 |
 | |
| Formation | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-profit |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington |
| Executive Director [1] | Susan Mitchell |
| Main Organ | Board of Directors |
| Website | http://www.collegeaccessnow.org |
College Access Now (CAN) is a non-profit organization based in Seattle. Its mission is to empower students from low-income families to access, enroll, and graduate from college at rates equal to their more advantaged peers. [2] 94% of CAN's students are the first in their families to pursue a college degree. [3]
CAN was founded in 2005 and initially served 29 high school students at Garfield High School. [4] The organization has expanded to serve high school juniors and seniors at six high schools in Seattle, and now also provides support to its students through college graduation. CAN now serves 960 students: 560 high school students and 400 high school graduates and college students. [5]
Low-income, first-generation students face many barriers to college admission and graduation. [6] Nationally, low-income, first-generation students are nearly four times more likely to leave college after their first year than students who have neither of these risk factors, and enroll in college at a rate of only 52% (compared to 82% of high-income high school graduates). [7]
Through its high school program, CAN's staff works with juniors and seniors to help them identify colleges, prepare for standardized tests, and complete college and financial aid applications. [8] [9] Since its founding, 97% of CAN students have been accepted to at least one college, and 85% have enrolled in college. [10]
In 2012, CAN launched its College Persistence Program which offers formal support to students for up to six years of post-secondary education. [11] Its summer support series "Campus Ready!" helps CAN's high school graduates build skills to succeed in college. [12]
CAN's team of 20 AmeriCorps members forms the core of the high school and college persistence programs. As part of this national service program, AmeriCorps members commit to serving 1700 hours of service over a 10- or 12-month term. [13] During their service at CAN, members build one-on-one relationships with students, mentor them through the college application process, and help them overcome other obstacles on their way to a college degree. [14]
CAN's work has been recognized on a regional level. In March 2014, CAN was recognized in the Community Center for Education Results' Road Map Project Award Program as one of seven organizations to receive a Special Recognition Award for "working to advance equity and reduce opportunity gaps in the Road Map region of King County." [15]
College Access Now (CAN) was started by Julia Schechter at Garfield High School in 2005. Schechter served as founding Executive Director and Board Chair until 2008. A community volunteer who lived not far from Garfield, Schechter wanted to use her background in education to address the inequities between high and low-wealth neighborhoods living side-by-side. The program was based on the idea that higher education is a path out of poverty, yet college admissions favors the children of college graduates and the process for applying to college is complicated and biased against those that don't understand it. The CAN program was initially supported by Garfield GEAR UP Director Randy Riley and Principal Ted Howard who agreed to make the computer lab available after school for use by CAN students to complete college applications. Schechter started the program by writing an application for a full-time AmeriCorps VISTA to help run and build the program. The first VISTA, Karly Feria, stayed with CAN for two years and was joined by other AmeriCorps members. The initial VISTA cost $3,500 and was paid for by the Garfield PTSA. The program was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization on December 19, 2006. The first major grant came from the Fordham Street Foundation in May 2006 for $40,000 over two years and enabled the hiring of staff. CAN expanded to Franklin High School in 2008 supported by a grant from College Spark.
Early press for CAN included a 2006 feature [16] in the Christian Science Monitor, and a 2007 Op-Ed [17] in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is a period of time when students take a break from their studies, usually after completing high school or before beginning graduate school. During this time, students engage in a variety of educational and developmental activities, such as traveling, working, volunteering, or taking courses. Gap years are not limited to a year-long break and can range from several months to a few years.
Teach For America (TFA) is a nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to "enlist, develop, and mobilize as many as possible of our nation's most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity and excellence".
Student financial aid in the United States is funding that is available exclusively to students attending a post-secondary educational institution in the United States. This funding is used to assist in covering the many costs incurred in the pursuit of post-secondary education. Financial aid is available from federal and state governments, educational institutions, and private organizations. It can be awarded in the form of grants, loans, work-study, and scholarships. In order to apply for federal financial aid, students must first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
City Year is an American education nonprofit organization founded in 1988. The organization partners with public schools in 29 high-need communities across the US and through international affiliates in the UK and Johannesburg, South Africa. City Year teams are made up of 18 to 24 year olds, who provide student, classroom, and whole school support, intended to help students stay in school and on track to graduate high school. City Year is a member of the AmeriCorps national service network, and is supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service, school district partnerships, and private philanthropy from corporations, foundations and individuals.
James A. Garfield High School is a public high school in the Seattle Public Schools district of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is named after James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States. Located along 23rd Avenue between E. Alder and E. Jefferson Streets in Seattle's urban Central District, Garfield draws students from all over the city. Garfield is also one of two options for the district's Highly Capable Cohort for academically highly gifted students, with the other being Ingraham International School. As a result, the school offers many college-level classes, ranging from calculus-based physics to Advanced Placement (AP) studio art.
