Within two short years of opening its doors in Spring 2006, the Emily Krzyzewski Center has achieved impressive results that indicate the great promise of what is next to come.

Since day one of our operation, we’ve actively engaged in a process of continuous evaluation and improvement, measuring our results against clearly defined goals and utilizing data to refine our approach. We employ internal and external analysis, nationally normed standardized testing and multiple evaluation mechanisms across stakeholder groups to develop measures that help ensure excellence throughout our programming and advance organizational goals.

Research Triangle Institute (RTI) is a globally recognized, best-in-class corporation that has partnered with us on a pro bono basis to help us ensure that we have the best evaluation logic model and the right standardized tests and procedures in place. They also act as an independent third party to analyze our results and help us understand and act upon areas where we can improve and advance our programs, increase our impact and achieve a better return on every dollar invested. Like so many of our best practice partner organizations, RTI is with us for the long haul, committed to our development and supportive of maximizing our efficiency and impact as we grow.

In year one, our results were truly inspiring. RTI analysis and evaluation of grade-equivalent scores and percentile rankings indicate significant success in closing the achievement gap between low-income students and their peers across all income groups nationally. Two-thirds of our students were reading above grade level by year end. And nearly half of our Pioneer Scholars achieved A/B Honor Roll distinction. Parents, students and tutors uniformly agree that our academic, character and leadership programs have a very significant impact in improving student performance.

Academic Year 2006-07

“All of my students grew in confidence as they sharpened their skills in reading and math.
The students cared about their progress and tracked it, and cared about the character
pillars and how to generalize those to the world outside of the Emily K. I really enjoy
being here – tight ship, motivating language, meaningful progress, respect all around.”
– Pioneer Scholars Lead Tutors