Since 2009, Sandy Springs Education Force, a nonprofit organization, has worked to inspire and support all Sandy Springs public school students to graduate and pursue productive lives beyond high school by providing educational and enrichment programs through community collaboratives.
Sandy Springs is the ninth wealthiest city of its size in the U.S., yet almost 60% of its public school children are deemed economically disadvantaged. Moreover, almost 30% of our city’s families are considered low-income and 14% actually live below the poverty line. This demographic dichotomy has significant implications. It is calculated that 22% of children who have lived in poverty at any time in their lives do not graduate high school, compared to 6% of those who have never been poor. This number rises to 32% for students spending more than half their childhood in poverty. In an effort to abate this predicted outcome, for the past seven years Sandy Springs Education Force (SSEF) has successfully targeted this vulnerable population. Impacting approximately 6,000 children each year, the overarching goal of SSEF is to reach out to economically disadvantaged public school students, provide tools, support and programs to improve their academic performance while inspiring them to graduate high school and achieve their potential through vocational training, college attendance or the military. All SSEF programs are based on a collaboration between SSEF and one or more partners, including the particular school, the Fulton County School System, the city of Sandy Springs, a community organization or a foundation. The organization’s impact has been notable: Since SSEF’s inception, the high school graduation rate in Sandy Springs public schools has risen almost 20%.
