High Jump Chicago

High Jump doesn’t end after 8th grade.
This summer, our alumni community kept learning, growing, and giving back:

🎓 34 alums returned as Teaching Assistants and Campus Interns, helping create the High Jump experience for today’s Scholars.

🌱 13 alums completed High Jump High, a program for rising 9th graders focused on self-reflection and team-building as they prepare for high school.

💼 23 high school juniors and seniors explored the next step through internship application workshops and a real-world workforce tour.

From middle school to high school and beyond, we’re proud to keep creating opportunities for our students—and to see so many alums come back to help create those opportunities for others.

Students thrive when they feel they belong. At High Jump, students build friendships, find their people, and become part of a community that encourages them to show up, speak up, and be themselves.

There’s still time to become a Founding Legacy Circle Member and help create opportunity for the next generation of High Jump Scholars.

Join the High Jump Legacy Circle with a recurring gift of $25/month or more. Your ongoing support is a meaningful way to pay it forward and advance education equity for Chicago students. https://highjumpchicago.org/donate

Meaningful academic growth happens when students are challenged and supported.

At High Jump, scholars strengthen the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to take on what's next.

Learn more: https://highjumpchicago.org/what-is-high-jump/

From the studio to the stage, High Jump scholars found plenty of ways to create this summer.

Across our campuses, students explored six electives—from Theater and Visual Arts to Digital Music and Art & Activism—and shared their work through showcases and performances.

📖 Every page turned is a step toward greater opportunity.

Reading helps students build knowledge, strengthen critical thinking, spark imagination, and discover new possibilities for themselves and their futures. That's why fostering a lifelong love of learning is at the heart of what we do at High Jump.

Through rich discussions, engaging texts, and challenging academic experiences, our scholars don't just build strong reading skills—they build the curiosity and confidence to keep learning long after they leave our classrooms.

This National Literacy Day, we're celebrating the books, stories, and ideas that inspire young people to dream bigger, ask bold questions, and imagine what's possible.

Everyone has a different reason for giving.
For some High Jump alumni, it’s about giving back to the community that helped shape them. For others, it’s about making sure today’s students have access to the same opportunities.

Whatever your reason, monthly giving helps keep opportunity moving forward.

Become a Founding Legacy Circle Member with a recurring gift of $25/month or more and help expand opportunity for the next generation: https://highjumpchicago.org/donate

High Jump is about preparing students for what's next—and whatever comes after that.

Through challenge, support, and new experiences, scholars develop resilience, a growth mindset, and the skills to lead their own futures.

Every month, High Jump students show up ready to learn, grow, and discover what's possible. Monthly giving helps ensure we're ready for them.

Become a Founding Legacy Circle Member with a monthly gift of $25/month or more.

highjumpchicago.org/donate

Over the summer, Community Scholars came together for one of the most anticipated parts of the week: Team Challenges! From pairs to trios to full teams, students introduced themselves, strategized, and competed in a new challenge — from paper airplane showdowns to puzzle building contests and telephone drawing — they competed in a new challenge every week.