Since 2001, our flagship college access program, CollegeBound Initiative (CBI), has supported thousands of young people in NYC in making their dreams of going to college a reality. Now, we are aiming to do the same for the 34,000 students served by Buffalo Public School District through a series of college access services including capacity building and training for school leaders, direct student support, and family engagement.
Understanding College Access in Buffalo
One of the first steps in expanding our college access programming to Buffalo was to form a new team dedicated solely to this work. The College Access Services team is on the ground in Buffalo, working closely with school and community leaders in implementing college access activities and events in the city’s schools.
“Our work in Buffalo has been off to a great start. We have connected with many partners in and out of the district to help strengthen our position within the community,” says Omar Morris, Director of College Access Services.
One of the team’s initial tasks was a thorough evaluation to better understand the current landscape of college access efforts across the school district. Throughout the 2021-22 school year, the team collected data, analyzed current processes, and identified where they could immediately help students and their families in the college application process. “As a team, we have been able to identify low-hanging fruits and create systems and structures to help cultivate a college and career-going culture,” explains Omar.
One key finding in their evaluation was current completion rates for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) across the district. The FAFSA completion rate across Buffalo School District in 2021-22 was 43% while the completion rate for SL Network students in the same period was nearly 96%.
Financial barriers to higher education are all too common within the communities we serve and this is an immediate area the team will be able to address. “What excites our team is noticing the difference in such a short period of time…We are incredibly enthusiastic about the movement we have had in increasing the numbers of FAFSA and TAP completed so far,” says Ivanna Jimenez, Associate Director of College Access Services.
The team facilitated a partnership with Buffalo’s largest financial support program Say Yes Buffalo which provides full-dollar scholarships for all Buffalo students who meet the financial guidelines–which is why completing the necessary financial aid forms is so important. Data shows that currently, less than 15% of students complete the steps to be eligible for the scholarship; one of the main focus areas will be guiding students through these financial aid processes.
The team also found there is little awareness about programs like Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) and scholarships such as Posse and Questbridge. The team will facilitate programming that raises awareness of such opportunities with students and school leaders so they can more broadly support college access in the district.
Getting Students Excited About College
Upon sharing our findings and suggestions, it was time to get to work! Starting this school year, we placed full-time directors of college counseling (DCCs), Maria Jose Lascarro and Cori Monahan, at Riverside High School and East Community High School respectively.
DCCs manage the entire college access process at their schools and help reshape the college culture. They focus on developing their college access systems in order to improve each school’s completion rates for college applications, FAFSA, scholarships, and opportunity programs.
Cori and Maria are getting students engaged and excited about the college application process. Already they have organized several college visits, college fairs, application nights, and other opportunities to explore postsecondary options. (Head to the bottom of this post for more pics from some of these events)
Cori says “We are only two months into the school year and it’s so wonderful to see all of the students so eager and engaged around college access. They have all really welcomed me into their school and have been so open about their dreams and aspirations for post-secondary education.”
We are looking forward to building upon this momentum! In January 2023, we’ll expand our presence and impact in Buffalo with additional DCCs at two more high schools.
Building District Capacity in Buffalo
The team also provides district capacity building for all public schools within Buffalo regardless of having a DCC in their school. Senior Managers of Capacity Building, Caroline Marciszewski and Joell Stubbe, lead this aspect of our college access work that involves facilitating events and activities that model how the district’s leaders can more broadly support college access and promote a college-going culture across all schools. Some events the team will host include FAFSA Completion Nights to help more students complete financial aid paperwork, and Instant Decision Days, where students can apply, interview, and receive a decision from partnering colleges all in one day.
They are also providing targeted resources, modeling and coaching to a small subsest of schools. Some of these focused activities will include:
- Developing school profiles, a tool used by colleges to understand the students applying to their institutions
- Organizing Alumni Weeks, an opportunity for alumni to return to their alma mater to share their postsecondary experiences and advice with current high school students
- College application events, a time and space for students to ask questions and complete and submit applications
College Access Services Beyond Buffalo
Running parallel to our work in Buffalo, we are also working closely with four of our YWLN affiliate schools in enhancing college access programs within their communities. These schools include:
- Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women (BLSYW)
- Girls Academic Leadership Academy (GALA)
- Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington (GLOW)
- Young Women’s Leadership Academy of Las Vegas (YWLA)
Carolina Moquete, Senior Manager of New Markets, will focus on college access coaching both virtually and during several in-person visits. She and the team will work closely with the schools in developing systems, processes, and college awareness and readiness events to support each school in advancing their college-going culture.
We also continue our work where it all began in NYC. Alendi Vidal, Senior Manager of College Access, is working with non-CBI public high schools to provide coaching and tailored services from our list of offerings. These include student-facing services like organizing college visits and leading college application workshops. We also offer college access coaching tailored to school leaders and counselors. Each of these services allows schools to bring college access services to their students without the commitment of a full-service program with a DCC.
Learn all about our approach to college access and contact us if you are a school leader interested in promoting college access within your community!
See more pictures from student activities in Buffalo this past fall!
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