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Helping Low-Income Students Reach for College! |
| Reach for College! was founded in 2005 by two experienced urban educators to help low-income high school students reach their dreams of pursuing postsecondary education. Working in public high schools and public charter schools, Reach for College! provides a curriculum especially developed for students who will often be the first in their families to pursue higher education, and we train teachers to use it. This research-based, structured curriculum has been proven to significantly increase the number of students going to college from high schools where the college-going rate is often low. |
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Our Philosophy
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We believe all students should aim for some sort of education after high school. After all, "the more you learn, the more you earn." Besides, education after high school tends to opens doors by exposing students to new people, new networks and new avenues for success. The "college" in our name is shorthand for any kind of training program, 2-year, 4-year college, or university that a student aspires to. We are here to help students reach their educational and career goals. We believe that all students can succeed if they are determined enough. Successful people say that their achievement was due to 10% luck and 90% hard work. We are here to help with the hard work to get students started on the path to their goals. We believe it's important to help low-income students because these students represent 17% of the students in the country. Our society needs them to be educated, contributing members of their communities. We all need their vibrancy, their caring hearts, and their good ideas. We are here to uplift society by helping these students reach their goals.
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Our Staff
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Brenda applies her understanding of research-based practices and uses effective support strategies in implementing the Reach for College! program in specific response to the needs of the schools. Brenda develops and secures resources to assist teachers and students with the college access approach used by Reach for College! and does outreach to community and university groups to help develop support systems for the partnering schools. Brenda has co-presented at several national conferences, including presentations at two National Staff Development Council Annual Conferences. She is a co-editor of the book, Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice, Volume 2. Harvey earned a B.S. from West Chester State College (Pa.) and M. Ed. from Rutgers University. |
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Deborah founded the nonprofit organization, Helping Teens Succeed, Inc., in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1997 to increase the number of low-income students going to college. Starting with $3000 of her own money and working with eight girls one summer to implementation of the program in 50 schools statewide with a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education and the University System of Georgia, she grew the program into a highly successful entity that continues today, sending hundreds of students to college every year. When Deborah relocated to the D. C. area in 2002, she brought the program here and started it in the D.C. schools, where it was as successful as in Georgia, then Co- founded Reach for College! to give the program a local focus. As a curriculum developer, Deborah has written and published several textbooks and workbooks for secondary students, including Fulfilling the Dream: Going to College, On Track to Succeed, Apply for Success After Graduation, and others. Deborah earned a B.S. degree in secondary education/English at Boston University and an M.A. in English from Simmons College. |
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Prior to attending the University of Pennsylvania, Alisha was selected from a competitive field of 15,000 to join a national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit to teach in low-income communities. She joined the Teach for America program and taught in the Atlanta Public Schools for three years. She successfully raised the achievement of her students and obtained her Certification in Early Childhood Education as a result of a Post-Baccalaureate degree received from Agnes Scott College. She was selected by Teach for America to be profiled in two teacher preparatory publications and has served as a mentor to new teachers. Alisha received her B.A. from Haverford College with a degree in Political Science. Alisha has presented at the American Teacher Education Association Conference and Teach for America's ACE Conference in Atlanta. She has recently been published in the Community Education Journal for a piece on reconnecting adjudicated youth. Alisha is presently pursuing her PhD in Education at George Mason University part-time. |
Brenda N. Harvey, Co-Director of Reach for College, is in charge
of the Program and Implementation. She has more than twenty years in teaching and
supervising teachers. She was a public school teacher for thirteen
years teaching in Philadelphia, Raleigh, and Milwaukee and a
district-level staff development specialist for five years in the Wake
County Schools (Raleigh). Before moving to the Washington, D.C.
area, Brenda served as an assistant principal in Milwaukee after
completing the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee educational
leadership program and attaining K-12 educational administration
certification. She was formerly the Senior Associate for Policy and
Implementation at DC VOICE, Washington, D.C.
Deborah Insel is Co-Director in charge of Reach for College!
Operations and Curriculum Development. She has more than
thirty years of experience teaching and working in urban secondary
schools as an English and journalism teacher and, in each school
district, as a developer of innovative programs to boost student
achievement. She has taught in urban schools in Boston,
Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.
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| Support Reach for College! | ||
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The support for our program comes from a variety of sources. These include foundations, corporate sponsors and many individual donors. Some foundations and organizations that are generously investing in Reach for College are:
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| Will You Help? | ||
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It costs us $165 per student to get a child to postsecondary education. Contrast this with the hundreds of dollars more affluent parents spend on SAT prep tutors, college counselors and college tours. $165 is a small investment that will yield permanent, big returns in a person's life. Reach for College! is a 501(c)(3) education nonprofit organization. All contributions are fully tax-deductible. We uphold the highest standards of transparency and fiscal responsibility. Read more about us at Guidestar.org or review our 2008 Annual Report (pdf). | ||
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| Board of Directors | ||
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Kristi Cruzat, Chair
Linda Abraham, Vice Chair
Laurence Gill, Secretary
Dexter Tucker, Treasurer
Rushern Baker
Robert Clayton
Segun Eubanks
Linda Fennell
Brenda Harvey
Deborah Insel
Ashley James
Wesley Lawson
Gloria Mobley
Tahi Mottl Reynolds, PhD
Ramon Richards
"Reach For College! is a extraordinary program and it has been very beneficial to my education and life. Reach For College gives us students a real chance."
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