Inspiring Minds

Inspiring Minds is a non-profit education agency founded in 1963 on the East Side of Providence to provide academic support for the children in two segregated elementary schools. Originally named Lippitt Hill Tutorial, the organization grew into a citywide service and, in 1988, became Volunteers in Providence Schools. The more elegant name of Inspiring Minds was adopted in 2008.

Our Values

• Student-centered.Student success and well-being are the primary action behind our actions and decisions.
• Equity-motivated.Racial equity is the just path forward for the organization, communities, and students we serve; therefore, we commit to antiracist practices.
• Asset-framed.The diverse lived experiences of our students and families are assets we acknowledge and promote.
• Relationship-focused.Students thrive when they are connected t and supported by caring and committed adults.
• Community-grounded.Inspiring Minds values community and invites community members to help create a supportive village for schools.
• Expectations-driven.A critical strategy for closing the equity gap is to actively support a culture of high expectations, continuous growth, and improvement for students, schools, and Inspiring Minds.
• Evidence-based.We use qualitative and quantitative data and research to inform our organizational decisions and spark dynamic and innovative responses.

Tutoring and MentoringVolunteers are matched with students in small groups to develop a trusting relationship and to engage in structured activities, often around classroom or homework-related topics.KidsBridge KidsBridge is a free six-week summer experience for rising kindergartners with little to no preschool experience. KidsBridge prepares kindergarteners for their new roles as kindergarten students. Students attend school for six hours per day, five days per week, and adjust to the routines and procedures of kindergarten in order to help them transition into school. The program is taught by licensed, experienced teachers with support from Providences high school workforce and trained community volunteers.ExplorersInspiring Explorers will recruit 40 youth for our school year program and 16 youth for our summer program, who are bilingual and or youth of color, ages 16-24, and are undecided about their career pathway and provide an opportunity to explore teaching and other school-based educational professions as a career. The youth will have a minimum of 20 hours of training and workshops, five 1:1 mentoring sessions, a monthly group check-in, and 80 hours of work-based experience.ResilientKidsResilientKids is a mindfulness-based social-emotional program that fuses direct instruction with access to online digital activitiesto empower youth with valuable and practical tools to incorporate into their everyday lives. Thirty-minute lessons are taught weekly in this classroom-based program.