CARPE College Access Network
Seizing the Challenge of Improving College Access for Traditionally Underrepresented Students
Why Join?
This project is generously supported for the next five years and free for all participating schools. We will accept 10-20 schools for 2018-19, and expand to include other schools and districts in future years.
Increase College Access
Learn evidence-based ways to increase FAFSA completion and Cal Grant awardance, enhance the college application/selection process, foster a sense of belonging, and decrease “summer melt”.
Be Part of a Powerful Network
Join a network of schools and organizations committed to disrupting predictable patterns of student success and failure, with a record of demonstrated success.
Continuous Improvement Capacity
Help your school/district develop the skills and dispositions to implement continuous improvement and make measurable progress on the issues you care about.
Learn from your Data
Increase your school’s use of data by developing systems to track and learn from college access data so that it drives decision-making.
Improving College Access for Traditionally Underrepresented Students
For the past three years, the Center for Research on Equity and Innovation (CREI) at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education has brought together a diverse group of schools to tackle the persistent problem of improving college access for all. We are now seeking to expand this network and partner with high schools and districts in Southern California to increase the number of Black, Latino and low-income students who apply, enroll and ultimately go to 4-year college. Specifically, we will focus on four critical drivers of college matriculation:
- Financial Access in terms of FAFSA completion and CalGrant awardance, which provides up to $50,000 tuition relief to low- and moderate-income California students meeting certain academic requirements (Castleman, 2016; McKinney & Novak, 2013; Bettinger et al. 2016),
- Supporting students and families with the college application process, including helping them identify “safety,” “match,” and “reach” schools (Avery, Howell & Page, 2014),
- Fostering a sense of belonging so students see themselves as people who belong and can succeed in college (Conley et. al., 2010; Farrington et. al., 2012, Logel et al., n.d.)
- Reducing summer melt, where students fail to enroll once admitted (Castleman & Page, 2014).
Participating teams will:
- Engage in a series of iterative learning cycles to test/adapt “high-leverage” interventions that support college access.
- Come together in San Diego for three two-day convenings during the 2018-19 year and attend monthly virtual convenings to learn from experts and share our learning/progress.
- Be supported in collecting, tracking and sharing relevant data—disaggregated by race/ethnicity, gender, and FRL status—at key points in the year to assess impact and guide next steps.