What We Do
OUR APPROACH
Three Pathways. One Mission.
The Excellence Project addresses the criminalization of youth through three interconnected pathways: Intervention, Prevention, and Advocacy.
Each one meets youth and families at a different point in their journey — but together, they form a complete system of support designed to change outcomes, not just respond to crises.
01
INTERVENTION
Meeting youth where they are, when it matters most.
When a young person becomes involved in the school discipline or criminal legal system, timing is everything. Our intervention programs provide immediate, individualized support to youth and families navigating these systems — connecting them to resources, advocates, and services that keep a single incident from becoming a life-altering setback.
02
PREVENTION
Stopping the cycle before it starts.
The most effective way to break the incarceration cycle is to keep youth from entering it in the first place. Our prevention programs build skills, resilience, and support systems for young people and families — reducing the risk factors that lead to school pushout and system involvement, and strengthening the protective factors that help youth thrive.
03
ADVOCACY
Changing the systems, not just the outcomes.
Real, lasting change requires more than helping individual youth — it requires transforming the institutions and policies that drive the criminalization cycle in the first place. Through advocacy, we work alongside schools, courts, and community partners to reform practices, shift policy, and build systems that support young people instead of pushing them out.
OUR PROGRAMS
Research has illuminated the harmful effects of the carceral system. Our programming empowers youth and families, restores their dignity and encourages them to thrive.
The foundation's programs are designed to break the criminalization cycle within our educational and criminal justice institutions—and in the communities they serve.
Since 2014, we've served hundreds of children and trained a growing cadre of professionals dedicated to this work. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, our programs remain affordable and accessible to every youth who needs them.
More than 30 years of research has shown us why our prison system operates the way it does—and, just as importantly, what it takes to help youth who are trapped in the criminal legal system or harmed by its effects.
PAST PROGRAMS
Intervention
The Wrap-Up
These student led check-ins prioritize mental heal and well-being with fun activities in each session.
Advocacy
Parenting with a Purpsoe
A weekly session for parent and caregivers to learn best practice on effective communication.
Advocacy
Black Leadership Academy
The Black Leadership Academy was a way for young black professionals to gain more leadership experience in the workplace.
Prevention
Healing the Village
A collaborative community effort focused on solutions for childhood trauma and financial disparities.
Prevention
Youth Summit
On a mission to build a community of leaders who are committed to serve and equipped to lead, the youth summit creates a network of youth who are passionate about making change in their communities.
READY TO BE INVOLVED?
