The 40 Blueprints College Access Initiativestudents attended college classes, explored the historic campus, enjoyed lunch in Anna Irvin Dining Hall, and talked with faculty and students about the college experience.
MHS alumnus Dr. Jim Day welcomed the students to campus and shared his personal journey from high school to military, college, and career as a UM history professor. Student Government Association members Rachael Swokowski and Shelby Mays also spoke to the students about their pathways to college.
Many students had graduated from the Blueprints early awareness program as 9th graders. The 11th graders focused on specific details of the decisions they are making about their futures, including upcoming financial aid and college application deadlines.
Christina Morris was the Montevallo Blueprints valedictorian when she was a freshman. After completing the college coaching program, Christina said that “as you go through life, you have to forge your own path, even though sometimes you have to go it alone.”
Mentor Ashley Humphrey, a Mass Communications major, said one of the lessons she learned was that “to get respect, you have to treat others with respect.”
The field trip concluded with a graduation ceremony to celebrate the students’ completion of the Blueprints college coaching curriculum. Kirklynn Hamby, who completed the most independent enrichment activities during the semester, won $50 to celebrate her achievements.
In 2013, the Alabama Poverty Project will continue to highlight individuals in the Alabama Possible movement whose work affects change in the dynamics of poverty in our state. Our January spotlight features Blueprints College Access Initiative Mentor, Ariel Smith, a sophomore in our higher education partner UAB’s Global and Community Leadership (GCL) Honors Program. Ariel recently shared with APP staff what her involvement with the Blueprints program has meant in her own life and how the experience has shaped her personal and vocational goals for the future.
Ariel Smith, a Human Resources Major at UAB, first learned about Blueprints in her freshman Exploring Birmingham course taught by APP Executive Director Kristina Scott.
“I had made it very clear in our class discussions that my area of interest would be poverty and education,” said Ariel.
Today, Ariel leads the UAB mentors at Woodlawn High School and said she is “addicted” to the work.
Ariel is a Birmingham native. She was raised in a low-income, single-parent household and graduated from Cornerstone Academy and John Carroll High School. Ariel said she values the chance to extend a hand to students with whom she shares a background, but who might not have the same resources and relationships she had.
“We give them testimonies. We connect them with people they do not have in their families, they do not have in their neighborhood, and they are desperately looking to see. And for me, I’m a chance to be that image of a person that they either want to meet or want to become,” she said.
Ariel’s leadership with Blueprints also impacted her personal goals.
“Blueprints made me try to define where I wanted to go. I’ve realized that I can make an impact on education not so much by always being in the classroom, but on the administrative side. There is legislation that has to be passed, budgets that have to be allocated properly, and people that have to provide basic leadership training and development, where a person with a human resources background can be very helpful,” she said.
Ariel has decided to pursue a Masters of Public Administration after finishing her undergraduate studies at UAB and intends to pursue a career in education policy.
During 2012, faith communities, local businesses, and individuals like you contributed $16,786 to the Alabama Poverty Project.
Montevallo High School 9th graders visited the University of Montevallo at the conclusion of this fall’s Blueprints early awareness program.
. 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 more than 500 students at eight high schools across Alabama. Through a combination of early awareness and college coaching, Blueprints increases college access by supporting families in college and career planning, financial aid literacy, and ACT preparation. Thank you for helping students pursue their college dreams.
• Bringing together leaders from the social justice and business communities for a conversation with APP Founder Wayne Flynt and retired Energen CEO Mike Warren on the issue of poverty and the potential for the business community to facilitate social change. Thank you for helping us bring together unusual partners to achieve Alabama’s potential.
• July’s Summer Workshop and September’s Lifetime of Learning Conference, which brought together students, educators, and community partners to learn about ending poverty and working in diverse communities. At both events, we learned that listening to each other is what makes magic happen. Thank you for giving us the chance to listen.
In order to maximize your investment in improving college access, this Fall APP’s Blueprints College Access Initiative launched a new college-coaching program at three Birmingham high schools: Woodlawn, Jackson-Olin and Holy Family Cristo Rey.
College-prep coaches encourage student access and persistence through a combination of ACT prep, career and college planning, and assistance for families in completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).
