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s the mayor of a city whose school district has a history of economic and administrative upheaval, Frank Jackson knows that while educational opportunities are important for all the district’s students, they are imperative for those from low-income families.
Five years ago, Jackson undertook the monumental task of reforming the city’s educational framework.
“There have been sincere (reform) efforts through the years but the system was set up in a way where our children were being used to promote different agendas,” says Jackson. “There’s no mystery to how you educate a child — a child with a passion for education should do well regardless of where they come from.”
“If you put out that flame, it’s over,” he says. Jackson's interest in an approach that effectively connects high quality K-12 education to a continuum of higher education opportunities was the basis for the Higher Education Compact, a collaborative effort between the city and county government, the metropolitan school district, community colleges, state universities and private and civic
organizations.
“The Higher Education Compact came out of a need for a system that could deliver a quality education,” says Jackson. “We needed passionate people to intercede in our educational system. There were literally thousands of children being left by the wayside.”
Creating an infrastructure that allowed the city’s children to succeed academically required three things: legislated school reform at the state level, an opportunity for college access to low-income students through financial assistance and cooperation between local community colleges and state universities to ensure the completion of a four-year degree.
Through its mentorship and scholarship programs, College Now Greater Cleveland has played an integral role in the Compact. One of the most successful and largest college access programs in the nation, College Now has worked to increase college attainment in the region by taking on an advisory role in the city’s schools and working with many students from low-income families, the majority of whom become first generation college students.
“The three most important approaches for these students are preparation, access and persistence,” says Jackson. “College Now is the hub for the Compact. They provide the staffing, advise the students and offer the financial assistance. It’s a core of passionate people who allow our children to be successful.”
College Now and the Higher Education Compact are currently pursuing new strategies to increase college enrollment through the use of college and career planning software, providing increased support to students during the college application and enrollment processes and addressing applicants’ financial barriers.
While the high school graduation rate among Cleveland Metropolitan School District students is up 10 percent since the program’s inception, Jackson stresses the Compact’s work goes well beyond the attainment of a degree and a job.
“We don’t want to be just checking boxes,” he says. “I don’t believe we should be educating people to be worker bees. The focus should be on well-rounded individuals who think, not regurgitate.
“I view it as not a trickle-down but a trickle-up,” says Jackson. “When you’re investing in an individual’s education, you’re investing in a family, a neighborhood and a workforce.”
Class Act
College Now multiplies college graduation rate among low-income students.
As chairman of the board of one of the largest college access programs in the nation, College Now’s Alan Kopit has learned his own lessons about the importance of college degree attainment for Greater Cleveland’s students and the communities they inhabit.
“There are 40,000 open jobs in Cleveland right now that people don’t have the skills for,” says Kopit, executive vice president and general counsel of MediLogix, LLC. “It’s very clear to me that education is the key to economic survival in this region.”
Through College Now and his work with the Breakthrough Schools public charter schools program, Kopit knows firsthand the importance of linking K-12 students to higher education. “These are projects that go to the core of what we need to do as a community while allowing the students to recognize their fullest potential,” he says.
Through mentoring and financial aid programs, College Now’s six-year college graduation rate of 65 percent is four times the national rate among low-income students. “We’ve got to give these kids a chance,” says Kopit. “They’re very bright, but they need direction, advice and encouragement.”
By rigorously preparing students in kindergarten through eighth grade for high-performing high schools, the College Now and Breakthrough Schools programs facilitate a more streamlined path to college.
“There’s a million times along the way where kids want to quit, so we want to make sure there is a support system there they may not have had before,” says Kopit, a 1970 Shaker Heights High School graduate. “The majority of these kids are first-generation college
students."
In addition to its mentoring and scholarship programs, College Now recently began restructuring student loans, resulting in a $15 million savings among employees at one Northeast Ohio non-profit, with other non-profits beginning to take advantage of this service, as well. “It’s really been amazing what we’ve been able to accomplish,” says Kopit.