade team.
Energized by this experience, the partnership expanded in 2022-23 to include participation in RISE’s Freshman Focus Network (FFN), a year-long arc of coaching and professional learning aimed at strengthening key conditions for success around the Grade 9 transition. Worcester’s South High School participated that year as well, and in the 2023-24 school year, the remaining high schools in the district joined, creating a mini district-wide network within the larger FFN.
The FFN is a prime example of the power of networks: last year, educators from 18 schools across nine districts and four states not only worked together to problem solve on topics around the Grade 9 experience but also heard from educators in our Core Network who have been supporting Grade 9 students through innovative strategies for years.
A highlight of last year’s FFN programming was a site visit where educators from all 18 schools gathered at East Hartford High School, a partner in RISE’s Core Network since 2015. This event embodied the spirit of crossdistrict and cross-network collaboration as East Hartford modeled practices they have implemented which have led to improved Grade 9 on-track results. This included demonstrations and discussions of improvement team meetings, teaming structures, the On-Track Coach role, and other elements of their Grade 9 culture.
While just one of the many strategies Burncoat has implemented that are leading to the results shared in this section, the newsletter is a helpful example showing how schools are able to hear of something that’s working in one place and launch a version that works best for their own school culture. Scaling proven practices that build the capacity of educators and create the conditions that lead to improved student outcomes are hallmarks of a network community, and we’re excited that the FFN continues to grow and that a new network focused on Postsecondary Success will launch soon.
SPOTLIGHT ON BURNCOAT HIGH SCHOOL’S
JOURNEY WITH RISE:
Year 1
Year 2
Burncoat engages in this work because we want to fundamentally change what education looks like for our high school students, which starts in 9th grade. Remember, this is a continuous improvement journey and meaningful change takes time.”
DAN FALCUCCI Educator Panel
RISE Grade 9 Symposium
100% OF RESPONDENTS TO OUR 2023-24 FFN END-OF-YEAR SURVEY INDICATED THEY WERE SATISFIED OR VERY SATISFIED with our partnership and communications, as well as coaching, professional learning, and shared resources and tools received through the partnership
Falcucci)
9 learners who are chronically absent
Summer Bridge: A Pathway to Grade 9 Success
Taking that first step into high school can be a scary, exciting, and daunting experience. Rising 9th graders face unique challenges as they navigate a new school while navigating their teenage years and adolescent development. The potential difficulty of the Grade 9 transition is matched only by the importance of the ninth-grade year. With research showing Grade 9 on-track achievement is the best predictor of on-time high school graduation1, helping students prepare for that very first step is crucial.
Summer Bridge programs across the RISE Network are designed to support students during this specific moment of transition. These programs invite students – including a targeted group selected based on 8th grade data which shows they may need additional support – to school over the summer for two to four weeks of relationship-building and academic support. During Summer Bridge, students connect with at least one adult on the high school staff so that they know a caring adult in the building before the school year starts. Rising 9th graders develop an understanding of high school expectations and the many ways high school differs from middle school.
“At Summer Bridge, I met new friends, new teachers, and learned about the classes,” said Masir, a student at Maloney High School in Meriden. “All of this, and learning where my classes are, helped me feel ready for high school.”
Summer Bridge programs were first piloted as a strategy in two of our Core Network schools in summer 2016. Based on the positive feedback and results that were produced during those pilot years, these programs were implemented across all nine Core Network schools in the summer of 2020. Through the continuous improvement efforts of our educators and the sharing of those learnings across our network, these programs have evolved and are yielding improved on-track rates for students who attend (see opposite page).
“I feel so lucky to be a Summer Bridge Coordinator,” said Rachael Orbe, Team Leader and English Teacher at East Hartford High School. “We offer students and families the opportunity to build relationships with the staff and learn about what being in high school means while easing some of the anxieties that come with the transition. Summer Bridge is one of the first experiences students have at the school, so we want it to be positive and fun as they develop skills for high school readiness, like communication, teamwork, and leadership”
1. Allensworth, E.M., & Easton, J.Q. (2007). What Matters for Staying On-Track and Graduating in Chicago Public Schools. Chicago, IL: UChicago Consortium on School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/what-mattersstaying-track-and-graduating-chicago-public-schools.