“My mentor Devante Smith . . . guided me on how to go about getting financial aid, scholarships, and grants. I now have a different approach about going to college thanks to you all,” said Jessie Paul, a junior at Jackson-Olin High School.
Here are the results from our first semester:
82 10-12th grade students participated in college coaching activities,
Seniors have completed 30 college applications,
29 students have registered and are currently preparing to take the ACT, and
10 students are completing scholarship applications.
“It is so rewarding when I get calls from students telling me that they have been accepted to college,” said AmeriCorps*VISTA Member Kevi Martin.
How can you help us build on this success?
Volunteer. during FAFSA February to help more students access money for college. Email Eva Walton for more information.
Organize college visits with local high school students; email Hannah Selles to get started.
Donate to APP to help cover the costs of materials and staffing.
Above: Seniors at Holy Family Cristo Rey work on college applications.
Blueprints mentors from both NWSCC chapters of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society planned and hosted the campus visit for 22 10th graders. The PCHS students visited history, nursing, sociology, English, and machine shop courses throughout the morning. Afterwards, many students said they learned something new about their intended major while observing the lectures. One student who attended the machine shop course proudly showed off his handiwork, a medallion emblazoned with his football jersey number.
PCHS Sophomore Breeona Baker said that she wants to work in a health care field because “I have always enjoyed helping people . . . I have all of the skills and desires to stay on task and achieve my dreams.”
Breeona was named the Phil Campbell Blueprints valedictorian by earning the most points for her Blueprints portfolio by completing extra-curricular assignments with the help of her teachers, parents and mentors.
PTK officers from the NWSCC’s Muscle Shoals campus led workshops on resume building, professional interview skills, and etiquette. Students then created their own resumes.
Dr. Humphrey Lee, NWSCC president and APP board member, added to the excitement about college when he awarded students who successfully completed the Fall 2012 Blueprints program a scholarship for three credit hours at NWSCC. This scholarship can be added to the Spring 2012 three-credit Blueprints scholarship for a total of six credit hours.
As Dr. Lee said, the students “have money in the bank.”
Dr. Lee also announced a special Leadership Scholarship Essay Contest available only to Phil Campbell Blueprints students who submit essays on what the Blueprints program has meant to them and why they desire to continue their education at Northwest-Shoals Community College. The winner will receive a half-tuition, renewable scholarship to NWSCC.
Thanks to APP Higher Education partner Northwest-Shoals Community College, Dr. Lee, Nora Lee, and members of the two NWSCC Phi Theta Kappa chapters for their leadership.
More than 200 ninth graders in seven north and central Alabama high schools will participate in the Blueprints early-awareness mentoring program during the fall semester. With guidance from more than 50 college student mentors, ninth graders build a portfolio with personalized activities and resources for accessing financial aid, exploring careers and colleges, and acquiring academic and soft skills. The ninth grade program culminates in a focused field trip to a university campus.
Blueprints Program Coordinator Hannah Selles trains Hillcrest High School mentors at The University of Alabama.
To build on our ninth graders’ successes, we are launching work with 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. Beginning this month, Blueprints college-prep coaches will encourage student access and persistence through a combination of ACT prep, career and college planning, and financial aid assistance for families.Blueprints launched in Spring 2009 with just 30 ninth graders at Holt High School and a handful of mentors from The University of Alabama Honors College. Over the past four years, Blueprints has blossomed to serve nearly 400 ninth graders and engage more than 100 college students as mentors.
Want to get involved with Blueprints? Here’s how:
Organize college visits with local high school students; email Hannah Selles to get started.
Become a mentor. Connect with Blueprints programs currently underway in Tuscaloosa (at the University of Alabama), Marion (through Judson College), Montevallo (at the University of Montevallo) and Birmingham (at UAB, Birmingham Southern, and Samford University); email Elizabeth Clark to find out more.
Thank you to the Belk Foundation, the Independent Presbyterian Church Foundation, BBVACompass, the Daniel Foundation of Alabama, and the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens for their generous support of our work.
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.
Only 20 percent of Alabama high school seniors completed FAFSA
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
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.
Woodlawn High School Students visited UAB as part of our Blueprints College Access Initiative.
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-FounderWayne 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.
