Public Education Foundation - Partners for Strong Schools

PEF And College Access Center Merge

8/31/2009  | Chattanoogan.com

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posted August 31, 2009

The Public Education Foundation has announced a recent merger with the local College Access Center.

“This merger is just common sense,” said PEF President Dan Challener. “PEF’s College Access Initiative grew out of our high school reform work and has become a major focus for us. As part of that, we’ve been working so closely with the College Access Center over the last few years that it’s hard to draw a line between our work and theirs.”

“We’re excited about this merger,” said Susan Street, founder of the College Access Center. “We’re tightly focused on helping more students go to college or technical school and PEF shares the same goal. As a larger organization, PEF has resources and meeting space that will bring a lot of efficiencies to meeting our common goal without wasteful duplication of effort.”

Since 2004, through the work of PEF, the College Access Center and other partners, the number of May graduates from Hamilton County schools enrolling in college the following fall has increased by 15%.

The Public Education Foundation is a local non-profit that works closely with Hamilton County schools and other partners to improve student achievement in Hamilton County public schools.

In addition to its College Access Initiative, PEF has been a major partner in designing and implementing the elementary Benwood Initiative, Middle Schools for a New Society, High Schools for a New Society, the Leadership Initiative for school administrators and teacher leaders, and a recently announced Teacher Residency initiative designed to recruit and train highly qualified math and science teachers.

The College Access Center was founded in 2003 by Susan Street, a former high school counselor who saw too many qualified students missing the opportunity to go to college and developed an organization to address that problem.

The College Access Center, with help from PEF, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga and the Hamilton County Department of Education, has placed part-time college advisors in every high school in Hamilton County.

These advisors work closely with high school counselors to provide information, support, and guidance to students who are considering college – and, in many cases, to first-generation students who aren’t sure if college is right for them, but who are academically qualified for college.

PEF and CAC have also worked together on:

• the Partnership for College Access and Success, a community partnership of diverse stakeholders that meets to examine local trends relating to college-going

• peer mentoring programs that assign college students to help high school students overcome barriers to college enrollment

• providing networking opportunities and professional development to support high school counselors as they encourage students to consider post-high school education

• a program to encourage middle school students to start thinking early about college or technical training after high school

In addition, the College Access Center brings two new initiatives to PEF: Passport Scholars, a program that provides low income girls the opportunity to experience outstanding summer programs, form relationships with dedicated mentors and receive professional college counseling; and Camp College, an annual three-day event held at the University of the South to provide intensive college advising to 60 rising Hamilton County high school seniors who would be the first in their families to attend college.

As part of the merger, College Access Center Board members Ellen Hays, Kitty Caldwell and Candy Kruesi will join the Board of Directors at PEF. CAC staff will be working out of PEF offices at 100 East 10th Street under the leadership of Bill Kennedy, Director of Secondary School Initiatives.