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Way to Grow Alumna Receives Full Ride Scholarship

Way to Grow Alumna Receives Full Ride Scholarship 2560 2048 Ivy Marsnik
Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come! 1200 798 Ivy Marsnik

Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!

Last fall, Waabomiimii began attending Way to Grow Preschool P.A.L.S. after her mom met Miriam, one of our Family Educators, at a recruitment event. At four years old, Waabomiimii did not know her ABCs or how to count, but over the last year she has grown tremendously. Making leaps and bounds, Waabomiimii now knows all…

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Healthy Bodies, Healthy Lives 2560 1707 Ivy Marsnik

Healthy Bodies, Healthy Lives

Nutrition and education are interconnected and deeply affect the lives of the families we serve. Studies show that nutritional deficiencies early in life can negatively affect overall health, cognitive development, concentration, academic performance, and have a lasting, detrimental effect on learning and memory. In response, we expanded the health component of our work to include…

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Parent Engagement Rates Soar 2560 1707 Ivy Marsnik

Parent Engagement Rates Soar

[Tweet “When parents, schools and communities work together to support learning, children do better.”] Over the past several months, Way to Grow has been working to increase parent engagement, and we have seen incredible results! Throughout the summer, hundreds of families have joined in our Cooking Matters health and nutrition classes, attended our Meet the Scholar…

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Who is Dr. Steve Perry?

Who is Dr. Steve Perry? 150 150 Ivy Marsnik
Jessica & La’rissa 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Jessica & La’rissa

If you are lucky enough to find yourself in a room with Jessica and her 18 month-old daughter, La’rissa, you know what pure pride and joy looks like. But, 21 year-old Jessica wasn’t always so full of life. Jessica enrolled in Way to Grow during one of the most challenging times in her young life;…

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Mayor Hodges Visits Way to Grow as City Launches Talking is Teaching Initiative 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Mayor Hodges Visits Way to Grow as City Launches Talking is Teaching Initiative

Last week, Way to Grow teamed up with Mayor Betsy Hodges and TPT to launch and promote the City’s “Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing” campaign. The Talking is Teaching campaign is the first initiative to come out of the Mayor’s Cradle to K cabinet, formed in 2014. Carolyn Smallwood, Executive Director of Way to Grow…

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Way to Grow hosts BrandLab Intern 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Way to Grow hosts BrandLab Intern

Meet Zaq: Last fall, I had the opportunity to participate in a two week class at my school called The BrandLab. This class was facilitated by an organization that recruits talented young people to be introduced to the world of marketing and advertising. During class, we learned about a program called Helping Us Grow (HUG). HUG helps low income families…

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Way to Grow Welcomes Redleaf Family Foundation Intern 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Way to Grow Welcomes Redleaf Family Foundation Intern

Meet Emily: The second semester of my junior year abroad in Paris marks the first time I was able to take concrete action towards my future. I started by sending a rather desperate email to my college’s career services office. I explained that I was determined to get an internship this summer, and specified that…

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Why I am a Family Educator 2560 1707 Ivy Marsnik

Why I am a Family Educator

I worked for several years as a Special Education Educator’s Assistant before returning to earn a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Special Education. After one year at a local school, I quickly realized the classroom was not the place for me. I didn’t feel like I could be as effective as I wanted to be…

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Minneapolis Summer Programs 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

Minneapolis Summer Programs

Summer is just around the corner and we are just as excited as your children are! For many of us, summer is time to get out and have fun. Don’t let it pass you by! Below are a few summer programs that may help your child get the most out of their summer. The programs…

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10 Tried-and-True Family Game Night Ideas 150 150 Ivy Marsnik

10 Tried-and-True Family Game Night Ideas

Throughout the year, Way to Grow hosts Family Game Nights as part of our Great by Eight program. On average, over 30 families attend and each family receives a game to take home. These events have become a favorite for Way to Grow families. We feature a different game each time and wanted to share a few…

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