Mn Zej Zog

Youth: project rise is funded by a grant from the office of justice prevention. Project rise reflects mzz's work which is grounded in community-connectedness, personal and intergenerational healing, and nurturing spaces of belonging and being known for hmong youth within spaces intent on hmong language and culture reclamation and sustainability, combined with positive identity formation for meaningful futures. Climb program - we currently have three climb programs fully implemented and in motion, and are finalizing two additional sites to bring the total to five sites. Although we ran into a few minor hiccups along the way such as discussions with potential school partners which did not work out the way we thought it would, the relationships we have with educators in the twin cities area, and the reputation that climb has (as several educators have also experienced the training as well) made it an easy pivot from one school to another. Currently, we are on track with program implementation, number of sites (5) and number of students served. We are eager for hmong college prep and park center high school to join as potential partners as both of these schools have a high southeast asian population and we have great educational partnerships. Furthermore, we will continue to assess our students' progress in this program along the way, checking for effectiveness and making shifts as needed to create the best possible outcome for participants.

Education: mentorship seeks to bring out the best out of each teacher so they can show up authentically. Activity 1: connect to reconnect the love, intention, and deep purpose for being an educator. Teachers will be empowered to be open-minded about applying student centered learning tools, knowledge, strategies, and skills in their educational practice so students can have a meaningful education. From may 2024-december 2024 we were able to accomplish activity 1 at 100% success. The mentorship kick-off was amazing and many felt appreciated being able to connect and find supportive value in each other for the school year from the program. We had about a 97% attendance rate for the kick-off because some individuals had prior commitments, or their application was still in process for approval. At the kick-off we had a total of five ethnic groups that are a part of this program, and they were very excited to work cross-culturally and learn from each other. Much of the feedback that we received was positive and many teachers felt seen, heard, respected, and supported. Activity 2: action focused opportunities examining equity in the school system. Teachers will have insight into areas that are not familiar and examine new found beliefs about their potentials, skills, knowledge, and possibilities teachers will build their autonomy to question, seek change, and use their voice in unfair situations so they can cultivate healthy ways of living in the workspace and in their lives. From may 2024-december 2024 the training was offered in multiple ways to ensure information, communication, and support was evident. The mentorship training was offered in person, virtual, and recorded in case individuals needed additional support to access the content presented. These were small groups and very productive. The feedback was very positive and people appreciated the support in autonomy to gain valuable information in multiple ways. Every person has their own learning style and preferences. We cannot meet them all but we can certainly do our best to ensure 100% success with the process.

Culture:to keep the legacy of the hmong culture thriving, mn zej zog has partnered with multiple grantors to foster great innovative projects using arts to heal hmong youths such as in the legacy cultural heritage grant. Furthermore, mzz also partnered with the asian club at patrick henry high school to take their hmong play into the mainstream stage to storytell and share the beauty and struggle of the language and culture.