TeenSHARP, a college access and leadership development nonprofit for Black, Latino and low-income students, is using its virtual presence to expand its reach into Sussex County.

“Our outreach in Sussex County has increased within the past year and we intend to increase that even further,” said Jenni Jordan of TeenSharp. “We finally got to the point where 35% of our Striver students are identifying as Latino, which is a big goal for us this year, and we hope to increase that, especially in Sussex County because, currently, the largest share of our students come from New Castle County. We want a strong, robust Sussex County community.”

“TeenSHARP, founded in 2009 by Tatiana Poladko and Atnre Alleyne, prepares Black, Latino and low-income students to attend, thrive at and graduate (with little or no debt) from America’s most selective colleges,” Jordan said. Each year, it serves hundreds of students with its Striver Program, Goes 2 College Program and the Parent Network.

Jordan said the COVID-19 pandemic compelled the nonprofit based in Wilmington to shift to an online presence. “Our original on-site programming was at the University of Delaware campus in Newark,” Jordan said. “Before the pandemic, it was hard, logistically, so we’re very, very grateful that we’re permanently virtual now so that students can join from anywhere.”

TeenSHARP students attend schools such as Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Howard University, University of Notre Dame and Vanderbilt University.

Jordan outlined TeenSHARP’s main programs. Striver prepares students for success through weekly group advising and full-day Saturday sessions during the academic year. Striver includes the summer Cyber SPARK program, which offers six weeks of intensive math tutoring and college courses. Goes 2 College is a preparatory boot camp for high schoolers that increases their college awareness. The Parent Network involves entire families with yearlong support.

Jordan credits TeenSHARP with keeping its alumni on solid financial footing, saying that “95% of our students graduate with less than $15,000 in student loan debt, regardless of their academic performance coming into the program.”

Information: teensharp.org | facebook.com/teensharpdelaware/