Your generosity has helped Closing the Gap focus on what really matters - providing resources for students to succeed in their education and beyond!

Thank you for contributing to their success. 

This year’s Big Day of Giving comes at a crucial time. The economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has hurt nonprofits everywhere, making Big Day of Giving a critical opportunity for donors to--virtually--rally around the local organizations that make the capital area healthy and vibrant every day of the year.

With schools closed for the reminder of the school year, and students and teachers continue to distant learn, CTG is committed to supporting local programs that empower our future scholars. CTG wants to ensure that, no matter the challenges, students can continue to receive the resources and support they need to successfully complete their education.

Here's How You Can Support Closing the Gap: 

DONATE today, by clicking here, and selecting "donate" on our profile. Your gift will be processed immediately and a receipt will be sent to your email.

SPREAD THE WORD to your friends, family and colleagues.  Post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Linkedin about this great opportunity. 

Watch B.J. Snowden's, CTG Vice President, interview with ABC 10 where he talks about the importance of Big Day of Giving for Closing the Gap.

​As you can imagine, the impact of COVID-19 has been especially devastating for our students and families, who recently learned that Sacramento schools will be closed for the remainder of the year. ​Despite the challenges, the nonprofits that we sponsor are rising to the challenge and are providing the support and needed resources to our local students. 

Improve Your Tomorrow 
Last month, Improve Your Tomorrow officially launched a new initiative called IYT Virtual. The program allows their team to continue to prepare our scholars to achieve academic excellence and college success. IYT Virtual has four core components:
- High quality weekly mentorship, parent engagement and college advising sessions
- Live virtual transmissions which includes an online classroom, fun nights (video game tournaments!) and masters classes on topics like branding, social media, leadership, etc.
- Virtual individual and group tutoring through Google classroom
- Real Talk Tuesdays which includes live guest speakers
 
During the first week of IYT Virtual, they conducted 487 mentorship sessions and 26 parent meetings. 

COLLEGE TRACK 
​​The dedicated team at College track Sacramento are regularly connecting with students and providing remote support to their high school students via a virtual learning hub that includes academic workshops, stress management classes, and resources for students and families. To support their college students, they are providing additional academic support and emergency funding as needed to help them return home from closed campuses. College will continue to address student needs as they arise and celebrate the successes of our high school seniors as they decide where they will be heading to college this fall.

On February 27, 2020, the Closing the Gap Foundation hosted its Moving the Needle Forward: Program Dinner with Improve Your Tomorrow, College Track, the Sacramento Police Foundation - Criminal Justice Academy, Cosumnes Wolfpack Robotics along with the California Department of Education. Given that many of us have developed, implemented or assessed our efforts to close the academic and or career gaps across a number of communities (local, state and or national), it is increasingly evident that while there have been gains over the years, far too many of our Latino, African American and economically disadvantaged white children are still lagging behind and or “failing out” of our P/K-12 educational institutions.

The purpose of this meeting was to provide Non-profit agencies funded in part by CTG, the members of the CTG Board and statewide educational policy makers to engage in a critical dialogue and response to the challenges and potential opportunities that we could partner or collaborate.  Each of us began by sharing information about the services and activities offered, challenges faced, and possibilities for the future either within their programs or as a collective.  

The following strategic planning models were used to uncover and engage the group in a critical dialogue. Design Thinking and SWOT analysis were used to help the group recognize the common thread that each of us have, even if we use different approaches or activities. While not initially stated, we ultimately recognized that given all the advances being made individually, while notable and successful with and for those we serve, these questions still remain:

1. What might we be able to do to scale up our outreach, if we took the best of what we each?
2. Rather than intervening before the challenge surfaces, should we not address the issues or factors that create the need for children to receive additional support after the fact?
3. What type of things might we do to move the needle forward, that we have not postured before, because we were too busy getting students engaged in?

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Over the course of the evening, the common goal was rather simple.  Whether you are a non-profit, a philanthropic or government/educational entity, we are invested in providing youth with tools and skills for success, like tutoring, college preparation courses and tours, financial literacy, specific technical skills (robotics, science, engineering) needed to succeed and survive in ever changing educational and career market place.  

Few goals in education have been as frustrating and urgent as the deep, generational disparity in achievement between the haves and the have-nots in California schools.
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It is an article of faith in the K-12 school system that every student — regardless of race, creed, wealth or color — can and should be academically successful. But in measures from standardized tests to dropout rates to college completion, the achievement gap has persisted in cities, rural communities and suburbs, a sign that opportunity is not yet equal for many children in California classrooms.

​It's uncomfortable to talk about, but even worse to ignore. Latinos and African American students are generally outperformed in school by their Asian and White peers. In Sacramento County, Asian and white students are more likely to graduate high school than other students of color, and they are more likely to earn the grades needed ​to attend a four-year university.

​By Robert Martinez

Closing the Gap’s Mission is to help youth in our community who have limited resources pursue a better future through preparation, education and vocation. There is no finer example of that statement then what occurred on Saturday, July 18, 2015, at Delegata’s new headquarters in Sacramento.

​Two bedrooms, four children and two hardworking moms are trying to make life work in a Sacramento apartment. In the middle is 17 year old Grecia Frias. Her story is compelling. She had a life changing experience through what's called a parent-teacher home visit.

You’re a Senior now, and hopefully you’re working so you can earn some extra spending money. Make sure that your Financial Aid is all figured out and done. If you’re getting a student loan, you have to make sure that all of paperwork has been done over the summer, so that when school starts you can collect your loan.