Is a healthy child a direct reflection of a healthy community? Yes! When we improve the health of youth and families, our community improves too. By creating community connections in our schools, we can create positive and life-altering outcomes for children and families

Impact

Consistent Effort,
Serious Impact.

Last year’s efforts contributed to lasting impact across 8 schools:

increase in average attendance rates
Improved Impulsivity Among Caseload Students
Improved wellness Among Caseload Students
Improved Grit Among Caseload Students

2025 Report to Our Community

This year, Higher Ground is turning 18! Our work has evolved from tutoring and martial arts in our co-founder’s living room to serving as the lead agency for a nation-wide community development model and being regarded as an expert in practical applications of executive function work. While Higher Ground has evolved to meet the need of our communities over these last 18 years, we have remained true to our mission of empowering one life at a time to reach, transform, and elevate their community through love and character-building.

Read our Report to Our Community to learn more about where we came from, where we are now, where we are headed next, and how you can help us get there!

Help us celebrate our birthday in August by joining us at www.higherground.me/donate to become a Higher Ground Hero today! Your consistent support as a Higher Ground Hero giving monthly is the bedrock of our sustainable, life-changing work.

Previous Reports

Overall Impact

Restart SMART is Higher Ground’s adaptation of the Community School Model. We work at schools in Southern Arizona using a trauma-responsive, multi-generational framework. Community School systems have existed in the US for decades with proven results in community empowerment, lower chronic and situational poverty, lower dropout rates, higher attendance, higher rates of attainment for students, and healthier community economic metrics. 

Our teams support, streamline, expand, and create systems for schools' existing efforts around:

  • Family and community engagement

  • Trauma-informed care

  • Multi-generation approach

  • Behavioral, social, and emotional development

  • Workforce & career skills

  • Addressing the Eight Dimensions of Wellness

  • Executive functions

  • Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS)

  • Enriched learning time and opportunities

  • After-school and summer enrichment programs

Your Donation Helps Us Empower Arizona.

Every contribution, no matter the size, plays a vital role in advancing our mission. Donations made to Higher Ground are used where the need is greatest. Your support allows us to further our mission of empowering one life at a time to reach, transform, and elevate the community through love and character-building.