96% of 2023 SUMMER BRIDGE ATTENDEES said that attending the program made them feel more prepared to start ninth grade.
Summer Bridge helped me get used to the school, because it was a totally new experience for me. They showed us around the freshman wing, where our classes were going to be. It was a good way to get used to the school.”
For this year’s Summer Bridge program, we decided to focus on the whole mind and body, and the theme for our electives revolved around that idea. One group focused on attention and utilized chess to hone that skill. In addition, the students in the group journaled to reflect on their experiences and ground themselves so that they could sustain maximum attention and focus. Another group did weightlifting to support a healthy body and mind, as healthy habits lead to healthy lifestyles. The third group practiced drawing and painting in order to learn meditative and self-soothing techniques. In rebranding Summer Bridge we were able to maintain greater student attendance while supporting their social-emotional development and creating conditions for students’ longterm success in 9th grade and beyond.”
BETH MCKIE
Grade 9 Assistant Principal, Platt High School
ROMAN Westhill High School, Stamford
The RISE Data Hub: Expanding our Impact
Data is everywhere, including your car, your watch, your thermostat, and more. All of these tools can be valuable resources when you have the right information at the right time to guide your decisions and actions. Likewise, educators must have access to timely, user-friendly information about student learning and school experiences, including indicators like attendance, grades, credits, college applications, and FAFSA completion. Unfortunately, educators too often lack real-time and actionable data or need to toggle between multiple systems that each contain a fraction of the information they need.
That’s why RISE developed the Data Hub, which was released in 2022 in our nine Core Network schools. This latest evolution of RISE data tools collects information from multiple student data systems and transforms that information into a single application with nightly updates. This platform allows educators to sign into one system to see all of their students’ most important data, which saves educators time and allows them to more accurately address students’ needs.
Constance Coles, College and Career Coordinator at Bulkeley High School in Hartford, reflected on how the Data Hub has positively impacted her work. “I used to monitor data using Naviance, PowerSchool, and a spreadsheet tracking a few milestones,” she said. “On the Hub, all the data was in one place, making it much easier to find everything. I advocated for using the Hub for our postsecondary efforts as I saw its value and wanted to use it in conversations with students.”
RISE was able to integrate schools outside of the Core Network into the Data Hub for the first time this past year, and Bulkeley was one of these first new Hub partners. Bulkeley, as well as Weaver High School in Hartford, expanded the use of the RISE Data Hub from Grade 9 on-track data to now include all available postsecondary data sources and functionality to advance college and career planning efforts thanks to grant support from the H.A. Vance Foundation and an expanded partnership with Hartford Public Schools.
Following this broadened use of the Data Hub, the percentage of seniors at Bulkeley with post-high school plans in place increased from 63 percent, as of February 1, to 97 percent, by the end of the school year.
Coles said the Data Hub is a game-changer in her work, both in collaboration with colleagues and in helping students along their postsecondary pathways. “I used the Hub to put together charts that I brought to student check-ins so they could react to something tangible,” she said. “For example, I used the Hub to help students who had nearly met the academic and attendance thresholds for Hartford Promise support, so they could see exactly where they stood and what they needed to do.”
Over the last year, we have more than doubled our reach by expanding to 19 schools, with over 24,400 students now being supported by the Data Hub. We are eager to connect with more schools interested in bringing this resource online for their educators and students.
SPOTLIGHT ON: DANBURY HIGH SCHOOL
(the largest high school in New England)
Danbury High School adopted the RISE Data Hub in January 2024
serving over 900 The Hub Danbury’ssupports eight Grade 9 teams; ninthgraders
In just 6 months of using the Hub,
Danbury’s Grade 9 on-track rate increased by 20%
NETWORK-WIDE DATA HUB EXPANSION
2023 2024
9 Number of Schools:
19
The RISE Data Hub is really userfriendly and intuitive. With the Hub, we now have access to timely data to guide our protocols, and through our coaching with RISE, we have standardized what ‘on-track’ means. This puts everyone on the same page, lessens ambiguity, and saves time.”
