College Accessibility Initiative

A Pillar to Healing
 There must exist a paradigm, a practical model
for social change that includes an understanding
of ways to transform consciousness that are
linked to efforts to transform structures.”
-Bell Hooks.
The Goal of College Accessibility initiative

1 2 3
Provide access to higher Break barriers of Empower young adults to
education institutions for affordability, lack of complete education and
historically marginalized community support, lack of find jobs that will put them
communities and first- connection to curriculum in positions of power and
generation college students (Whiteness). positions they feel as if they
can succeed in.
 50%

41%
40%

Access to 30%

Higher 20%
22%

Education 15%

10%

Over 90% of today’s

youth aspire to go to
0%
college (College Possible, Whites Blacks Hispanics/Latinx

2019).
Access to
Higher • If 90% of young people want to go to
college, there are needs that are unmet if
Education only 22% of black community and 14% of
Hispanic community ages 25-29 have a
bachelors degree.
Barriers to 50,000
Average College Cost Over the Years

Higher 45,000

Education:
40,000

35,000

Tuition Costs $ per Year

Cost 30,000

25,000

20,000

15,000
Affordability of college has become more
and more of an issue over the years. 10,000

5,000
Only 1 in 10 youth from low-income
families go on to graduate from a four- 0
1977-1978 1987-1988 1997-1998 2007-2008 2017-2018
year college, compared with 28% of
youth from middle-income families and Public Tuition Private tuition Year
50% of youth from high-income families.
Series 1 Series 2
Barriers to
Higher
Education: • One in three young people will grow up
Community without a mentor or someone they can look
Support up to and confide in about their goals.
Barriers to Higher Education: Community
Support
• When Youth have just one
mentor in their life they can
almost double the chances they
will get college entry.
• Chances of Completion of
college with a mentor is
drastically improved.
• It is essential that there are
built in community supports for
young adults going to college.
 • Eighty-two percent of public-school
Barriers to educators are white, compared to
18 percent teachers of color. In
Higher addition, black male teachers only
Education: constitute two percent of the
teaching workforce. (U.S.
Curriculum/ Department of Education, 2019).
Whiteness
Barriers to Higher Education:
Curriculum/Whiteness

• Many youth don’t see their culture represented in story problems, in

education administration, in positions of power, so they drop out or
can’t focus.
• Curriculum in k-12 education has systemic roots in whiteness. Dating
back to the first college built in the united states: Harvard.
• Blacks couldn’t go to college until 1890. This created many issues with
diversity of thought and diversity of ideas in education.
Empower: Put historically marginalized
communities in positions of power.
Hispanic and Black communities
make significantly less than their
peers.

With a bachelor’s degree median

household income increases a
lot.
Action Plan: Cohort Based Group

1 2 3 4 5
Provide
Provide Access
Access to
to College
College Break
Break down
down barriers
barriers of
of Break
Break down
down barrier
barrier of
of Break
Break down
down barrier
barrier of
of Check in consistently on
through
through applying to
applying to affordability
affordability through
through community
community support by
support by whiteness
whiteness by providing
by providing youth throughout
different
different options
options suitable
suitable applying
applying for
for Washington
Washington providing cohort based
providing cohort based training
training of
of history
history of
of schooling and help with
to
to the youth. Going
the youth. Going along
along state
state pell grant
pell grant and
and FAFSA.
FAFSA. group
group with
with mentor.
mentor. education
education every Friday.
every Friday. job application post
with
with client centered goals.
client centered goals. degree.
Funding: Clear Path Grant?

Youth will be provided 10 hrs a week of work at the minimum

Money wage to complete this cohort.

During The cohort will be during their first quarter of college.

Post first quarter their will be support and a soft hand off to
Post university or community college advisor.