Aspire’s New Strategic Roadmap
A Glance Back…
In 2021, Aspire engaged students, families, AmeriCorps members, staff, board members, and partners to shape our ambitious three-year strategic plan. Guided by our values, we centered the voices of students and families, who told us to:
- Continue doing what you’re doing (delivering high quality programming), but do it for more students.
- Keep programs at no cost so every child can dream big.
- Invest in staff who reflect our students’ communities and can build long-term, supportive relationships with them year after year.
- Expand programming to include exposure to STEM learning that can build a future career pipeline for children.
- And from our students, serve more chicken nuggets.
Despite a rapidly changing environment, Aspire fulfilled these commitments, minus the chicken nuggets.
Over the last three years, Aspire has:
- More than doubled the number of students we serve, including opening new classrooms at Drew and Randolph Elementary Schools that eliminate transportation barriers many families face and deepen collaboration with school partners.
- Maintained all programming at no cost, ensuring equitable access to high-quality, evidence-based learning support because we believe the ability to afford quality out-of-school time academic support should not interfere with a students’ ability to thrive and dream big.
- Invested in staff recruitment, retention, and pay equity to build a team that reflects and understands our students and their families.
- Strengthened academic programming, including expanding STEM opportunities, enhancing math instruction, and developing a structured literacy curriculum to address post-pandemic learning needs. While many Aspire students enter two or more grade levels behind, the majority make meaningful gains in both reading and math, especially those who return year after year.
These accomplishments are testament of the strength of the Aspire community, including our curious and ambitious students, our hard-working parents and families, our dedicated partners, our committed, creative, and passionate staff and board, and our generous donors and funders who continue to believe and invest in the power of afterschool programming and the South Arlington community.
Looking Forward…
In 2025, Aspire once again convened students, families, staff, and partners to design a five-year strategic roadmap rooted in our values and responsive to today’s challenges. Building on our momentum, here’s what you can expect from Aspire in the years ahead:
- Pillar I: Increase Student Achievement: Students continue to enter Aspire further behind academically than pre-pandemic cohorts. Aspire remains committed to high expectations and individualized learning. We will:
- Continue strengthening our structured literacy and math curricula.
- Have 90% of students improve in reading and math annually.
- Pillar II: Expand Holistic Programming (SEL, STEM, and Family Support): Aspire students and families are experiencing greater uncertainty, mental health, and economic needs. While keeping our programming at no-cost to Aspire families, Aspire will:
- Expand our social-emotional learning curriculum through our partnership with Teach Peace of Mind to support our students in growing their self-confidence, resiliency, problem solving, and conflict resolution.
- Grow STEM programming and harness our Makerspace to open doors to emerging fields and expose our students to new experiences and career tracks.
- Develop a logic curriculum to help students develop critical thinking, deepen their curiosity, and navigate misinformation.
- Increase family programming, such as computer classes, a food pantry, and 1:1 support for students’ parents and caregivers.
- Pillar III: Strengthen Strategic Partnerships: Aspire’s long-history of working in partnership with our community is foundational to student success. We know we all do better when we all do better. To meet rising needs, Aspire will:
- Expand intentional partnerships that create a continuity of care and support for our students as they transition into middle school, high school, and beyond.
- Build partnerships to identify students for our program, fill gaps in community services, and help families access support for food, housing, health and other safety-net supports.
- Develop and deepen strategic partnerships to support students and families on our waitlist.
- Pillar IV: Build a Sustainable Staffing Model: With a rapidly shifting federal funding environment and cuts to the AmeriCorps programming that provided classroom support and instruction, Aspire is designing new staffing models that:
- Maintain our enrollment numbers while continuing to offer highly individualized support
- Create employment pathways for young people in our community, including former Aspire students.
- Ensure long-term stability across all program sites in the years ahead.
We know that education is relational and holistic. Our strategic roadmap reflects this and provides a path forward that is innovative, student-centered, and rooted in equity, joy, connection, and excellence, ensuring every student has the opportunity to not just catch up, but fall in love with learning and dream big.