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<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cYour success comes from within, not from your environment, not from the family, not from friends. It is up to you,\u201d Rassamni said. \u201cYou need to make that decision. You need see where you want to be in the future and then work on it today within yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
$10 Incentives for Reaching Goals<\/p>\n
Success From Within is working to foster this mindset in youth, hoping to improve student outcomes and success. In 2024, the organization began the Wind and Wave Scholarship Program, aimed at doing just that.<\/p>\n
The nonprofit grants $10 scholarships for most improved behavior and most improved attendance in each class. And every three months, the organization ups the awards, honoring six students in each class for academic achievement.<\/p>\n
New categories are added: top performer in reading, top performer in math, most improved in reading, and most improved in math. The honorees are determined by using i-Ready<\/a> online individualized lessons and assessments.<\/p>\n \u201cSuccess From Within really works on building the child\u2019s growth mindset that they can set goals and reach those goals,\u201d said Del Mar principal Nicole Woods. \u201cAnd through that we\u2019ve been seeing improvements in attendance, in behavior and in academics as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Nonprofit Hopes to Expand Scholarships to Other Schools<\/p>\n Success From Within is piloting the scholarship program, currently in its second year, at Del Mar and measuring its success.<\/p>\n The nonprofit targeted Del Mar because it has many socioeconomically disadvantaged<\/a> students. The school, which is a feeder for Fresno High, was identified for support<\/a> by Go Public Schools based on 2024-25 statistics.<\/p>\n Del Mar has improved in math and English language arts, and students now are working to achieve \u201ceven bigger gains,\u201d Woods said.<\/p>\n The school is on track for the district\u2019s literacy intervention goal with more than 33.3% of students a year or more behind in SBAC making at least one year\u2019s growth.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we think about scholarship, we think about success academically. And so it does really help them improve and work toward that academic success,\u201d Woods said.<\/p>\n Now, Rassamni is working to show these results to community investors, so the program can expand across Fresno Unified.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to go one step at a time, so hopefully next year we\u2019ll have five schools or 10 schools, \u201d Rassamni said. \u201cAs we have the proven results that people can see, I know we can raise that money.\u201d<\/p>\n