ENGAGING COMMUNITIES IN EARLY COLLEGE AWARENESS
66 th NACAC National Conference, St. Louis, MO
Thursday, September 30 th
Session A101
Think about the families you work with. Write down three obstacles you know they experience around the early college awareness process. These could be fears, lack of awareness, unknowns, etc.

ENGAGING COMMUNITIES IN EARLY COLLEGE AWARENESS
66 th NACAC National Conference, St. Louis, MO
Thursday, September 30 th
Session A101
NTRODUCTION
ARLA
HERE

Craig, Leslie and I came together for this presentation because we each share a common thread of working with students and families who are underrepresented in higher education and their retention and graduation from college. Each of us offer a unique way to work with families/parent engagement, middle school students and issues of access.

Leslie Davidson has nearly two decades experience with early college, during which her responsibilities have included admission, financial aid, residence life, student affairs, and institutional advancement. Under her leadership, Bard College at Simon’s Rock Office of
Admission has enrolled the strongest and most diverse classes in its history.

Craig Robinson has spent his entire professional career in admissions and student affairs at A
Better Chance, Phillips Academy (Andover), the University of Michigan, and KIPP. He has been at KIPP for the past 7 years and provides professional development to the “KIPP Through
College” community of practitioners. Craig has been a constant advocate for equity and access in secondary and higher education and is now using his resources toward college partnerships for
KIPP’s network of schools as they prepare to enroll 10,000 alumni in college in 2015.

Carla Shere has spent her entire career in the area of admission, college advising and not for profit organizations focusing on issues of access and education for underrepresented students. She has been awarded the John Muir editor’s award from NACAC for publication of a two part research article about looking at noncognitive variables in review of admission applications to enroll a more diverse class.
HROUGH
OLLEGE
RAIG
OBISON

KIPP is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life.
There are currently 60 KIPP middle schools (grades 5-8), 24 elementary schools (grades pre-K-4), and 15 high schools (grades 9-12). In total, our 99 KIPP schools are in 20 states and the District of
Columbia and serve more than 26,000 students. Every day, KIPP students across the nation are proving that demographics do not define destiny. Eighty percent of our students are from lowincome families and eligible for the federal free and reduced-price meals program, and 90 percent are African American or Latino. Nationally, more than 90 percent of KIPP middle school students have gone on to college-preparatory high schools, and over 85 percent of KIPP alumni have gone on to college.
 Through our alumni services program, “KIPP Through College” (KTC), our counselors instill the academic, professional and character skills needed for KIPP alumni to be successful in high school, college, and the competitive world beyond. From the very first day that our students enroll at a KIPP school, we make them a simple promise: to support them in every way we can to ensure they climb the mountain to and through college. In 2015, 10,000 of our “alumni” will be

enrolled in college. To keep our promise, it is critical that our college and alumni counselors receive the highest quality professional development and that as a network we form meaningful partnerships with colleges and other CBOs.

Over 30 regional KIPP Through College teams nationwide work in support of KIPP alumni by providing a range (with some variation) of the following services: i.
High School Placement a.
Guidance in high school application process (e.g., high school tours, essay writing workshops, interviewing skills, application assistance, financial aid application support, networking with admission officers, individual placement advising) ii.
College Placement a.
Guidance in college application processes (e.g., college tours, essay writing workshops, interviewing skills, application assistance, financial aid application support, networking with admission officers, individual placement advising, test preparation classes) b.
Facilitating a clustering approach, especially for alumni from different regions attending the same school iii.
Academic Support Services a.
Academic progress tracking b.
Academic supports (e.g., afternoon study halls, individual and group tutoring, summer enrichment) iv.
Counseling a.
Individual counseling / mentoring and group / family sessions to ensure that emotional and social issues do not distract KIPP alumni as they climb the mountain to college b.
Working as an advocate when obstacles arise c.
Providing resources and counseling to help alumni find solutions to challenges (e.g., academic, financial, personal) v.
Career Services a.
Summer internships b.
Work study programs c.
Resume writing and interview skills workshops vi.
Enrichment & Extra-curricular Activities a.
Connecting and convening alumni (e.g, field trips to parks, ice-skating, movies, rockclimbing, swimming, and other informal and formal social events) to create ongoing affiliation/support/connection to KIPP and other KIPP alumni vii.
Financial Guidance & Awareness