KRISTOPHER DAVIDSON Assistant Principal, Danbury High School
Number of Students:
13,300
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DATA HUB AND THE EVOLUTION OF RISE’S DATA TOOLS. SCAN HERE TO VIEW OUR BLOG!
24,400
Improvement Teams: Harnessing Data to Improve Student Outcomes
The work of continuous improvement can sound simple: identify an area of challenge, examine what may be causing it, brainstorm ideas to address it, put one of those ideas into practice, review the results, and repeat the cycle. While straightforward in theory, we know that a continuous improvement journey is usually anything but linear.
Given the evolving needs of our students and school communities and the inequitable student outcomes we see across education systems, educators are not content to simply maintain the status quo. Dissatisfied with the same approaches getting the same results, educators are joining collaborative teams to identify and pursue the next innovative practices they hope will support more students.
With support from RISE, school improvement teams focus on the work of getting better at getting better. High schools often organize teams around subject areas, creating time for teachers to review content-specific curricula, assessments, and data. Science teachers meet with science teachers; math teachers with math teachers. But what about all the Grade 9 teachers and staff who support the same students? When do they get the chance to plan student supports? When are students (versus content) the centerpiece of our conversations and collaboration?
Improvement teams help fill these gaps. Utilizing dedicated time during normal school hours, these teaming structures bring together a diverse group of educators to review important student data and address a specific gap or opportunity. Across all grades, improvement teams represent an effort to identify root causes, test solutions, and implement sustainable changes. Teams identify trends across groups of students and develop change ideas that can address larger-scale needs. At the same time, teams monitor individual student needs to ensure they are providing the one-to-one support that is critical to student success.
“The team works well together, leveraging each member’s strengths and collaborating effectively to achieve common goals,” said Dr. Eli Patterson of Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk. “The team is adept at identifying challenges and developing strategies to address the needs of our students by using data-driven approaches to find solutions.”
RISE supports improvement teams through coaching, strategic data calendars, facilitated improvement cycles, designed meeting protocols that are rooted in evidence and focused on student interventions, and increased data visibility through tools like the RISE Data Hub.
Oftentimes, improvement teams pilot a unique idea that helps address a very targeted opportunity. Over RISE’s history, schools have stood up change ideas such as summer bridge programs that help Grade 8 students more successfully transition into high school, FAFSA task forces to address the fact that so few of our graduating seniors are completing the FAFSA, and summer melt texting campaigns that support students by ensuring they aren’t missing a critical deadline post-graduation.
What’s unique to the RISE context is our ability to help scale these strategies across our school networks when they have evidence of effectiveness. When we see positive student outcomes in one school, we work hard to ensure those learnings are shared with all school partners. When we are successful, we are able to create a small shortcut on the path to improved student outcomes by amplifying what’s working in one or two schools across our network of 55 schools.
Change Idea from Bulkeley High School in Hartford
Need: Families don’t have a clear understanding of on-track requirements and their child’s on-track status.
Hypothesis: If we engage caregivers in on-track conferences with students, then we will build relationships with families, develop shared understanding of on-track requirements, and build goals to support student success.
GRADE 9 EDUCATOR SURVEY DATA POINTS
said they are prepared or extremely prepared to use data in their decision-making 94% believe that all students deserve personalized support to achieve their goals 93% said their team has conversations that are student-centered and solutions-oriented
Here’s
what some of our educators had to say when asked,
“What are some of the strengths of your Improvement Team?”
Everyone brings a unique perspective and a variety of experiences. Everyone acts with the student’s best interest in mind and truly cares about each student that they have.”
