Achievement Academy of Durham – Articles

The Achievement Academy of Durham is a community-based education program with the mission to teach and support young adults who have dropped out of school in order to reconnect them to the opportunities an education provides. AAD students gain critical reading skills, earn their NC Equivalency Diploma and complete college preparatory training so they can succeed in a post-secondary program and attain sustainable employment.

We conduct classes year round Monday through Friday from 9:15 to 12:15 and 2:00 to 3:15. We have a case manager on site to provide"wrap around" services to help students deal with the chronic conditions of poverty: lack of transportation, child care, food, rent; finding a part-time job; accessing medical resources; court and probation issues, etc.

We conduct a college-prep course for graduates to help prepare students academically for the college placement exams so that they do not have to take remedial course at Durham Tech and they can start working on their post secondary education immediately. This aspect of our programming helps students re-learn the more formal, structured routine necessary for success in college. Additionally we help students locate and apply for financial aid, including Pell Grants.

We could not accomplish any of this without the assistance of a large group of dedicated volunteers. Last year we had 50 volunteers that donated 2,367hours of their precious time to our students education.