Advancing a lifetime of education

Launched 13 years ago, the “It Takes a Village” Project is a tutoring program for academically challenged elementary school students. Parents, Elon volunteers and local educators collaborate in weekly tutoring sessions, prioritizing academic improvement in 12 local schools.

The Elon Academy is a free program that supports academically promising high school students in Alamance County. It offers summer residential experiences, Saturday programs and a Transitions to College Program. Graduates receive ongoing support through college.

The Odyssey Program is a merit-based program for incoming college students with demonstrated financial need. Students selected for the program are recipients of prestigious scholarships, a third of which give preference to students from Alamance County, Guilford County or North Carolina.

iBELONG Male Mentoring provides mentorship to increase persistence, retention and graduation rates of first- and second-year minority male students on campus. It also connects students to relevant events and forums.

Elon NEXT: Professional & Continuing Education extends the university’s teaching and research expertise to the public through innovative, flexible programming to meet the educational needs of the community.

Elon NEXT learners earn continuing education units through in-person and online learning modules in topics including cybersecurity, personal finance, data analytics, entrepreneurship, leadership, digital marketing and more. Courses are for anyone in the community looking for in-demand skills to differentiate themselves in the labor market, interested in advancing or changing their career, or simply valuing a life of learning.

The Life@Elon program provides non-credit intellectual enrichment to people ages 50 and older. The lifelong learning community features weekly presentations on a variety of different topics, conducted in an engaging format. There are 12 weekly classes offered per semester (fall and spring) which are taught by current and retired Elon faculty and staff members, other area educators, and presenters chosen by Curriculum Committee volunteers.

Session topics have ranged from the modern history of Ukraine, the opioid crisis and the media’s role in shaping politics to the cathedrals of Europe, the music of Frank Sinatra and the art of storytelling. In addition to stimulating classes, Life@Elon participants have access to book clubs and special interest groups, domestic and international group travel, discounted and complimentary tickets to university events, borrowing privileges at Belk Library and more.

New to Elon, Teach for Alamance is a program that grants Elon Education graduates the opportunity to earn their master’s degree at Elon for free if they teach in Alamance County for two years a  er graduation. The Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education had more than 340 students do practicums or student teaching in the Alamance-Burlington School System during the 2022-23 academic year.

LatinxEd, a North Carolina-based educational and equity leadership organization, is hosted on Elon’s campus. LatinxEd was founded in 2018 by Elaine Utin and Ricky Hurtado, who both faced obstacles as they sought out higher education opportunities as high school students from Latinx immigrant families. The organization has developed initiatives that connect practice to policy and engage in systemic change to improve public education.

In partnership with the Teagle Foundation’s “Knowledge for Freedom” initiative, Freedom Scholars is a free initiative that supports local high school students from underserved populations who want to a  end college and be difference makers. The program includes a two-week summer intensive residential experience with monthly programming throughout the year. During that time, Freedom Scholars work collaboratively with a civic-leader mentor and Elon student mentors.

The Alamance Youth Leadership Academy empowers local youth through civic engagement and leadership development with support from Elon’s Center for Leadership and the Alamance County Chamber of Commerce. The free two-year program exposes participating seventh and eighth graders to the power of leadership by honing skills such as communication, teamwork and problem-solving. AYLA connects students from numerous middle schools to foster local connections.

Elon Explorers is a summer science enrichment program for middle school students. The week-long camp is designed to make science, technology, engineering and math education more interesting and accessible and to show students how rewarding and enlightening STEM research can be. Thanks to a grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, students also participate in year-round programming.