For the second year, Ivy Tech Community College Northeast has partnered with a regional elementary school for No Excuses University.

No Excuses is a program for schools with a high percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunches. Classrooms in these schools are sponsored by military personel or higher education institutions to encourage students in three areas:

1. Completing homework
2. Graduating high school
3. Finding and choosing a career path

Ivy Tech Northeast’s partnership with West Noble Elementary in Ligonier began last semester, though this semester’s events kicked off Friday, when Harold McCard, program chair of Public Safety at the College, spoke with a third grade class about fire science. Ivy Tech Northeast speakers will visit West Noble monthly throughout the semester. The list of speakers includes Ivy Tech Northeast deans, program chairs, and students.

Ivy Tech Northeast will provide more than speakers for the West Noble partnership. This week, students in Ivy Tech Northeast’s ASAP (or accelerated study in associate programs) class wrote pen pal letters to the third grade class, encouraging students to complete high school and sharing their favorite things about college. At the end of the semester, the elementary class will tour Ivy Tech Northeast.

Ivy Tech Northeast ASAP student Fatima Al Timeemy writes a pen pal letter to third graders at West Noble Elementary in Ligonier.

“The staff of Ivy Tech Community College Northeast has spent numerous hours planning presentations and corresponding with the students,” says Tanya Young, the College’s community outreach coordinator. “The elementary students are being encouraged to think about training beyond high school and consider Ivy Tech as part of their not-so-distant future.”

For more information on No Excuses, visit noexcusesu.com.