Pathways to Success

 Pathways is designed for individuals 18 and older who, despite having a high school diploma or GED, need to improve their academic skills or upgrade their job skills to enter college or to obtain living wage employment.  

The Pathways program offers two routes to economic self-sufficiency: college or short-term workforce training:

The college pathway is a long-term strategy that places individuals in the pipeline for high wage careers requiring a college degree or advanced training/certification.  This pathway provides intensive academic instruction (math & writing), develops habits of mind/critical thinking skills for college success, improves computer skills (keyboarding, Microsoft Office, and internet), provides ongoing student advising/support, and offers comprehensive career assessment/guidance services (long- term career planning, college research/application, financial aid).

For more information call (202)-269-6623 or email pathways@aohdc.org

Workforce Pathways

Adults who take this pathway do not necessarily need to have a high school credential. Instead, they are interested in job training that will help them prepare for a sustainable career. Students will show competency in 5 major areas:

1. Computers: Students will take computer classes through agreements with Byte Back and First Time Computers. Depending on skill level and interest, students can take one or all of the following classes: Introduction to Computers, an Office Workers course (primarily MS Office suite), and/or Hardware Skills.
2. Job Skills: Students will work with the AoH career counselor to assess interest and abilities in career field. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to take workshops on specific topics in job readiness with Jubilee Jobs. Lastly, AoH can provide students with specific online work readiness tutorials through the online Philip Roy program on an as-needed basis.
3. Academic: Students may place out of this requirement if they already have the academic skills required for most office jobs. If not, students will take a workforce writing and workforce math class to boost their academic skills.
4. Career-specific supplementary course (optional): AoH can work with students to help achieve career-specific goals. (For example, a course to help students pass an entrance exam to an apprenticeship program.)
5. Portfolio: Students will leave the program with a portfolio of their completed work. Items may include: resume, cover letter, writing sample, entrance exams, career assessments, etc.

College Pathways 

Adults who take this pathway have a high school credential and will show competency in 5 major areas:

1. Computers: Students will take computer classes (through an agreement with Byte Back) onsite at Academy of Hope to improve understanding of computer basics, Microsoft office, emailing and the internet.
2. Professional Development: Students will work one-on-one with both an advisor and the career counselor to create a usable, realistic transition plan. The career counselor will provide assessments to help the student determine college interests.
3. College Readiness: Academy of Hope assists students in overcoming many of the logistical barriers to college, such as applications, essay, financial aid documentation, etc.
4. Academic: The academic components comprise the core of the college pathway. Upon entrance to most local community colleges and the University of the District of Columbia, students are required to take the Accuplacer entrance exam. Based on their performance on this test they can place into credit-bearing courses or non-credit-bearing remedial courses. Students who take remedial courses are less likely to complete their degree program and use limited financial resources doing so. AoH offers intensive reading, college writing and college math (algebra) classes to help students gain the academic skills needed to place into credit-bearing classes.
5. Portfolio: Students finish the program put together a portfolio of their finished work. Items in the portfolio include: resume, applications, essays, career assessments, etc.