<span style="font-family:" american="" typewriter""="">WHAT: Our mission is to give students from Hartford the opportunity to change their lives through education. 

<span style="font-family:" american="" typewriter""="">HOW: Weprepare our Scholars to successfully complete a four-year college degree byoffering them access to exceptional educational opportunities and providingthem with ongoing, comprehensive supports.

<span style="font-family:" american="" typewriter";color:black"="">WHY:We envision these Scholars attaining college degrees and then returning to workand live in Hartford, thereby inspiring and helping to cultivate similarachievements in younger Hartford students. 

<span style="font-family:" american="" typewriter";color:#2b2a26"="">HYS helpshighly motivated Hartford students gain access to and graduate from best fitsecondary schools and colleges. The organization provides Scholars and theirfamilies with academic and mentoring support for 10 years, beginning the summerbefore students enter 7th grade and continuing through college graduation.

<span style="font-family:" american="" typewriter";color:#2b2a26"="">HYS wasoriginally founded in 2005 to address the achievement gap in Hartford byfunding scholarships for local youth to attend independent high schools, wherethe college admission rate is over 99%. HYS soon learned that the funding ofthese scholarships did not meaningfully address Hartford’s achievement gap, andthe organization targeted its focus to instead provide middle school studentswith services helping them to develop strong study, personal, social and otherskills making them prepared for academic excellence in high school and college.

<span style="font-family:" american="" typewriter";color:#2b2a26"="">In 2007HYS, in partnership with The Steppingstone Foundation in Boston, launched TheSteppingstone Academy Hartford, tofurther the organization’s three core goals: 

<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family:" american="" typewriter";mso-fareast-font-family:"american="" typewriter";mso-bidi-font-family:"american="" typewriter";color:#2b2a26"="">1.   <!--[endif]--><span style="font-family:" american="" typewriter";color:#2b2a26"="">To implement a rigorous academic enrichment program for Hartfordmiddle school students that increases high school performance, includinghelping them to gain access to the finest independent schools;<o:p></o:p>

<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family:" american="" typewriter";mso-fareast-font-family:"american="" typewriter";mso-bidi-font-family:"american="" typewriter";color:#2b2a26"="">2.   <!--[endif]--><span style="font-family:" american="" typewriter";color:#2b2a26"="">To provide high school and college Scholars with comprehensivesupports and services to help ensure high school graduation, collegeenrollment, and college graduation; and<o:p></o:p>