Aiming to increase student success and high school graduation rates, Partners Advancing Student Success (PASS) recently launched its 2023-24 annual report, which highlights many student and program achievements over the last year.

Partners Advancing Student Success supported a record number of students last school year while raising its graduation rate to 97.5 percent for seniors directly served by a student advocate.

PASS made 37,301 contacts with students throughout the year, representing whole school services like career days, adulting days and interview days. Smaller group-level meetings and events totaled 2,982 contacts. Both numbers are new records.

The local non-profit focused on student success released its end of year report for the 2023-24 school year at a celebration breakfast on October 25. Stakeholders including donors, board members and volunteers heard from student speakers, advocates, Executive Director Brooke Mobley, board chairman Jerome Johnston and both local school superintendents.

The organization focuses on providing services and support to at-risk high school students. PASS advocates in each local high school work to remove barriers, improve student performance and keep students on track for graduation.

“The data from this year’s report is truly something to celebrate, and the credit goes to our incredible PASS staff and students,” Mobley said. “Our Advocates are living out our mission by building meaningful relationships which directly contribute to higher graduation rates and help students stay on track to complete high school.”

Each PASS advocate has an assigned list of students who have been recommended for personal, one-on-one support. Last school year saw 322 of these case-load students served individually by PASS advocates. That number is up from 308 the prior year.

Of these individual students who were high school seniors, 97.5 percent graduated, up from 93.9 percent the prior year.

“We are incredibly proud of the students represented in this data— their hard work and resilience are the driving force behind these successes,” Mobley said. “Even as our caseloads and services increase, PASS continues to provide excellent support to the students of Carrollton City and Carroll County, maintaining our commitment to delivering the high-quality services that help students succeed both in and out of the classroom.”

While last year set records for the organization, Mobley said this year should be even better.

“With the help of the Carroll County Board of Education, we were able to add an additional full-time advocate at both Central High School and Villa Rica High School,” Mobley said. “These have been great additions to our staff to help serve our largest high schools, and we are already seeing the impact of these additional hands.”

The work of PASS is made possible by grants and the support of community partners. Since 2019, PASS has hosted Ladies Night Out as its signature event to raise awareness and funds for the organization and to provide a night of fashion and fun for the west Georgia area. The event typically features a fashion show from local boutiques, auction items, shopping, red carpet photos and much more. The 2024 event was held in July and raised almost $110,000 in support of the organization’s efforts – a record result.

PASS has recently partnered with the neighboring non-profit Circles of West Georgia in a collaboration that aims to provide caseload students with mentors during their senior year and, eventually, allies after graduation to support their transition from high school to their next step.

Mount Zion High School is the pioneer school for this program, featuring four 12th-grade students and four Circles mentors. The students and mentors meet monthly to build rapport and gain knowledge on various life skills that will help them succeed. This program is funded by a grant from the Community Foundation of West Georgia, aimed at helping students meet their academic goals. Additionally, this grant also funded over 100 hours of tutoring services for caseload students during the past school year.

Additionally, PASS has created the Cynthia Langley Fund for Student Success in honor of the founding executive director of PASS. The fund is managed by the Community Foundation of West Georgia to carry forward Langley’s legacy of championing educational equity and opportunity.

“Serving as Cynthia’s successor has been the most rewarding job I’ve ever had,” Mobley said.

“She has been a mentor to me and many others, and we hope that naming the fund in her honor will recognize and highlight her numerous contributions to the community, as well as to the students and schools we serve.”

The Cynthia Langley Fund will provide financial support to students by covering essential fees that might otherwise hinder their participation in key academic and extracurricular experiences.

The goal is to ensure all students have the opportunity to fully engage in their educational journey regardless of financial constraints.

To learn more about PASS and its mission to serve local students, visit passwestga.org or follow Partners Advancing Student Success on Facebook and Instagram. For more information about how to donate and further the mission of PASS, visit passwestga.org/donate.