9th Grade is not too early to prepare for college, careers, scholarships or leadership. This year, you learn how high school works, explore what interests you, build good habits and start a truthful record of what you do.

The Quick Version

Build skills most students are never taught: professional communication, budgeting and fact-checking.
Work with a team on a real Community Impact Project.
Earn verified service hours and work toward the Peace Ambassador title.
Finish the year with a résumé, a plan for 10th Grade and at least one scholarship application.

Why 9th Grade Has Its Own Path.

Your first year of high school is when you meet your counselor, choose your courses and find activities you care about. PALP adds the skills most students are never taught in one place: asking adults for help, communicating professionally, checking information, managing time and money, and contributing to a real project.

NVEEE students together during a leadership session

NVEEE students in a leadership session, the same community you join on day one.

What You'll Work On This Year.

Your year runs in three seasons. Each one produces real work you can show, not just discussion.

Fall

Build Your Base

Map the trusted adults who can help you with school, personal and practical questions.

Discover your strengths and interests so your activities reflect what you actually care about.

Learn to tell claims from evidence, check sources and use AI responsibly.

Pick a real community issue and start your Community Impact Project research with your team.

Take on a role in the Give Miami Day campaign and record what you did.

Winter

Grow More Independent

Plan for finals and deadlines, and complete the Holiday Budget Challenge.

Write a professional email, ask an adult for help and follow up.

Explore careers and majors, and talk with a mentor or professional about their path.

Build your first résumé from school, PALP, service and other real experiences.

Spring

Apply What You Learned

Find out who has the power to fix a community issue and take a nonpartisan civic action.

Practice budgeting, grocery shopping and basic banking.

Choose next year's courses and find a summer program or volunteer role.

Complete a mock interview and present your Community Impact Project contribution.

Students in an NVEEE media literacy and responsible AI workshop

A media literacy and responsible AI workshop, where you learn to check what you read.

Life Skills You'll Practice.

College readiness is more than applications. You also build everyday skills that make independence easier.

Introducing yourself & making connections Asking for help early Budgeting & grocery planning Personal safety & boundaries Professional email Managing deadlines Checking sources & using AI responsibly

What You'll Have by the End of the Year.

✓A map of the trusted adults who support you

✓A personal development plan

✓A record of your activities and contributions

✓Your first résumé

✓A professional email you wrote and sent

✓A completed budget challenge

✓Your Community Impact Project contribution

✓Mock interview feedback

✓At least one scholarship, award or opportunity application

✓A plan for summer and 10th Grade

Scholarships, Awards & Opportunities at This Grade.

You don't have to wait until senior year. You learn how to search for opportunities that fit your grade, location and interests, confirm the rules at the source and meet deadlines. During the year, you apply for at least one scholarship, grant, award or funded opportunity.

Early scholarships. Some programs, such as Take Stock in Children in eligible Florida communities, accept students in the early grades.

Contests and recognition. Writing, civic, service, research and arts competitions that accept 9th graders.

Summer programs. Camps, volunteer roles and enrichment programs connected to your interests.

Eligibility, dates and amounts change, and no scholarship or funding is guaranteed.

NVEEE students after a professional networking and leadership workshop

Students after an "Instant Impact: Developing Your Network" session, the kind of professional practice you start in 9th Grade.

Your Leadership Path.

You start as a PALP Member. Meet the October to December standards and you earn the Peace Ambassador title. Once you've shown you're reliable, you can be considered for a Student Leadership Team role or a project lead assignment. Your age won't hold you back, but no title is automatic.

Start here

PALP Member

Every registered student.

Earned

Peace Ambassador

Meet the October to December standards.

Considered, not guaranteed

Student Leadership Team / Project Lead

After you show you're reliable.

Later years

Leadership Fellow · Junior Counselor in Training

For returning students.

Student Leadership Roles You May Be Considered For

PALP Student Chair

Coordinate student leadership work and represent the student perspective.

Operations & Accountability Lead

Track actions and deadlines, and help flag problems early.

Communications & Digital Media Lead

Create approved stories, videos and digital content.

Outreach & Recruitment Lead

Carry out approved outreach to schools, counselors and youth organizations.

Fundraising & Partnerships Lead

Support campaigns, sponsor research and approved partner outreach.

Community Impact & Service Lead

Help teams meet project milestones without doing anyone else's work.