ERIC JIANTONIO On-Track Coach Naugatuck High School
90%
91% said they are supported or extremely supported by their RISE coach in the effective use of data
Grade 9 educator responses across RISE Core Network Schools.
In our biweekly meeting, we come together as a team to review data in the Hub. We look at broad data, as well as our caseloads, informing specific action steps for students we need to check in on and provide help with completing milestones. For example, I was able to solidify a list of seniors at risk of not graduating or needing to attend summer school, just by having a snapshot of their current grades in the Hub.”
CANDICE WADE School Counselor Middletown High School
Summer Academies: Boosting Senior Year Readiness
Students nationwide submitted more than 4.3 million applications last year to pursue various postsecondary education pathways. Though technology and the Common Application have made college planning more streamlined, the reality is that many pieces of the process applications, essays, school selection, resumes, etc. — are still a daunting endeavor. Students only click that “submit” button after having already dedicated considerable time completing a multitude of steps, and a completed application isn’t the only piece in the postsecondary puzzle, though it is a critical one.
Educators in RISE’s Core Network recognized that the amount of steps involved in completing an application and the lack of scaffolding for students at each stage of the process creates a challenging experience. Tracking each individual milestone completion leading up to a completed application, as well as the various milestones that happen before and after, is crucial to a student’s ability to manage the entire process. What could school teams do to build awareness of the time and steps required and give students a head start on the work? Enter the Summer Academy, a pilot program launched in the summer of 2018 at Platt, Maloney, and East Hartford High Schools.
Summer Academies invite incoming 12th graders to get a head start on completing postsecondary milestones before they begin their senior year by participating in a one- to two-week program during which educators connect with students to review the steps necessary to pursue postsecondary goals, including the college application process.
“The impact of Summer Academy is that you’re helping 80 or so of your students to complete as many of their milestones as they possibly can before the school year,” said James Donewald, Assistant Principal for Maloney High School in Meriden. “Giving them that time alleviates much of the anxiety of postsecondary planning. The program helps create a better transition to senior year for our students.”
As in past years, the work didn’t stop when Summer Academies concluded. Throughout the school year, educators provided direct follow-up support for students, with Grade 12 improvement teams leveraging meeting spaces and the RISE Data Hub to monitor students’ progress in achieving their postsecondary milestones.
“The relationships we built over the summer allowed us to get right to work in the fall,” said Jenni Melnik, Summer Academy Coordinator and College & Career Counselor at Middletown High School. “Summer Academy gave students the confidence to complete their applications early and meet their goals.” All 67 students who attended Middletown’s Summer Academy successfully applied to at least one college by December, a benchmark date RISE educators collectively established to build urgency amongst their graduating seniors.
The positive impact for those students who attended Summer Academies was clear (see opposite page). These figures are encouraging as we continue to build upon Summer Academy programming as a key transition support for rising seniors.
THE SUMMER ACADEMY EXPERIENCE
STUDENTS
I attended college boot camp and school teachers were able to help a lot with the different areas of the process. They were helpful in getting information and supporting the process.”
AUDREY ADDY
East Hartford High School
The summer boot camp was good! I learned a lot and [School Counselor] Ms. Thong helped me with pretty much everything. It made me feel much more ready for Senior year than I was before I went. The most helpful thing was how easy it was to ask the teachers for advice or for help.”
JEREMIAH RIBEIRO
Middletown High School
EDUCATORS
There was a lot of worry and anxiety from students around all the steps in the application process, but once the students were clear on timelines and next steps, they could charge forward. It was remarkable to see their confidence shift and the excitement with the acceptances they have received. We are proud of how the program is growing and becoming more impactful.”
Summer Academy Coordinator Manchester High School
Our Core Network schools came together for a planning session in the spring, where they reviewed data from the previous year and feedback from student surveys to help inform their Summer Academy outreach and activities.”
Students Networkwide attended Summer Academy in 2023 437
SUMMER ACADEMY
COLLEGE APPLICATIONS
SOJIN PARK
Postsecondary Success Coach
CT RISE Network
99% of students
who planned to attend a 4-year college, 2-year college, or trade school submitted an application to a school.
