Program Details
StudentU
Enrichment & Access
Durham Academy
Student U is a college-access organization that believes all students in Durham have the ability to succeed. In order to make this dream a reality, Student U creates a pipeline of services to support students through middle and high school. By providing direct services during out of school time in the summer and after-school, and advocating for students and families within schools, Student U ensures that students develop the academic skills and personal well-being needed to beat the statistics and succeed in college.
Durham Academy serves as the home for Student U’s Summer Academy. More than 150 Middle School students also meet from 3-6 PM every afternoon of the school year for homework coaching, targeted remediation, extracurricular clubs, and family activities.. Members of the DA community serve as teachers, mentors, board members and volunteers for Student U.
Student U welcomed its first class of 50 students and 16 teachers in the summer of 2007, as a result of a collaboration between Durham Public Schools, Durham Academy, UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. Central University and Duke University. In May 2014, 40 students from that inaugural class announced their intended college during Student U's first College Signing Day, to a Carolina Theater packed with supportive friends and family there to celebrate their success.
Student U now walks with 450 students and their families on their journey to and through college. Eighteen full-time employees, 150 part-time employees, and dozens of community partners work with our students year round to combat the systems of racism and inequality that make our students journey through college more challenging than is fair.
The Student U model is successful because it harnesses students' power to change the world. The program inspires and empowers students of all ages by challenging them to use their passion to make a difference in their community. As a part of Student U, students and teachers of all ages develop a shared vision for a brighter future and gain the courage and skills necessary to make that vision a reality.