APP is recruiting two AmeriCorps*VISTAs to work with our Blueprints College Access Initiative. This is a great way to get real job experience in a supportive environment, work with high school students, and promote a college-going culture.
The job description is posted here and you can find out more about the AmeriCorps*VISTA program here.
Birmingham, AL- The U.S. Department of Education last week unveiled a new tool to help high schools better track how many students are completing federal financial aid forms.
School and local leaders can now track how many students in each high school across the country are submitting and completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on the new FAFSA Completion Tool website, http://federalstudentaid.ed.gov/datacenter/fafsahs.html
Only 9,893 out of 49,510 Alabama high school seniors, or 19.98 percent, completed the FAFSA as of March 13, 2012. Previously, high schools estimated their FAFSA completion rate using self-reported surveys, which are typically unreliable.
Research shows a strong correlation between FAFSA completion and college enrollment.
“FAFSA completion helps students and their families access federal and most state financial support, including grants, scholarships, the lowest-cost student loans and work-study opportunities. The federal deadline for completing the FAFSA is June 30; however, many colleges’ priority deadlines have already passed,” said Kristina Scott, Executive Director of the Alabama Poverty Project.
Alabama’s median household income is $9,508 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 bachelors degrees, 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 statewide.
The FAFSA Completion Tool will be updated every two weeks.
About the Alabama Poverty Project (APP):
Alabama is the nation’s third poorest state. Nearly 19 percent of Alabamians – and more than 27 percent of children – live below the poverty line. The Alabama Poverty Project (APP) is a nonprofit resource center that mobilizes Alabamians to reduce poverty via strategic partnerships with higher education institutions, community partners, policymakers and faith-based organizations. Founded in 1993, APP equips Alabamians to increase college access, fight hunger through learning and service, and one day end systemic poverty in Alabama. For more information, visit http://www.alabamapossible.org
WHAT: Financial Aid/FAFSA Help Night
WHEN: Tuesday, February 28, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Woodlawn United Methodist Church, 139 54th St N, Birmingham, AL 35212
BIRMINGHAM - Woodlawn High School students and their families will get hands-on help completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on Tuesday, February 28, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Woodlawn United Methodist Church.
“The process of applying for and paying for college can seem complicated. This FAFSA completion event will help students and their family access federal and most state financial support, including grants, scholarships, the lowest-cost student loans and work-study opportunities. We want to turn Woodlawn students’ college dreams into reality,” said Kristina Scott, director of the Blueprints College Access Initiative.
The Woodlawn FAFSA Help Night is a free program to connect high school seniors and their families complete the FAFSA with expert advice from volunteer financial aid counselors from Birmingham-area postsecondary institutions, including the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Samford University, and Virginia College.
The FAFSA Help Night is co-sponsored by the Woodlawn High School Alumni Coalition, the Blueprints College Access Initiative, and Woodlawn United Methodist Church.
About the Blueprints College Access Initiative:
The Blueprints College Access Initiative equips 21st-century high school students to graduate from high school college- and career-ready by building partnerships with area higher education institutions and community organizations. Blueprints builds a college-going culture by demystifying the college-going process and connects high school students with an information-rich network of support student coaches and adults who can help them navigate the admissions process.
Blueprints is an initiative of the Alabama Poverty Project. Alabama has the third-highest poverty rate in the country, and educational attainment and income are closely related. According to the Census Bureau, college graduates’ median income is $46,931, while the median for workers with a high school diploma is just $27,381.
For more information, visit www.blueprintsalabama.org
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Dear Friends,
During 2011, faith and individual donors like you contributed $12,964 to the Alabama Poverty Project. That means we are nearly 75 percent of the way to our 2011 goal of $17,500. Thank you!
We are immensely grateful to partners like you. You inspire us and constantly remind us that, together, we have the power to end poverty and hunger in Alabama.
We hope that you had a chance to join us at one of our programs this year. The highlights included:
• The Blueprints College Access Initiative, which worked with 246 students at seven high schools across Alabama. Blueprints increases college access by supporting families in college and career planning, financial aid literacy, and ACT preparation. Thank you for helping equip students to pursue their college dreams.
• Celebrating the publication of APP Co-Founder Wayne Flynt‘s memoir, Keeping the Faith: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives. Wayne challenges and inspires us to keep fighting for a more just Alabama. Thank you for helping us keep his flame going.
• Alabama Possible Community Conversations, which bring together Alabamians to talk about our aspirations for our communities, the barriers we face in achieving those aspirations, and what actions individuals, leaders, and communities can take in turning possibilities into reality. Thank you for helping us listen to the dreams of everyday Alabamians.
• July’s Tornado Recovery Workshop and September’s Lifetime of Learning Conference, which brought together students, educators, and community partners to talk about poverty and long-term tornado recovery. Thank you for ensuring that the structural causes of poverty are addressed in rebuilding efforts.
We have just 5 more days to raise $4,536. Please ensure that we have the resources to continue our work together by making a contribution today.
Thank you,
Kristina Scott
Executive Director
Alabama Poverty Project
Along with their Advisor Dr. Humphrey Lee (top left), Phi Theta Kappa Officers Jerry Smith (top right) and Amy Beaver (bottom left) met with Community College Chancellor Dr. Freida Hill (bottom right) to ask for her support for their tuition reduction proposal.
After the April 27 tornadoes, Calhoun Community College Students Amy Beaver and Jerry Smith wanted to do something to address the long-term needs of tornado victims.
The two, who are both regional officers in the Phi Theta Kappa two-year honor society, met with other Alabama Phi Theta Kappa leaders at Shelton State a few days after the storms. The Phi Theta Kappa group toured Tuscaloosa and talked about what they were doing at home to meet tornado victims’ short-term needs.
They knew that was not enough.