SUMMER ACADEMY
FAFSA SUBMISSION
6 out of 9 Core Network Schools had a 100% application rate of students submitted the FAFSA 86%
(compared to 54% of their peers who did not attend)
Middletown had the highest FAFSA completion rate at 97%
East Hartford was a close second at 94%
FAFSA Success: Innovative Strategies Drive Leading Completion Rates
Financial access is the primary barrier to students pursuing higher education, especially those from historically marginalized communities1. The cost of college and credential programs can make obtaining a degree or certification unattainable for far too many students, which makes lessening the barriers to financial aid an imperative.
We know that students in Connecticut experience these challenges. RISE surveys juniors and seniors in our network annually and consistently finds that most students select “finances” as the top challenge to achieving their postsecondary plan. That is why schools in the RISE Network began focusing on FAFSA completion many years ago.
The FAFSA is critical in unlocking the financial resources students need to access postsecondary education. Historically, completing the FAFSA has been a complex process requiring multiple household members to complete archaic forms and provide varied evidence about their financial status that may not be easily available. It was most challenging for those with nuanced family or employment situations, and the language complexity of the form was difficult to navigate for families where English was not their primary language. This complexity is likely why, over the last seven years, an average of only 52 percent of seniors nationally completed the form even though it could unlock thousands of dollars in aid for each student.
The U.S. Department of Education launched a new FAFSA process this year in response to a 2020 law that sought to make it easier to access federal and other financial aid by increasing eligibility and creating a more streamlined user experience. Unfortunately, in addition to the almost three-month delay in the availability of the application, the new application presented considerable
challenges, including intermittent availability early in the release, use of outdated inflation data, technical glitches, and delayed transmissions to higher education institutions – all of which resulted in delayed or incorrect financial aid packages being sent to students.
Educators across our network continue to identify innovative ways to address the ever-changing needs of our students, like FAFSA completion:
• Core Network schools piloted and scaled FAFSA Task Forces, led by a coordinator and FAFSA coaches who work with a caseload of students to provide guidance and resources for completing the FAFSA.
• The RISE Data Hub integrates FAFSA submissions and completion data updates into a centralized management system.
• RISE partnered with the CT State Department of Education and 54 schools for another year of the CT FAFSA Challenge.
• A Postsecondary Symposium and network, modeled on our Grade 9 Symposium and network, is launching next fall to scale proven postsecondary practices to more schools.
Tackling the complex FAFSA process is one of many examples of our community sorting through data, identifying a systemic barrier to access, researching solutions, and designing responsive supports they believe will lead to equitable access for all students. In the case of the FAFSA, those efforts resulted in impressive outcomes for our students – even in an especially difficult year that saw a nine percent year-over-year decline in submitted FAFSA applications among first-time applicants nationally. Students in the RISE Core Network outperformed their peers nationwide in their FAFSA completion rates (see opposite page) and gained access to the resources needed to make their postsecondary goals a reality.
1. NASFAA article on the 2024 Gallup-Lumina Foundation Report The State of Higher Education 2024 (https://www.nasfaa.org/news-item/34147/Report_The_Biggest_Barriers_to_Higher_Ed_Enrollment_Are_Cost_and_Lack_of_Financial_Aid)
FAFSA Completion Among High School Seniors
RISEsupported CT FAFSA partnership outpaced the national average.
The RISE Data Hub is extremely valuable to us as a FAFSA Task Force. This year, because of Better FAFSA issues, we focused on our four and two-year college students as a priority and we were able to assign those kids to coaches. In the Hub, we can filter by tags, including by FAFSA completion status and postsecondary plan. The Hub was very valuable in helping the team get through our caseloads of students who needed help.”
MATTHEW LAPLACA
Social Studies Teacher and FAFSA Task Force Coordinator Naugatuck High School
*RISE Supported through the CT FAFSA Challenge.
