Our Goals, Values & History
We are committed to helping Philadelphia families battle systemic inequities.
At Achieve Now, we see literacy as a social justice issue. Our goal is to produce strong, confident, effective, and joyful readers who see reading as an integral part of their lives and are life-long learners. A parallel objective is to empower students to self-regulate; to share what they are feeling and articulate what they need; and to take ownership of their learning.
To realize these goals, we will affirm student identities, using values-driven and asset-based language. We will approach our students with high expectations and celebrate the many and varied skills students possess. We will build a broad, competent village, bringing multiple organizations together to provide wrap-around supports in a holistic approach that serves the whole student.
Core values
Empowerment
We believe that educational organizations must follow the lead of the communities we serve, using our access to power and privilege to remove systemic barriers in education.
Compassion
We approach all of our work with service, empathy, and cooperation, understanding that a student-focused model means a family-focused model.
Villagers
We commit to fostering partnerships with students, families, teachers, volunteers, and principals with the goal of creating pathways for a flow of knowledge and skills in both directions.
Equity
We see literacy as a social justice issue. We believe that literacy education must be culturally sustaining. We commit to disrupting systems of racial and economic inequality within our organization to better advocate for equity in the community at large.
Adaptability
We operate with a growth mindset, adapting and enriching our curriculum and outreach efforts to the evolving needs of Philadelphia families.
Joy
We believe in a broad definition of literacy that is inclusive of all the ways communities use language to share ideas, engage in artistic expression, positive interaction, exploration and self-love.
