MEDITECH Supports the Northside Achievement Zone in Minneapolis

MEDITECH is pleased to announce the addition of the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ) in Minneapolis to the list of organizations it supports through its charitable giving program. The company makes annual donations to a wide range of cultural, educational, and social service nonprofits in New England, Atlanta, and the Minneapolis metropolitan area, where it has offices. NAZ is a nonprofit organization committed to permanently closing the achievement gap and ending generational poverty in North Minneapolis. 

“We’re excited to partner with the Northside Achievement Zone,” says MEDITECH President and COO Michelle O’Connor. “We’re impressed by their unique wrap-around approach to supporting low-income students of color and the results they’ve demonstrated putting kids on a path to college.”

NAZ, which was founded in 2003 as the PEACE Foundation, originally focused on violence reduction but has evolved into a partnership that now includes three dozen community organizations and eight schools. Their unique model brings resources to students and their families, rather than requiring them to locate and access disparate resources themselves. 

“Every family has a family coach who helps support parents and set goals as a family and a student coach to help students identify and achieve their own goals for academic success,” explains Sondra Samuels, NAZ President and CEO. “By taking a more holistic approach and involving both the student and their family, we’ve been able to see remarkable results. We’re building a culture of achievement that’s helping low-income children of color graduate from high school, fully college and career ready.”

Stories of students and families NAZ has supported on the path to college can be found on the organization’s website. But proof of their impact is more than anecdotal. NAZ works with Wilder Research and the University of Minnesota to continually evaluate the performance of their programs and make adjustments. All of their results and supporting data are also available on their website. 

“It’s truly inspiring to see the positive impact the Northside Achievement Zone is having on the community,” says O’Connor. “We’re proud to help support their important work and look forward to developing our partnership. This past year has shown us that this kind of work is more important than ever.”

Samuels agrees. “We look forward to partnering with MEDITECH as together we work to lift and support our North Minneapolis families and scholars.” 

To learn more about the Northside Achievement Zone and support their work, visit: northsideachievement.org

Watch the Northside Achievement Zone video on YouTube.