click below to view our full impact report
LACROSSE.
ACADEMICS.
ENRICHMENT.
COLLEGE PATHING.
SUCCESS.
At Harlem Lacrosse, our mission goes beyond immediate successes; we focus on creating a long-term, sustainable model that transforms the lives of our students.
Here’s how we do it:
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We’re honing champions! Our students sharpen their skills and learn valuable life lessons through the discipline of lacrosse. By enhancing our students' skills and dedication to lacrosse, we foster discipline, teamwork, and leadership qualities.
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Success in the classroom is our goal. With daily wraparound support, our students excel academically, setting the stage for bright futures.
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Our community fosters resilience, confidence, and well-being. Being part of Harlem Lacrosse means having a strong support system and a sense of belonging.
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Harlem Lacrosse’s College and Career Pathing Program fills these resource gaps by scaffolding our three pillars of academic, athletic and enrichment programming with opportunities that expose our secondary school students to skills, knowledge and role models that will set them on a path to post-secondary and professional success.
The Model
Harlem Lacrosse is a school-based program that changes the life trajectories of youth through:
Daily wrap-around academic support
Mentoring
Leadership training
College readiness
Career exploration
admissions counseling
Lacrosse instruction
In the past four years, 201 seniors have graduated from our high school programming.
By 2026, that number will be nearly 600.
College and Beyond
The hallmark of our program is sustained engagement and support, which supports long-term educational outcomes for our students.
In 2023:
61 seniors graduated high school as Harlem Lacrosse participants.
35 (57%) are the first in their family to attend college
36 (59%) have plans to participate in college athletics.
Harlem Lacrosse is dedicated to helping students access the best post-secondary institutions for them, regardless of cost constraints.
Harlem Lacrosse alumni have gone on to attend over 200 colleges and universities, including:
Academic Success
Harlem Lacrosse participants are student-athletes, pursuing success on and off the field.
This school year, participants continued to demonstrate academic success and growth.
Students who struggled the prior academic year achieved the largest increases in their GPA this year.
School attendance is key to academic success. Harlem Lacrosse students attended school and avoided chronic absenteeism at higher rates than their peers.
Students who were chronically absent last year attended on average 5 more days of school this year.
Depth Over Breadth
Harlem Lacrosse maximizes its impact by focusing on depth of participation over breadth of participation. We know that our students excel the most when they are deeply engaged over the course of many years.
Harlem Lacrosse programming is now available to all students from 6th grade through high school graduation.
Why Lacrosse?
Lacrosse is at the core of everything we do.
Our commitment to building lacrosse competency has enabled us to field competitive boys and girls national teams that proudly feature elite players from all five Harlem Lacrosse regions---a testament to the athletic growth players experience within our program.