a.
Financial counseling / guidance provided to help students and families bridge the gap between the high school and colleges’ financial aid packages and family expected contributions b.
Individual counseling and family workshops provided to help students and families secure funding through a wide range of mechanisms (including high school and college tuition support and national scholarship programs)
EARNING
EADERS
ARLA
HERE i.
Overview of Learning Leaders a.
Learning Leaders was founded 55 years ago by an amazing group of women who cared about people in poor neighborhoods. At this time it was a radical idea. b.
Learning Leaders is the largest partner with the New York City Department of Education with over 10,000 volunteers in NYC public schools. Of this number 90% are parent volunteers. c.
Learning Leaders has found that if parents volunteer in their student’s schools students achieve higher grades, higher attendance rates, and graduate and attend college in higher numbers. d.
Learning Leaders has bilingual staff and materials in the following languages: Mandarin,
Russian, Spanish, Bengali, and Haitian/Creole. e.
College Planning has 96 volunteers matched with 88 college advisors/schools. There are 480 high schools in NYC. ii.
G RANT P ROPOSAL AND D EFINING THE P ROBLEM a.
MetLife Foundation’s goal is to help parents/guardians support their children’s ability to graduate high school and continue through post-secondary education. Learning Leaders have found that the parent volunteer numbers drop off significantly during the middle school years.
The Urban Assembly’s research indicates that the number one place young people learn about college is from parents (more so than teachers and counselors). At the same time these same students indicate the majority of these parents have not graduated from high school or college. b.
How can Learning Leaders educate middle school parents and students on the college process to empower them to make sound choices about their post-secondary options? c.
Finding money to study a group of students/parents/guardians longitudinally is difficult because most grant funders want to see tangible results rather quickly. d.
Where are middle school parents/guardians/students getting their information about college if the above is true? Is their information accurate? e.
Learning Leaders wanted to design a replicable model for sustained parent engagement that equips and empowers parents/guardians to support students’ post-secondary aspirations and readiness as they transition from elementary to middle to high school to college. iii.
Program Model a.
School Selection and Team Players: two NYC middle schools that enroll students from 6 th -
12 th grade so student participants could be followed through enrollment into college. Each school must have support from the principal, guidance counselor and parent coordinator.

b.
Large ELL population, large population of students’ eligible for free lunch, large student of color population, large immigrant population. One school was located in the south Bronx and another in Washington Heights. c.
Outreach included focus groups with parents and guardians, emails, telephone calls, newsletters, Principal and Parent Coordinator encouragement d.
Implementation-workshop topics included: adolescent development, middle school academics, college awareness, college visit to Columbia University, creation of a blog, parents received certificates for participating, It’s Your Turn for parents, iv.
Findings in Year One a.
Parents want to be listened to b.
Parents want help with their concerns first so a workshop on adolescent develop was offered first c.
Principal and Parent Coordinator must be supportive of the program d.
Create a college going culture in as many ways as possible e.
Align activities with school calendar f.
Regular presence in the school with a coordinator who speaks the language of parents
i.
Program Overview
Bard College at Simon’s Rock is the only four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences specifically designed to provide bright, highly motivated students with the opportunity to begin college immediately after the tenth or eleventh grade. Students who successfully complete the requirements receive the Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree after two years of study, and the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree after four.
Fulfilling our mission requires creating a community in which students learn from their peers as well as their professors. Thus, we strive to make it possible for the brightest and most qualified students to enroll, regardless of their family financial circumstances. Recent incoming classes have comprised 26 to 30% students of color, 18 to 22% first-generation students, and 26 to 33% Pell Grant recipients. The variety of perspectives and life experiences students’ encounter at Simon's Rock increases their awareness of the broader world, teaches them to question conventional assumptions, and inspires a commitment to affecting positive change. ii.
Recruitment and Outreach a.
Direct mail search criteria b.
Publications c.
Travel d.
Communications e.
School and organizational partnerships f.
Standardized testing policy g.
Parent Involvement

iii.
Funding a.
Institutional aid b.
Outside donors iv.
Campus Climate a.
Critical mass b.
Faculty and staff diversity c.
Curriculum d.
Programming v.
Evaluation a.
Student Engagement b.
Retention c.
Transfer and graduate schools
Contact Information for Presenters
M. Leslie Davidson
Dean of the College
Bard College at Simon’s
Rock
84 Alford Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
413-528-7245 leslied@simons-rock.edu
Craig A. Robinson
National Director of Alumni
Services
KIPP Foundation
520 8th Avenue, Suite 2005
New York, NY 10018
646-381-1709 crobinson@kipp.org www.kipp.org
Carla Shere, Ed.D.
Director of College Planning
Learning Leaders
80 Maiden Lane, 11 th Floor
New York, NY 10038
212.213.3370 #362 cshere@learningleaders.org www.learningleaders.org