Blueprints College Access Initiative
Testimonies
“When I first began working on the Blueprints program, I understood the need for college prep in schools across the state. Now that I have met multiple students and heard their stories, I know this program is a necessity for Alabama students to prepare for a brighter future.” -Blueprints Coordinator Haley Heckman
“Forming relationships with the students is really important. I know their names and I can specifically help them. That is what is going to make this program successful.” -Blueprints Mentor
“I learned today that I can afford to go to college when I thought I couldn’t!” -Blueprints participant, Francis-Marion High School
“I learned that I could get scholarships from Ketchup and Wal-Mart. I had no idea!” -Blueprints participant, Montevallo High School
Why Blueprints?
Alabama is the 10th poorest state in the nation, and nearly 1 in 6 Alabamians — and 1 in 4 children — live below the federal poverty line.
Alabama’s median household income is $9,443 less than the national average. According to the Southern Education Foundation, 60 percent of that gap is due to Alabamians’ low educational attainment. For every dollar earned by individuals with a bachelor’s degree, high school dropouts only earn 32 cents and high school graduates only earn 51 cents.
College graduates elevate their personal earning capacity and bring nearly $1 million in spending power back to their local communities. Educational attainment is also a key factor in employers’ site location decisions, which in turn can create a healthier economy for all of us.
According to the US Census Bureau, in 2005, 84.1 percent of Alabama adults had a high school diploma, while only 23.1 percent had a bachelor’s degree or more. This is far below national rates of educational attainment and negatively impacts the college-going culture. In 2006, 78 percent of students whose parents obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher enrolled in college immediately after completing their high-school education. Students whose parents had completed high school but not college had a college enrollment rate of 56 percent, and those students who had less than a high school diploma had a college enrollment rate of 43 percent.
Alabama’s high poverty rate also adversely affects the college-going culture. According the State of Education report, in 2006 low-income students immediately enrolled college at a rate of 50.9 percent, versus 61.4 percent for middle-income students and 80.7 percent for high-income students.
The Blueprints College Access Initiative creates a college-positive culture, inventories existing college access programs, holds college access workshops, creates opportunities for parents to engage in the college application process, builds community support, provides multiple opportunities for high school students to visit college campuses and equips new high school graduates for college success.
Blueprints is a direct service-learning experience for college students to provide college access counseling and mentoring to low-income and first generation college students. Eight in-classroom workshops are combined with after-school support, a college-positive culture and opportunities for parental involvement. Blueprints is a partnership between APP, The University of Alabama, Birmingham-Southern College, Judson College, Alabama Consortium for Educational Renewal, Hueytown High School and Francis Marion High School.