Tommesha Scott, a CSF scholar, with Patricia McGuire, president of Washington Trinity University. Lauren Drell/MNS
WASHINGTON—It’s June, which means graduations abound. But take a closer look at those graduating classes and you’ll see a lack of diversity, specifically a lack of low-income and minority students. Only about half of African-American and Hispanic students receive a high school diploma in four years. An even smaller portion of these students will earn a college degree.
But the College Success Foundation and other educational advocacy and scholarship programs are working to change that. CSF celebrated its 10th anniversary—and a report of data from the past ten years—at the National Press Club in Washington on Wednesday. But it also celebrated the all-around importance of attending college, despite a recent New York Times article, “Plan B: Skip College,” that said only seven of the 30 fastest growing jobs require a bachelor’s degree. Patricia McGuire, president of Washington Trinity University, is adamant about the intellectual, social and financial value of a college education.
“A college degree is about more than getting a job,” said McGuire. It prepares students for lives of fulfillment, advanced intellectualism and effective citizenship. But the playing field in the American educational system, she added, is “absolutely not level.”
For many students, college is not a realistic option. Some are poor, have illiterate parents or have gone through a subpar academic system. Others are forced by economic circumstance to enter the workforce early, failing to develop critical thinking skills that could lead to success. For them, a mentoring program like CSF may be the only way they get to college.
Tommesha Scott grew up in foster care—her father murdered her mother, and then her aunt was murdered in a separate incident. Scott is a 2008 graduate of Maya Angelou Public Charter School, and is now a sophomore at Washington Trinity University.
“CSF refuses to let me fail,” said Scott, who hopes to pay it forward to other students like her. She said there are many students who “just need someone to stand up for them.”
JC Morrow, 18, a recent graduate of Ballou Senior High School in Washington, is heading to Penn State University to become an eco-conscious engineer. Like Tommesha Scott, he wants to pay it forward and show kids from his neighborhood that they can make something of themselves.
“They want to get there, but they’re scared to go there, so I’m going to come back and show them there’s nothing to be scared of,” Morrow said.
Students start with CSF while in middle school, and they are selected based on “nontraditional ways” of identifying high potential. Eschewing test scores, CSF places a premium on student essays, grade-point average, leadership ability, and a demonstrated willingness to delay gratification. Success, the students must realize, won’t come overnight…but they’ll work hard for it.
McGuire said only 10 percent of low-income young Americans attain a bachelor’s degree.
“How can we ever stop the cycles of poverty and dysfunction if we don’t address the other 90 percent?” McGuire asked. Many kids in this majority don’t have good adult role models and they’re very receptive to the “intrusive involvement” of mentors. That may seem paternalistic, McGuire admits, but it seems to be working.
Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., representing Seattle, spoke about CSF’s efforts to building “human infrastructure” by educating youth who are overwhelmed by the rising costs of higher education.
“We’re wasting a huge amount of potential that we need in this country” if we let low-income kids fall by the wayside, said McDermott.
CSF was founded in the state of Washington in 2000, and has given more than $100 million through 15 scholarship programs. More than 1900 students have completed a post-secondary education with CSF support, comprising more than 97% of CSF’s scholars. The program, like D.C.-based Capital Partners for Education, provides more than just financial aid—it offers an “integrated system of support.” It provides academic advising, mentoring, test preparation, college tours, and social and financial support to prepare students for success in college, both within and beyond the classroom.
And the children appreciate the support, aid and encouragement they’ve been offered.
Damiene Johnson and Ramsey Henderson, both 17, are juniors at Woodson High School in Washington, and they have big dreams. Johnson wants to be an aeronautical engineer, and Henderson wants to be a video producer and editor. But he’s one of six kids.
“Money can be an issue,” Henderson.
But he knows that a post-secondary education is important, and he said he’s grateful that he’s been selected as a CSF scholar. Now, instilled with a drive to succeed and the financial backing to do so, Henderson said “college is the only option for me.”
For Johnson, going to college versus not is a matter of “making it in life, plain and simple.” If you are offered the opportunity to go to college, he said, why wouldn’t you take advantage of it?