About Us
Being unprepared for both the social and academic rigor of high school is a systemic issue rooted in racism and white supremacy with life long implications on boys of color. We aim to change that.
Our Why
Black and Brown boys face the largest education disparities in Chicago and nationwide. Research indicates a strong relationship between ninth-grade GPA and achieving post-secondary success. According to the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, a student who completes their 9th grade year “on track” and with a 3.0+ GPA is 3.5x more likely to graduate high school in 4 years and live a choice-filled life. However in Chicago only 39% of Latino boys and 27% of Black boys achieve this 3.0 metric. Which is significantly lower than any other freshman group. This contributes directly to the racial disparities in Chicago Public School students’ college outcomes. We aim to change this.
Project OneTen provides essential and holistic programming for boys of color during the critical transition to high school. Through targeted coaching, community building, and our research based curriculum, we create intentional spaces for them to cultivate their strengths, innate brilliance, and unique identities as they build a solid foundation for success in high school and beyond. Our program aims to ensure that each student completes their freshman year “on-track” achieving a 3.0+ GPA with the tools, resources, and supportive adults to self determine their futures.
Our Name
In his essay the Talented Tenth, Dr. WEB DuBois introduces a concept that he believed would support the upward mobility of Black Americans at the time. DuBois believed that ten percent of the Black community would have the opportunity, skills, and mostly education to rise within society and gain influential access. He then noted that it was up to that ten percent to then reach back, serve and bring about social change and opportunities for their broader community. Later in his life, DuBois recanted his initial concept noting that leadership should be developed on every level within communities of color noting that these individuals are the ones we should look to for our steadfast, dependable and uncompromising leadership.
This concept is what informs our leadership philosophy. We aim to provide Black and Brown young men the skills, tools, and access needed to tap into their natural genius, enabling them to be leaders in their schools, communities, and beyond.
Our History
Founded in 2018, Dirrick Butler, alongside eight dedicated Board Members, developed a student support framework that would later become the signature program of Project OneTen. From the beginning, it was clear that our work needed to meet the specific needs of Black and Brown boys transitioning to high school. After early planning and feedback, 4.0 Schools and the Surge Institute provided targeted resources and early seed funding that allowed us to launch our pilot program in the fall of 2019.
During our first year of programming, we raised over $10k from our community to support our work and built meaningful partnerships that raised our profile in the city. The COVID-19 pandemic certainly impacted our momentum as an organization. Yet, we were able to successfully pivot and redirect our resources to directly support student well-being and mental health through our Student Self Care Micro Grants. Through our partnership with the Chicago Bulls and Thrive Chicago, we granted 45 young people $200 each to engage in self-care activities during the height of the pandemic in our city.
After taking a year break, we relaunched in 2022 with our first cohort post-COVID and picked up right where we left off. We gained the support of NewSchools, providing a catalytic investment that allowed us to, for the first time, hire our first staff members, pilot additional programming, and complete our very first strategic plan.
As we celebrate our fifth year, we continue on the path that we began back in 2019 and envision our work growing to impact over 200 students each year and activating over 100 volunteer mentors, significantly impacting the academic achievement of boys of color in Chicago.
Our Mission
Project OneTen creates intentional spaces for Black and Brown boys during the critical transition to high school through mentorship and peer-to-peer community building. We aim to help them cultivate their strengths, innate brilliance, and unique identities as they build a foundation for success in high school and beyond.
Our Values
Community
Relationships
Equity
Growth
Self-Determination
Our Community Philosophy
Project OneTen aims to cultivate spaces where every member of our community feels safe and affirmed. While our program and team are uniquely and intentionally equipped to serve Black and Brown boys, we also honor that gender, like most things, is a spectrum. We explicitly aim to serve as active allies to any young person, including nonbinary and trans students. We believe that radical inclusion and an intersectional lens are part of what makes our community great. This commitment guides our coalition building, our organizational strategy, and sets the standard to which every community member is held.
Our Partners