Learning, Research & Innovation Lead

Review resources, support research, workshops and data analysis, and test improvements.

Project / Workstream Lead

A temporary leadership role tied to a real deliverable and real dates.

You can express interest or be invited based on your strengths, but no role is automatic. Only real deliverables, verified by a supervisor, with real dates, can go on your résumé.

Your Community Impact Project Role.

You learn the full process: find a real problem, confirm who it affects, help plan and carry out a solution, keep evidence of your work and explain what you learned.

PROBLEM

VALIDATE

PLAN

ACT

MEASURE

IMPROVE

PRESENT / DEFEND

How the NVEEE Empowerment & Success Hub Supports You.

Between sessions, you use the Hub for lessons, templates, trackers and tools connected to your current work. For 9th Grade, that includes:

Strengths, values & self-reflection toolsGoal-setting & planning toolsStudy & time-management templatesActivities & contribution trackerProfessional email guideBudgeting & grocery toolsSource checking & responsible AI resourcesCommunity Impact Project Problem Brief & Stakeholder MapEarly scholarship research tools

Questions 9th Graders Ask.

PALP teaches you how to find trustworthy answers and make decisions you can explain.

What if I have a bad semester? Is my future ruined?

No. You learn how transcripts and grade recovery work, and what to ask your counselor about your own school's policies.

Should I take Honors, AP, AICE or Dual Enrollment?

It depends on your readiness, workload and goals. You learn to weigh those and check what colleges actually say, instead of relying on rumors.

What are colleges looking for?

You learn to read each college's official admissions information and separate it from social media guesses.

Do I need to know my major already?

No. 9th Grade is for exploring your interests and strengths.

Do colleges want lots of clubs?

Colleges care more about what you contributed and how you grew than how many clubs you joined.

When should I start looking for scholarships?

Now. PALP shows you how to find and track opportunities long before senior year.

Can PALP Help Me Find Money for an Idea or Project?

A strong idea is not automatically a fundable project. In 9th Grade, you learn to define a problem, show evidence that it is real, identify who it affects, estimate what a solution would take and understand the difference between a scholarship for you and funding for a project. When a youth grant, competition, award or seed-funding opportunity fits your work, PALP helps you research and pursue it.

ScholarshipsAwardsCompetitionsYouth Grants / Seed FundingSummer ProgramsInternships / JobsLeadership Programs

Project funding is never guaranteed.

Your Grade-Specific Digital Toolkit.

Here are examples of the spreadsheets, trackers, templates and guides you can download from the NVEEE Empowerment & Success Hub in 9th Grade.

Tool	What It Helps You Do
Activities & Contribution Tracker	Record your activities and results as they happen.
Course-Planning Questions	Ask your counselor better questions about next year's classes.
First Résumé	Turn your real experiences into a professional profile.
Trusted Adult Map	Know who to ask for help.
Budget & Grocery Tool	Practice making choices with limited money.
Community Impact Project Problem Brief	Turn "I care about this" into a documented problem.
Scholarship Search Starter	Find opportunities and check eligibility and deadlines.
Source Check & AI Tool	Verify claims and AI answers before you use them.

Your Service Hours Add Up.

CORE+REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCES+COMMUNITY IMPACT PROJECT+CAMPAIGNS+LEADERSHIP= VERIFIED SERVICE HOURS

You can earn 45+ service hours, depending on your activities. Project work, campaigns, community experiences and leadership roles can add more. Your verified total depends on what you complete and document.

How service hours work →

NVEEE students on a college campus during a leadership program

NVEEE students on a college campus, where four years of PALP can lead.

Grow With PALP Through Graduation.

Start in 9th Grade and continue each year. When you return, you don't repeat the same program. You take on harder work and more leadership responsibility. Named roles and selective titles are still earned.

9th Grade · You Are Here

Find Your Footing

10th Grade

Build Your Skills

11th Grade

Step Into Leadership

12th Grade

Lead & Launch

Start with us in 9th Grade. Imagine how much you'll have to show by graduation.

Have Questions?

Every PALP question and answer now lives on one page, organized by topic.

Getting Started Questions See All FAQs

10th Grade → 11th Grade → 12th Grade → PALP Overview →

9th Grade Is Not a Waiting Year.

Build the skills, experiences and habits that make every year after this one easier.

Grade 9 Leadership & College Readiness Program | PALP

Start High School With a Foundation You Can Build On.