Expressing Our Gratitude for Our Supporters
We are deeply grateful for our philanthropic supporters’ generosity and partnership during FY2024 as we work together to help all students achieve success. We appreciate their leadership and all that they do in service of Connecticut communities, students, and educators.
The Andrews Family Foundation
Erin Benham
The Connecticut Project
Dalio Education*
Robert Dilenschneider
Andrew Ferguson
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation*
Natalie Gordon
Rodgers Harper
Charles Harris
Hartford Yard Goats (non-monetary contribution)
Per & Astrid Heidenreich Family Foundation*
Hodder Family Foundation
Lone Pine Foundation
The National Partnership for Student Success
New Canaan Community Foundation
*Member of RISE’s Funders Collaborative
Ike Opayemi
Emily Pallin
Nathan Quesnel
The Ritter Family Foundation*
Town Fair Tire Foundation
H.A. Vance Foundation*
Yield Giving
Anonymous
With gratitude, we recognize the contributions of the 2023-24 Board of Directors, whose stewardship and steadfast commitment to student success guide us as we work collectively to advance our mission.
Barbara Dalio, Chair
Rodgers Harper, Treasurer
Erin Benham, Secretary
Rebecca Good
Natalie Gordon
Chuck Harris
Bob Hughes
Nate Quesnel
Dianna Wentzell
Turning Resources into Results
$6,891,739
Investing in the Future
We can do more for young people when we work as a team. Join us as we make a difference for thousands of students. Together, we can and will help all students realize and achieve their full potential.
$878,866 $211,346
TOTAL $6,423,602
Get involved:
DONATE to RISE at ctrise.org/ donate, helping us increase our impact in support of students, educators, and public high schools in Connecticut and beyond.
EXPLORE our resource portal where you can access actionable ideas and tools for improving student engagement, on-track achievement, and postsecondary outcomes.
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Hearing Directly from Students and Educators
At the heart of the RISE Network is our commitment to equitable student experiences and powerful networked communities of educators to support these students. Our data-driven strategies are meant to empower students and educators, giving them the tools they need to achieve excellent outcomes. RISE students and educators inspire us every day with their determination and dedication, and their enthusiasm only makes our community stronger. Looking back on the past year, students and educators reflect on their experiences and the connections made through the RISE Network.
STUDENTS
One of the biggest worries when going to a new school is getting lost, so getting to know the layout of the school during Summer Bridge helped me feel ready to start high school.”
JEXIEL Maloney High School
My OTC provided moral support for me. I would come in and talk to her and it really helped me.”
MARIIA Westhill High School
I attended boot camp over the summer and we were able to get a lot of things done during the summer to prepare. When we came back in the fall, I saw the difference in the students who didn’t attend, in terms of everything that needed to get done.”
EVANCE KAMTENGENI East Hartford High School
Before I had a mentor, it was pretty rough, because I was new to high school. I was having trouble doing some things, but when I got my mentor, she helped me a lot with succeeding.”
MYA-SYRAE
Westhill High School
I attended Senior Signing Day a few weeks ago. I was nervous to be in front of all my peers, but in the end, it was so rewarding. I’m a young mom and I worked really hard. It was so nice to be celebrated.”
JAYLA AGRONT
Middletown High School
EDUCATORS
RISE’s work is so important. I’ve worked in districts that don’t have RISE and now I work in a district that does and it’s just awesome!”
MELANE THOMAS Director of School Counseling Maloney High School
I was resistant to RISE in the beginning, but then I started using the available data and saw all of the ways that RISE helps us. I’m really grateful and I really appreciate the help that we get from RISE.”
AYESHA PAL School Counselor Manchester High School
I joined a FAFSA workshop. My counselor was a big help and my teachers also encouraged me to pursue what I wanted to do.”
ANGIE MILIAN Westhill High School
RISE offers the best professional development I’ve attended. Because it’s set up in a way that you share some ideas but then take those ideas and work with other people to continue to build on it and I think that’s where it all really happens.”
SCOTT HURWTIZ
English teacher and team lead Westhill High School
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