A Pell Grant is a subsidy the U.S. federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with exceptional financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree, or who are enrolled in certain post-baccalaureate programs, through participating institutions. Originally known as a Basic Educational Opportunity Grant, it was renamed in 1980 in honor of Democratic U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island. A Pell Grant is generally considered the foundation of a student's financial aid package, to which other forms of aid are added. The Federal Pell Grant program is administered by the United States Department of Education, which determines the student's financial need and through it, the student's Pell eligibility. The U.S. Department of Education uses a standard formula to evaluate financial information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for determining the student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
AmeriCorps is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer work programs in many sectors. These programs include AmeriCorps VISTA, AmeriCorps NCCC, AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps Seniors, the Volunteer Generation Fund, and other national service initiatives. The agency's mission is "to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering." It was created by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993. In September 2020, the agency rebranded itself as AmeriCorps, although its official name is unchanged.
Frank Vana Chopp is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 43rd district since 1995. His district covers the neighborhoods of Montlake, Fremont, Wallingford, the University District, Madison Park, and part of Capitol Hill, all of which are in Seattle. Chopp served as Speaker of the House from 2002 to 2019.
Teacher Corps, whose correct title was the National Teacher Corps, was a program established by the United States Congress in the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve elementary and secondary teaching in predominantly low-income areas. Individual Teacher Corps projects were developed by "institutions of higher education" in partnership with local school districts. The local director was a college professor, and courses specific to teaching inner city students and disadvantaged students were developed by the college and used in the master's level education program. Teams of interns under the supervision of master teachers worked in the district's schools to help carry out project goals. The purpose of the Teacher Corps was to train and retain teachers for disadvantaged school districts, who would work with the communities they served. Some of the interns became teachers in the communities they had worked in after the program ended. Others took jobs elsewhere teaching disadvantaged students, usually in their home states. Interns worked on community projects in addition to teaching. One of the Trenton, NJ community programs that continued for years after the program ended, was an annual carnival fundraiser to raise money for the Mott Elementary School library.
Edmonds College, formerly Edmonds Community College, is a public community college in Lynnwood, Washington. More than 17,000 students annually take courses for credit toward a certificate or degree at the college. The college employs more than 1,300 people, including 126 full-time and 283 part-time instructors and 267 students.
AmeriCorps Seniors is a United States government program run by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The program engages volunteers aged 55 and older to serve their communities. There are over 200,000 volunteers nationwide.
Playworks is an Oakland-based national nonprofit that supports learning and physical health by providing safe and inclusive play to low-income students in urban schools. Playworks works with schools to design curriculum and activities that offer play opportunities during recess, lunch and after school programs. Trained coaches work in schools to run a variety of games and sports, as well as teach techniques in group management, violence prevention and conflict resolution.
Literacy Volunteers of Illinois (LVI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes adult literacy throughout Illinois. It serves families, adults, and out-of-school teens.
College Possible is a nonprofit AmeriCorps organization making college admission and success possible for low-income students in the United States through an intensive curriculum of coaching and support. Its model uses recent college graduates serving an AmeriCorps term of service as near-peer mentors for students lacking the social resources to successfully enroll in and graduate from college. Headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the organization serves students in all 50 states with offices located in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area, Chicago, Milwaukee, Omaha, Portland, Philadelphia and Seattle.
The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act or Serve America Act was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on March 9, 2009, by Representative Carolyn McCarthy of New York. Originally titled the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act, the bill reauthorizes and expands the AmeriCorps program that was first established in 1993. It passed in the House of Representatives on March 18, 2009. The U.S. Senate debated and approved an amended version of the bill on March 26, 2009, renaming it the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, after Senator Ted Kennedy. The House of Representatives voted on the bill a second time, approving the amended version on March 31, 2009. It was signed by President Barack Obama on April 21, 2009.
AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program designed to alleviate poverty. President John F. Kennedy originated the idea for VISTA, which was founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965, and incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993. VISTA is an acronym for Volunteers in Service to America.
The Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, also referred to as the McNair Scholars Program, is a United States Department of Education initiative with a goal of increasing "attainment of PhD degrees by students from underrepresented segments of society," including first-generation low-income individuals and members from racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in graduate programs.
College Match is a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles, California. It was established in 2003 to help high-achieving low-income students from Los Angeles inner-city public high schools, by providing them with a wide range of free personalized college preparation services usually reserved for wealthier students. Since its inception, College Match has paved the way for many students to be accepted to and graduate from selective four year colleges.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private, independent foundation which provides scholarship programs to gifted students in the U.S. who have financial need. It offers academic advising and other support services to students from 8th grade to graduate school. Since 2000, it has awarded over $175 million in scholarships to nearly 2,300 students and more than $97 million in grants to organizations that serve gifted low-income students.
Educational interventions for first-generation college students (FGCS) are programs intended to provide resources and make education more attainable and desirable for FGCS and their families. A study by Alex Casillas has identified that "FGCS […] face greater pressure not to go to college, either because of a lack of role models or because of pressure to contribute to their family's financial needs." Many interventions are being explored to lower and/or remove the fears and struggles FGCS face regarding their education. These interventions are intended to bridge the gap between FGCS and their educational experience by providing them with the access to information and resources their non-first-generation peers already have. This article discusses several programs currently being implemented, including AVID, GEAR-UP, and after-school programs, in addition to non-profit college access programs and privately funded organizations that work to address access to higher education for underprivileged and first-generation students. There is also critical discussion regarding the pedagogical role of these educational interventions in building a sense of value and belonging in its students.