Elev8 History

In early 2005, The Atlantic Philanthropies launched a process for selecting locations in which to implement Elev8 (then known as Integrated Services in Schools). Working with a national panel of education and health experts, Atlantic staff analyzed data on 35 communities across the country and, in 2006, selected Baltimore, Chicago, Oakland and New Mexico.

These communities were selected in part because they had leaders, partners and community members committed to helping young people succeed in school and in life. Selection criteria also included socioeconomic needs and disparities, health profiles, academic performance and neighborhood crime data. Many participating schools are in zip codes with some of the lowest life expectancies and highest rates of asthma hospitalizations, STD diagnoses and teen births in the country.

With support from Atlantic and its funding partners, listed below, a community-based organization in each location led the planning, development and implementation of the local effort. In turn, the lead organizations were required to obtain matching support from other public and private sources to sustain Elev8 in their communities. A national program office was established to provide evaluation and technical assistance for the initiative. External evaluators were also engaged by Atlantic.

Today, Elev8 looks different in every participating school. The lead organizations for Elev8 have brought together students, parents, educators, community partners and elected officials to identify local problems and create solutions. Students, families and partners become advocates for improving education and expanding access to critical resources in their community.

In addition to The Atlantic Philanthropies, the following organizations provide substantial support to Elev8:

• Alameda County
• Albuquerque Public Schools
• The Annie E. Casey Foundation
• The Baltimore Community Foundation
• The California State Department of Education
• The Chicago Community Trust
• Chicago Public Schools
• City of Chicago
• City of Oakland
• CVS Caremark Charitable Foundation
• East Baltimore Development Inc.
• The East Bay Community Foundation
• Gadsden Independent School District
• Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation
• The Kaiser Permanente Foundation
• The Kellogg Foundation
• Laguna Department of Education
• LISC/Chicago
• The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
• New Mexico Community Foundation (several sources)
• New Mexico Commission for Community Volunteerism
• New Mexico Department of Health
• New Mexico Department of Transportation
• New Mexico Human Services Department
• New Mexico Indian Affairs Department
• The New Mexico Public Education Department
• New Mexico State CNCS Office (Federal/Vista)
• New Mexico Workforce Solutions
• Nirvana Manana Foundation
• The Oakland Fund for Children and Youth
• The Oakland Unified School District
• The Polk Bros. Foundation
• Oprah's Angel Network
• Safe Passages
• State of Illinois
• United Way
• VNA Foundation