The First Lady Michelle Obama Teams Up With Higher Achievement

Friday, April 30, 2009:  First Lady Michelle Obama and Congressional spouses teamed up with Higher Achievement and the Sitar Arts Center for a service event yesterday at the Marie Reed Learning Center in the Adams Morgan community of northwest Washington, DC. The group painted a mural and planted a butterfly garden at the Center to help make the space more visually engaging and vibrant for the children and members of the community who make use of the Center’s programs and facilities.

The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities helped design the service project in collaboration with two winners of the Committee’s 2009 Coming Up Taller Award – Higher Achievement, a rigorous after-school and summer academic program that culminates into high school placement, and the Sitar Arts Center, an after-school visual and performing arts center in Adams Morgan providing a range of arts training to children and youth by professional artists.

Along with several other Higher Achievement staff members and scholar representatives, Lynsey Wood Jeffries, Executive Director of Higher Achievement DC Metro, was proud to participate in the day of service. “It was an honor to be in partnership with Sitar and the First Lady in this community service opportunity. Additionally, to see our scholars casually and confidently talking with the First Lady about Higher Achievement’s mentors and telling the Congressional spouses about their dreams to be architects and elementary school teachers was priceless.”

Community service is an important component of the Higher Achievement curriculum. Past service projects have included a trip to New Orleans to assist with the aftermath of Katrina, and participation in local food drives with the Capital Area Food Bank.