News
Kids2College students in Washington, D.C.
The Sallie Mae Fund unveils new "Kids2College" curriculum. Training for schools, community groups helps sixth graders set their sights on college
Partnership with middle schools, colleges has already reached an estimated 70,000 students, poised to expand
RESTON, Va., June 2, 2008—The Sallie Mae Fund today announced a new “Kids2College” curriculum and invited local schools, colleges, and community groups that wish to participate in the early college awareness program to apply for training sessions to be offered this summer and fall.
Experts agree that middle school is a critical time for instilling in students a passion for college and introducing parents to a plan for becoming college ready. The need for early college awareness is even more magnified among low-income families where students may be the first in their families to attend college.
Kids2College is an award-winning program that exposes low-income and minority sixth-grade students to the value and accessibility of a higher education. It is based on partnerships with local community groups, schools/districts, and colleges and universities. Students in at-risk communities participate in the innovative six-session program that combines hands-on activities with information on careers, college life and academic preparation. The program culminates with a visit to a local college campus for both students and their parents.
“For the first time, these sixth graders see college as a real option,” said Dr. Bill Anderson, executive director, Communities In Schools in Charlotte, N.C., which has operated a Kids2College program for five years. “Most of the students we serve come from families where no one has ever graduated from college. For many, the visit to a local university is the first time they have ever set foot on a college campus. Kids2College makes a difference for these students.”
“As the land-grant institution in Texas, Texas A&M University is fully committed to helping the citizens of Texas realize their dreams of a higher education,” said Lynn Barnes, director of outreach and special programs at Texas A&M University, which launched a Kids2College program last year and served over 5,000 students. “Providing information to students and families at an early age about access and affordability for a higher education is critical. The Kids2College program helps achieve this goal—by breaking down the higher education process so students and families can understand it, and more importantly, realize the value of an education.”
A 2007 report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy measured the impact of Kids2College in raising college aspirations. After the six-week program, 52 percent of participants indicated they could definitely imagine themselves in college, up from 42 percent before the program, a 24-percent increase. Among Hispanic students and students whose parents did not attend college, this number rose by 50 percent. Evaluations also indicated that students were more likely to talk about college with their parents and friends and displayed greater awareness of the need to take college preparatory classes early in high school.
“This year more than 40 Massachusetts colleges welcomed nearly 2,500 innercity sixth graders to their campuses with a simple but inspiring greeting, ‘This could be you someday!’” said Richard Doherty, president, Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts (AICUM). “Kids2College is an innovative early awareness to college program which transforms lives and helps to build bridges of access between colleges and their communities. It is an energizing privilege for AICUM to be a founding partner with The Sallie Mae Fund in this effort.”
Since its founding in 1992, Kids2College has reached an estimated 70,000 students. The program serves young people like William Chichester, who participated at Marshall Middle School in Marshall, Va., in 1995. Neither of his parents attended college, and his father struggled with drug addiction and eventually dropped out of his life. “Looking back, Kids2College was one of those transformational moments,” he says. “I learned I wouldn’t have to work at the gas station, but I could go to college.” He and his class learned about scholarships, explored career options, made business cards for themselves, wrote an essay about their future dreams, and toured nearby George Mason University. Chichester went on to qualify for more than $100,000 in scholarships to attend the University of Virginia, from which he graduated in 2005. He is now a recruiter at Wachovia in Charlotte, N.C., helping the bank connect with minority students from top campuses around the country.
The new national curriculum, developed by The Sallie Mae Fund in partnership with the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP), incorporates research and best practices identified by current Kids2College partners. Student handbooks and a companion teacher’s guide help facilitate the program in the classroom, and related take-home materials are used to encourage family discussion.
“The Kids2College curriculum will be a tremendous resource to educators, college access professionals, and parents,” said Ranjit Sidhu, executive vice president, the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships. “The unique element of Kids2College is that it extends the college access pipeline by delivering the curriculum as early as elementary school. Beginning this process at an early age is essential to helping students and families develop a vision that says college is possible; and then take the steps necessary to ensure that the college dream becomes reality.”
The Sallie Mae Fund is making the curriculum and its resources available free of charge to school districts, middle and junior high schools, colleges, and community groups that share a commitment to fostering early college awareness and demonstrate the capacity to implement the program on a local level. In collaboration with its national training partners, NCCEP, the National College Access Network (NCAN) and Project GRAD USA, The Fund will offer training this summer and fall to its local partners. In addition, program coordinators will be supported by an online community for sharing best practices and tips for creating a college-going culture.
“With a 15-year track record of successfully helping at-risk students graduate from high school and transition to college, Project GRAD has found that one of the key components of supporting at-risk students is to start with college-awareness efforts as early as possible,” said Robert Rivera, CEO, Project GRAD USA. “Project GRAD is excited about the opportunity to partner with the Kids2College program in order to provide improved college-awareness resources for our middle school students across the country.”
Established in collaboration with AICUM, Kids2College is supported by The Sallie Mae Fund, a charitable organization sponsored by Sallie Mae. Programs operate in California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Vermont, and engage some 75 colleges and universities. During the 2007–2008 academic year alone, the program served nearly 10,000 students.
“We know that a college education is a critical ingredient of the American dream,” said C.E. Andrews, president, Sallie Mae. “The Sallie Mae Fund’s Kids2College program fosters a ‘college-going culture’ early, links education to career aspirations, and helps keep at-risk students on track for success.”
For more information about the Kids2College program, visit www.kids2college.org.
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The Sallie Mae Fund, a charitable organization sponsored by Sallie Mae, achieves its mission—to increase access to a postsecondary education for America’s students—by supporting programs and initiatives that help open doors to higher education, prepare families for their investment, and bridge the gap when no one else can. In addition, The Sallie Mae Fund encourages employee volunteerism and community service in the more than a dozen communities where Sallie Mae employees live and work. For more information, visit www.salliemaefund.org.
Contact
The Sallie Mae Fund
Patricia Nash Christel
703-984-5382
pchristel@thesalliemaefund.org
