“Being alone was my biggest fear before joining V-ELMS.
My favorite part is the conversations that we have.”
“The discussions are my favorite part because I always learn something new from them. We cover certain topics that school doesn’t.”
V-ELMS – is a unique supplementary education model, functioning both in-person and remotely in two New York City middle schools. We follow our underserved BIPOC students from middle school into high school with our virtual V-ELMS Matriculation Highway Program (VMHP) curriculum and then guide them to apply to colleges when seniors, with our virtual V-ELMS Gateway Program (VGP).
2016 “The best part of V-ELMS was meeting the mentors, the workshops and all the talk about history. V-ELMS helped me with my GRADES and my BEHAVIOR.”
2018 “My experience these past three years in the V-ELMS program have been good. It taught me about getting my grades up, about morals, and how to be a better person.”
Our Story
At V-ELMS, we’re not just tutors—we’re mentors. As lifetime educators, we understand the importance of relationships in learning, and we’re dedicated to giving back.
Our founder, Brett Truitt, epitomizes this ideal. Brett started V-ELMS while still teaching as a professor in 2007. Starting alone, she helped mentor college students as well as high school kids to reach their full potential and prioritized fostering relationships with each student.
But over time, she realized that helping deserving students at a younger age would be more impactful. By targeting middle school kids, V-ELMS helps to get young students excited to learn—and carry this joy for education through high school and college.
All kids have the potential to shine. We just help them harness it by combining effective teaching strategies with strong, meaningful relationships.
Now with a board of over a dozen committed individuals and the help of dedicated volunteers and school partnerships, we reach 50 kids every year—and that number is growing.
Interested in joining our team of mentors? Learn more about how to change the lives of kids here.
Our Values
V-ELMS MISSION VALUES
- TRUST – Overcome skepticism that youth have for adults.
- ENGAGE – Excite youth to learn and matriculate through school.
- SUPPORT – Add a support system for youth left behind by educational systems and society.
- AWAKEN – Increase youth’s self-esteem as a learner and future leader.
- INSPIRE – Instill ambition for youth to realize their goals are attainable.
Our Philosophy
“When the mentee’s academic level is assessed, their Multiple Intelligences (MI) are identified, and they are teamed up with a caring mentor with similar MI, barriers that caused difficulty for the mentee to achieve goals will be addressed. V-ELMS extended intervention services assist in minimizing social fractures within the mentee’s familial domain allowing growth and development at the forefront.”
2015 “I signed up and kept on going to the afterschool sessions because they had good snacks, and the conversations interested me. My mentor, Kimathi, encouraged me and taught me about things I didn’t know.”
2016 “My grades are so much better, V-ELMS helped me focus on my studies and taught me time management.”
2018 “I graduated from middle school as valedictorian. I called Dr. Truitt to thank her and V-ELMS that helped me attain my goal.”
2019 “I struggled my first year in high school. I started using the tools V-ELMS taught me to organize myself to achieve my goals, one of them being time management.”
2021 “I’ve been accepted to three universities with scholarships. Hofstra University has offered me $98,000.00 for the four years. I’m seriously thinking about studying some field in medicine.”
OUR SPONSORS