“We had been doing volunteer services in our neighborhoods, and we decided we wanted to do something that would help in the long-run,” said Amy, a business management major at Calhoun Community College and Phi Theta Kappa Regional Vice President.
They decided to take action by asking that the Alabama Community College System reduce tuition for students who lost their homes and/or jobs. Educational attainment is closely linked to both economic security and resilience, and tuition costs can be a financial burden as students attempt to rebuild after natural disasters.
With the assistance of their Phi Theta Kappa Advisors, APP Volunteer Board Member and Northwest-Shoals Community College President Humphrey Lee and Athens State Transfer Coordinator Nora Lee, Amy and Jerry met with Community College System Chancellor Freida Hill in June. At that meeting, they had a chance to talk with Dr. Hill about their experiences and asked for her support.
When we asked if Amy and Jerry were nervous, Amy quickly replied, “Dr. Hill made us feel like we were having a normal every day conversation.”
After securing Dr. Hill’s backing, the next step was to appear in front of the Alabama State Board of Education, which sets tuition for the two-year college system.
At the board’s July meeting, the members unanimously agreed to cut tuition in half for students who lost their homes or jobs due to the storms.
Smith, a pre-engineering major at Calhoun and Alabama Region Phi Theta Kappa president, said that the experience would help him advocate in the future.
He “learned how to take the right path,” Smith said, and credits Dr. and Mrs. Lee with helping them understand the chain of command.
Dr. Lee said, “Students can be very powerful delivering a message, especially when their passion is based on an area of great need.”
Here’s a guest post from Blueprints founder Nicole Bohannon:
Earlier this month, Kristina, Hannah, and I had the opportunity to attend the National College Access Network’s (NCAN) annual conference in St. Louis to share experiences from Blueprints College Access Initiative and learn from other college access providers around the nation.
From breakout sessions sharing best practices for assessment and sustainability to inspiring plenary sessions and networking opportunities, the conference provided for an incredible time of learning and growth that will undoubtedly prove valuable as we work to deepen the relationships with our Blueprints partners and their communities.
During the conference, we also had the privilege of presenting Blueprints at NCAN’s Best Practices Gallery, which focused on best practices in helping diverse student groups access and success in college. We were thrilled to share information about what Blueprints is doing in Alabama with over 600 conference attendees.
One of the most important things we learned was the power of state and local college access networks. These networks work to get more 21st century students into and through college, and by leveraging their collective impact they are able to create large-scale social change for student success. Alabama does not currently have a college access network, and that is something we aim to change over the next year.
The NCAN conference was a wonderful learning opportunity, but even more so, a motivator to see the ground we must make up in college attainment in the state of Alabama. Increasing college access is vital to fighting poverty in Alabama, and we couldn’t do it without your help.
Want to learn more about best practices to increase college access? Some of the conference sessions are posted in the virtual conference section here, and many of the presentation handouts are available here.
Want to get involved with Blueprints? Here’s how:
This past Friday we took a trip to check out one of our Higher Education Partners, Wallace State University-Hanceville. We’ve continually heard of their academic, health and technical programs and were eager for a closer look.
Dr. Tomesa Smith, Vice President of Student Affairs, welcomed us and gave us a brief history of Wallace State. Afterward, Ms. Jennifer Hill, Director of Enrollment Management, gave us a campus tour while catching us up on Wallace State’s expansion of health professions and broadening of technical programs including culinary studies, dental hygiene and cosmetology.
The tour ended with a walk-through of the welding department. The program boasts a 100 percent employment rate for its graduates. Jim Thompson, the Welding Department Head, showed us around the facilities, pointing out various welding machinery, and he even demonstrated a water-powered materials cutter to make us some souvenirs!
Mr. Thompson informed us about the vast employment opportunities for a welder and about a national shortage of people seeking work in the welding professions. He also referenced a recent Alabama Construction Recruitment Institute (ACRI) commercial that aired during the Iron Bowl. The commercial, featuring Mike Rowe, stressed the importance of workforce development under the label of “Go Build Alabama.”
The Huntsville Times recently quoted the commercial and some ACRI statistics- “A third of Alabama’s skilled tradesmen are over 50, and they’re retiring fast,” Rowe said in the new PSA. “Guess who’s replacing them? No one.” According to the ACRI, for every four people retiring from the construction trades nationwide, only one is stepping up to take their place.
The highlight of the day was listening to Mr. Thompson describe acting out his life’s calling while helping others find theirs. He kept coming back to a central point he has experienced throughout his teaching career, “We take that person that had no skills…when they strike that first arc, it’s like a light switch came on,’This is what I’m supposed to be doing!’” Students find an interest they never knew they had. This spark serves as the motivation for these students to excel and perform on a higher level. Mr. Thompson recalled the passion and excitement some students had to learn as much about their trade as possible. He mentioned some of his past star students, such as Joey Foster, who won technical contests on a national level.
Thanks, Dr. Smith, Ms. Hill and Mr. Thompson for welcoming us to your campus!
Posted by T.C. McLemore
Transportation costs can really add up. Tip #3, from 25 Tips to Afford College, is to carpool:
from 25 Tips to Afford College:
CollegeScholarships.org has information for low-income students seeking need-based scholarships. Fastweb.com is another trusted resource for connecting to scholarship opportunities.
Americorps VISTA is another program that can help you fund your education. After a year of service to your community, receive a $5,350 education award to be used for existing student debt or future college expenses. Many institutions will match your higher education award, increasing your scholarship potential to over $10,000. During your year of service, you will also receive a small living stipend and other benefits. See VISTA positions open with the Alabama Poverty Project.
We love 25 Tips to Afford College, a new site with recommendations for covering college expenses. Videos are available in both Spanish and English.
Tip 1: Budgeting