Post-Secondary Coaching & The 4 C’s to College Success: How and Why It Works Dr. Toinette Gunn, VP of Programs 1

Why Our Mission is Important Approximately 30,000 ninth grade students enroll in CPS high schools yearly Approximately 22,000 (73%) will graduate from high school Only about 4200 (14%) will Graduate from college within 6 years of high school graduation 2 Healy, K., Nagaoka, J., & Michelman, V. (2014). The educational attainment of Chicago Public Schools students: A focus on four-year college degrees. Consortium on Chicago School Research.

Chicago Scholars’ Response… 3 Prepare Students for College. 1 Support them To and Through College. Almost 90% Graduate. 2 Leadership Training & Job Placement 3

LAUNCH - Adult Mentors 1 on 1 College Counseling College Search & Selection Onsite Admissions Forum LIFT Peer Mentors Connections at Home & On- Campus Supportive Community Exclusive Scholarships LEAD Career Mentoring Network of Professionals & 70+ Corporate Partners Exclusive Job Opportunities COLLEGE ACCESS! COLLEGE SUCCESS! SUCCESS BEYOND! : A 7-Year Program

Chicago Scholars Outcomes College Enrollment: 91% 40% of CPS HS Graduates enroll in college 2 nd Year Persistence: 97% 70% of CPS college enrollees persist to second year 6-Year Graduation: 86% 49% of CPS college enrollees earn a bachelor’s degree within 6 years 5 Sources: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research & CPS Office of Accountability

Student Profile & Demographics Academically Talented Minimum 3.0 GPA & 19 ACT Avg. UWGPA 3.58 Demonstrated Community Leaders First Generation College Student or Low-Income Diverse Population 65 Chicago Communities 75 high schools 66% Public 30% Charter 4% Private Gender 65% Female 35% Male 6

Our Persistence Work Begins Long Before Students Arrive On Campus….. It Begins with Our College Counseling 7

8 Building Scholars’ Social Capital

College Counseling Program Highlights Designed to replicate what well resourced communities/families provide for students Meeting Scholars’ needs: Individualized time, information, exposure, guidance Focused on Match, Fit, & Institutional Graduation Rates over 50% Writing Labs to support essay development Utilizes Online Tools to Support the Process E.g. Naviance, Collegegreenlight.com, collegeboard.org, etc.) Ongoing summer programming aimed at mitigating summer melt Nearly 150 college partners 17 Platinum Partners meeting full demonstrated need & provides supportive services 9

College Persistence: What the Research Says Complex topic and the reasons for not completing a college degree are varied Potential Indicators/early signs that students are at risk for not completing college Target supports when those signs identified 10

Potential Indicators of College Persistence Pre-College Indicators College Readiness In-College Indicators GPA, Credits Earned, FT vs. PT, Continuous Enrollment vs. Stop-Outs, Withdrawal from or Repeating Courses Institutional characteristics (FIT) Participation in college-affiliated extra- curricular activities Availability & Access to Financial Assistance Working >20 hours Lack of Support 11

4 C’s to College Success: In Theory Consistency Regular interactions/ touch points, reliability & availability Commitment Belief in students’ potential for success & evidence of a commitment to supporting them to success Community Takes time! Start early & build relationships with CS team, between peers, with mentors, and with parents Design activities to be interactive, engaging, informative, and student centered with group activities Connections Networking & connecting them to opportunities, resources, and people 12

ACTIVITY: WHAT IS YOUR WEAKEST C? 13

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The 4 C’s to College Success: In Practice 15 Peer Mentoring/ Career Mentoring Campus Visits Financial Assistance Opportunities 1:1 Support & Virtual Connections Social Events & Networking Opportunities Leadership Development Workshops/ Activities College Partnerships & Liaisons

16 Consistency Regular interactions/ touch points, reliability & availability: Ongoing Events, Activities, Workshops Campus Visits Financial Assistance Opportunities 1:1 Support Virtual Connections Commitment Belief in students’ potential for success & evidence of a commitment to supporting them to success: College Partnerships Campus Visits Financial Assistance Opportunities 1:1 Support Community Takes time! Start early & build relationships with CS team, between peers, with mentors, and with parents: Peer Mentoring/Career Mentoring Campus Visits College Partnerships Ongoing Events, Activities, Workshops, Networking Connections Networking & connecting them to opportunities, resources, and people: Peer Mentoring/Career Mentoring Financial Assistance Opportunities College Partnerships Ongoing Events, Activities, Workshops, Networking Chicago Scholars’ The 4 C’s to College Success: In Practice

Persistence Team Highlights Increased/Strengthened Scholar Engagement Scholar utilization of programmatic resources and opportunities (e.g. internship positions, grants, Peer Mentors Reputation as an accessible, approachable and invested support system Campus Connections amongst Chicago Scholars 17

Programmatic Challenges Program Size/Rapid GrowthLack of EngagementLack of CommunicationFinancial GapsUndocumented StudentsTechnology/Database/Red Flag Alert System 18

Suggestions for Expanding or Enhancing Your Persistence Programming Evaluate Where are program gaps? Your Weakest C? Plan Allow data to inform your strategy & Plans Stay Current informed of research, recent trends, changes in field, new findings, etc. Collaborate Build Partnerships to support your efforts 19

Q & A Dr. Toinette Gunn VP of Programs 20

References 21