Our Mission
One Step Ahead Culver City was founded in 2023 by Culver City High School students to address the socioeconomic achievement gap in the Culver City Unified School District. Statistically, students who are socioeconomically disadvantaged in our district are more likely to have lower test scores, fall behind in school, and potentially fail or drop out.
A student's success should not be determined by factors outside of their control. Our organization is working to change this narrative, by helping students who are struggling in school but do not have the resources to seek outside help. The focus is on early intervention, helping elementary students catch up before they lose their learning motivation or are tracked on paths toward lower academic success. Through one-on-one remote peer mentoring, we aim to provide our students with role models that will help them stay one step ahead in their education.
What We Do
One Step Ahead Culver City works with 2nd-5th grade students from all five CCUSD elementary schools, who are recommended by their teacher or their school's MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) specialist. Depending on their needs, students are then paired with a reading or math mentor from Culver City High School and meet every week (primarily on Zoom). Each student's individual needs are met through One Step Ahead's unique curriculum and resources developed by our team, with the help of educational professionals. Usual activities range from math and vocabulary games to plot discussion, sentence structure breakdown, and word problem strategies.
“English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments.” 2022–23 Smarter Balanced ELA and Mathematics Test Results at a Glance - CAASPP Reporting (CA Dept of Education), Califronia Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, caaspp-elpac.ets.org/caaspp/DashViewReportSB?ps=true&lstTestYear=2023&lstTestType=B&lstGroup=1&lstSubGroup=1&lstGrade=13&lstSchoolType=A&lstCounty=19&lstDistrict=64444-000&lstSchool=0000000&lstFocus=a. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.