WE ARE SHIFT_ED

We are a non-profit organization committed to boldly accelerating student potential.

Our staff, volunteers, and partners work together to provide the individualized supports that each student needs to be successful from elementary school all the way to the workforce.

Leveraging an equity-based model, data, and strong partnerships within the Education Continuum, shift_ed ensures evidenced-based supports reach students with the greatest need. We want students to see that anything is possible and find success in their diverse educational and career pathways.

About Us
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MISSION

shift_ed boldly accelerates student potential.

VISION

shift_ed will transform communities through diverse educational and workforce pathways.

shift_ed’s roots began in community activism. Students, parents, and business and community leaders in Guilford County wanted to create an education continuum that supported students and graduates at every level birth to career. They started a journey that has evolved over time and has strengthened and expanded through an equity lens. Through strategic partnerships and bold action, shift_ed drives success for students, families, the workforce, and communities.

In 2013 Representatives of Guilford Education Alliance, The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, High Point Community Foundation, and Guilford County Schools came together to reshape the education continuum in Guilford County. After a robust community-wide undertaking, involving volunteers from all corners of Guilford County and one of the most successful fundraising efforts in the county’s history, Say Yes to Education chose the area for its third chapter in the nation. Generous supporters throughout the county also recognized the potential in this movement, and quickly made financial commitments totaling more than $25 million dollars.

In the fall of 2016, the first GCS graduates began their college careers with support from the organization, and since that time gradates of every GCS high school have secured millions of scholarship dollars to prestigious colleges and universities all over the country.

On July 1, 2018, Guilford County became the first community in the country to locally own and operate its SYTE chapter allowing expansion of services to every part of the county. Services include: tutoring for students K-8th grade; career exploration for middle schoolers; free ACT and SAT classes, college application assistance and financial aid guidance for high schoolers; and scholarship and career support for graduates.

Recognizing the need for more supports, especially with the onset of a worldwide pandemic beginning in 2020, the organization increased services to include additional tutoring and career exposure opportunities; and in 2022 increased tutoring for elementary students, rolled out a mobile innovation lab for middle schoolers, and new programs for high schoolers dreaming of college. These expanded supports, from elementary to career, and strengthened partnerships within the Education Continuum allow shift_ed to walk with students on their diverse pathways to success, sometimes for 10+ years of their journeys.

Today shift_ed aims to reshape what is possible for our students and our community. Our work starts in schools and stretches into community centers, workplaces, play spaces, and dining rooms. Students are at the very core of everything we do, and when we invest in them our communities prosper.

CORE VALUES

Opportunity_ providing exposure to possibilities and creating diverse pathways for students to find success in the workforce and in life

Equity in Action_ intentionally eliminating barriers and providing individualized support for students with the greatest need

Bold Collaboration_ strong partnerships, shared language, shared metrics, shared impact/outcomes

Excellence_ believing in each person’s capacity for greatness

Agility_ responding to critical mission-aligned needs with a commitment to do things differently when necessary

EQUITY STATEMENT

At shift_ed, putting Equity into Action requires a reflection on where we have been, where we are currently, and where we want to be in the future. What equity requires is intentionality around:

increasing transparency regarding access to learning opportunities
investing our resources to expand access to supports, job pathways, and mobility for those with the greatest need
ensuring representation aligns with our community’s diversity
considering new ways to elevate voices and distribute agency to students and families