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Project GRAD, a national education reform program* operating in 12 U.S. cities, works to ensure that children from economically disadvantaged communities graduate from high school – that’s what GRAD stands for: Graduation Really Achieves Dreams. But this program doesn’t stop at high school graduation. Project GRAD students also gain the knowledge and confidence needed to apply, qualify for acceptance, and succeed in college.

“In many of these areas, there is a fear of college – fear of affordability, fear of leaving the family, fear of leaving the state,” said Chris Bilton, manager for Project GRAD’s National College Access Program. “We erase those fears and raise the expectations of that community.”

Learning the system: The “feeder” approach
The project focuses on communities where many students receive free and reduced-price school lunches. The program’s unique approach involves a “feeder system.” All elementary and middle schools that feed students into a designated high school participate in the program. These “feeder schools” implement the same curriculum and teaching methods to provide academic consistency as students move from grade-to-grade. Project GRAD also reaches out to kids who change homes during the school year.

Millvale School in Cincinnati, Ohio, has been a Project GRAD elementary school for five years. In that time, the school has advanced two categories on the state accountability scale – from “Academic Emergency” to “Continuous Improvement.”

“Before Project GRAD, kids were hopeless and apathetic about school,” said Yzvetta Macon, Millvale’s principal. “Now they are setting career goals, researching and selecting colleges, improving their attendance and test scores and dreaming of a successful future.”

Project GRAD is based on the belief that outside factors affect students’ academic achievement. The feeder schools, therefore, implement Project GRAD’s five core programs, which target activities inside and outside the classroom. These five components are mathematics, literacy, classroom management, social services and parental involvement, and the high school program.

“Ideally, we like to catch kids early,” said Bilton. “That way, we can increase their academic rigor and get them thinking about college before they even get to high school.”

Getting down to business: The high school component
The high school component begins on a Saturday morning early in the academic year with the “Walk for Success.” Teachers, administrators, Project GRAD staff and community volunteers visit every incoming 9th grader’s house to explain the program to the students and their families. Students are asked to sign a contract that specifies they will:

• Complete college prep courses
• Graduate with at least a 2.5 GPA
• Attend at least two Project GRAD Summer Institutes
• Graduate in four or fewer years.

If students meet these criteria by the time they graduate, they are guaranteed a Project GRAD scholarship – a minimum of $1,000 a year – to any college to which they are accepted. Students also receive information and assistance in finding other forms of financial aid.

“This gets the parents excited about Project GRAD,” says Bilton. “Financing college is always a critical issue. We teach students and their parents that even $45,000 for Emory University is within their reach.”  

For example, at Western Hills University High School in Cincinnati, Project GRAD staff members hold workshops to help parents fill out federal financial aid forms. “Students from low-income families don’t have the advantage of being exposed to college,” said Principal Stephanie Morton. “Many of our parents have never heard of college financial aid forms – it can be intimidating.”

Collaborating with colleges: The College Access Program
In high school, these students continue to receive academic support to ensure that they are prepared for college-level courses. They attend two Project GRAD Summer Institutes, which are held on a college campus and often taught by college professors.

These institutes and other Project GRAD activities give students a chance to see themselves succeeding on a college campus. For many, this is the first glimpse of a college campus.

These activities are part of Project GRAD’s latest initiative – the College Access Program, which involves collaborating with universities and colleges to hold recruiting events and the College Access Forum, a two-and-a-half day seminar held on a college campus. At these events, Project GRAD students get information about preparing for college and applying for financial aid.

“Each of the students participates in seminars focused on college financial aid, essay writing, test and application preparation, team-building exercises, and enrichment activities,” said Bilton. “The students interact with college professors and administrators, students attending the university, and other college-bound high school students. The forum includes an overnight stay and tours of the campus and facilities. We want the students to be immersed in the collegiate environment.”

Sealing the deal: The college experience
Throughout the school year, Project GRAD scholarship coordinators help students in completing college applications, preparing for the ACT or SAT, getting financial aid, and choosing a college. And by this time, students are ready for college – academically, financially and emotionally.

Project GRAD students have been accepted to and are attending colleges and universities across the nation, including Cornell, Emory, Duke, Morehouse, Xavier and Yale. A study of the first three Project GRAD classes shows that 51 percent completed college four to eight years after enrollment. In contrast, according to a national study by the U.S. Department of Education, only 27 percent of low-income students across the country completed college four to eight years after enrollment.

“We know most of these students can get into Harvard, Boston College, or Michigan State,” said Bilton. “They just need someone in their corner. That’s what we do – put people in these kids’ corners so they can go tackle the world.”

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*Editor's note: Recently, the Houston Independent School District reduced funding to Project GRAD. Ironically, it was Project GRAD’s success in Houston that helped expand the program to other school districts across the nation.

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Project GRAD’s core programs

Project GRAD’s feeder schools, those elementary and middle schools that feed into a Project GRAD high school, implement Project GRAD’s five core programs, which target activities inside and outside the classroom.

These five components are:

• Mathematics and literacy – to ensure that students have the basic academic skills needed to succeed.

• Classroom management – to help students resolve conflicts, participate in decisions, and assist with classroom management.

• Social services and parental involvement – to help students with outside factors that might affect their schoolwork. To prevent kids from dropping out, this component provides guidance, counseling, community outreach, and family case-management services.

• The high school program – to provide services and activities that help students gain the knowledge and confidence to graduate and gain access to college.