College Tribe Doubles Impact Thanks to Crown Castle Support

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Twice as many D.C. students in 3rd to 8th grades are connecting with College Tribe mentors, who cultivate their character, scholarship and social competence, because of a generous grant from Crown Castle.

College Tribe allows students to receive mentoring from adults with similar backgrounds in a range of subjects, including academic success, social-emotional skills, leadership and interpersonal relationships.

Crown Castle's Connected by Good support allows College Tribe to include 50 additional students at the following schools in Ward 8:

• Hart Middle School
• Leckie Elementary School
• Patterson Elementary School
• Simon Elementary School

• Statesmen Academy for Boys

During College Tribe's history, 100% of participants have graduated from high school.

Data for D.C. shows that the achievement gap between Black students and their white peers has narrowed in both reading and math. However, persistent gaps remain. College Tribe works to counter this situation and improve education outcomes for all students in the District.

Jeronique Bartley, College Tribe's executive director, says, "We greatly appreciate Crown Castle's understanding and support of our community, especially at this challenging time. Last school year we had to rely on virtual mentoring sessions and that speaks to the need to have connectivity anywhere, anytime. We're excited to have our new mentees engage with young people as we expand the pipeline of students from Southeast D.C. to college."

Ashley Greenspan, Crown Castle public affairs manager, says, "College Tribe's success in improving academic outcomes for students is critical for advancing equity across the District. We're proud that with our Connected by Good program we can be part of the 'tribe' that's making this happen in Southeast D.C."

Four Black men founded College Tribe 14 years ago, motivated by their own journey from "at-risk" childhoods to professional success. These friends, who first met during their schooling, all are fathers, which brought into sharp relief the difficulties of raising Black boys.

In addition to college and career mentoring, College Tribe offers after-school STEM education lessons and a Summer STEM program. The Catalogue for Philanthropy has conducted a financial and program review of College Tribe and named it one of the best local nonprofits in the Greater Washington region.

The partnership with College Tribe is part of Crown Castle's Connected by Good initiative to work with community partners to improve spaces where people connect, promote public safety, and, in this case, advance access to education and technology. Crown Castle has previously partnered with nonprofits Urban Ed, LGBT Tech, and the DC Education Equity Fund.

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