Posts Tagged ‘higher educational attainment’

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Blueprints Highlighted in the National College Access Network Best Practices Gallery

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
Hannah, Kristina and Nicole at the Blueprints table in NCAN’s Best Practices Gallery

 

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:

  • 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 (with UAB).
  • Help cover the costs of materials and staffing with your financial gift.

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Posted in Economics & Employment, education, Making A Difference | No Comments »

Wallace State-Hanceville

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

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

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College degrees help Alabamians escape poverty.

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010


We recently reported on two studies about education: one shows that Alabama lags behind in higher educational attainment, and another shows that by 2018, nearly two-thirds of new jobs will require some form of higher education.

Meanwhile, Alabama’s biggest obstacle to economic development is low educational attainment, reports the Southern Education Foundation.

We know that low educational attainment is linked to high rates of poverty. In Alabama, over 1 in 4 high school dropouts live below the federal poverty line, and 1 in 7 of high school graduates who lack a college degree live in poverty.

The story is much more positive for college graduates. Only 3.4 percent of Alabamians with a college degree live in poverty, and college graduates bring over $1 million in spending power back to their communities.

Our partner Alex Steinmiller (pictured above) gets it. As director of Holy Family Cristo Rey high school in Ensley, he oversees a program where each student participates in a paid corporate internship during high school. Each of his students comes from a household living below the poverty line, and every graduate of the program has gone on to be accepted to college.

Father Alex connected with us at our Lifetime of Learning Conference and at our recent Alabama Possible Summit. “I see our college prep and workforce development programs as part of our response to poverty,” he says. Read more about Father Alex here.

How does the Alabama Poverty Project promote educational attainment?

  • Our Higher Education Alliance increases college access in low-wealth communities, promotes student retention and engages students in partnerships with local communities.
  • Our Blueprints College Access Initiative connects college mentors with high school students in low-wealth communities to promote educational attainment.
  • Our partners promote Service-Learning to engage college students in community service and partnerships with low-wealth communities.

Your gift makes a big difference. As the year ends, we are still facing a budget shortfall of $3,447. Can you give?

Your tax-deductible gift will enable us to continue our work mobilizing Alabamians to eliminate poverty.


DonationsTracker.com - Make a Donation to our 2010 Year-End Fundraiser

Thank you for your continued support. With your help and partnership, it is possible to end poverty in Alabama.

-Track our fundraising progress at alabamapossible.org/fundraiser

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Posted in education, Making A Difference | No Comments »

Increasing our potential

Friday, November 19th, 2010

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity has posted another stellar discussion about college completion. This time, Stan Jones of Complete College America talks about some of the challenges that low-income and first-generation college students face when entering higher education.

We know that increased college completion is vital to reducing poverty in Alabama. According to the Center for Education and the Workforce:

  • by 2018, nearly two-thirds of jobs in this state will require some form of higher education
  • over the next 10 years, new jobs in Alabama requiring post-secondary education will increase by an estimated 132,000, while other jobs will increase by only 89,000
  • currently, 55 percent of all jobs in Alabama require some form of post-secondary education’

Want to know more? Listen to the discussion below, and ask yourself: how can I increase the potential for Alabama students to get a higher education?

Complete College America from Spotlight on Vimeo.

Posted by Robyn Hyden

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Posted in Economics & Employment, education | No Comments »

Alabama Possible spotlight: Father Alex uses relational ministry and education to fight poverty

Monday, October 25th, 2010

Monday’s Alabama Possible summit was all about transforming lives through relational ministry. In this week’s Alabama Possible spotlight, we look at one minister who brings this strategy to his daily work.

Father Alex Steinmiller is someone who knows about relational ministries, because he sees them transforming students every day. He is a founding organizer and president of Holy Family Cristo Rey High School in Ensley, Birmingham.

As a part of the Passionist order of the Catholic church, Father Alex is called to serve those living in poverty. He grew up in downtown Chicago, and he can still remember the day he first felt called to be a priest. “A Passionist missionary came to speak to our class and said people can be changed by the love of Christ on the cross. I had never heard that before.” This idea changed his life.

After he was ordained in 1970, Father Alex went to Detroit to work with young gang members. He saw white flight happen right before his eyes, and whole neighborhoods were abandoned by the middle class. “I realized that the best way to help at-risk youths is to relate them with a high-achieving peer. I didn’t have one class in the seminary that prepared me for this,” he laughs. Those years of experience “walking the streets of Detroit,” he says, convinced him that relationships could transform lives.

Working now with youth in Ensley, Father Alex sees this model in action every day. “Since 2007, every single one of our graduates has been accepted to college,” he brags. This is especially notable given their neighborhood, their household income, and the education levels of their parents. So what is Cristo Rey doing that other programs could replicate?

Cristo Rey is “the school that works” – literally. Like all 24 Cristo Rey schools across the country, they employ all of their 174 students in corporate internships. Students work 1-2 days a week to earn a portion of their tuition. They compensate for time spent outside the classroom by going to school for extended days the remainder of the week (8 am – 3:30 pm) and for a longer school year. This program gives the students the opportunity to both afford a private education and to get valuable work and mentorship experiences in high school.

“Jobs really make the most difference. Students get to form adult relationships, and to get that affirmation from adults. I hear them say all the time ‘I can do this, Father.’ That’s such a great breakthrough.”

Students and faculty pose in front of the Honor Society wall.

Applicants must have a combined household income of less than $38,000/year, and the school offers significant financial aid through the work-study program. Students must also meet nine other requirements before starting at the high school, including an interview with both the student and parents, an essay submission, teacher recommendations, and placement testing. “We accept students who are up to two years behind grade level if we believe they have potential,” he says. Holy Family ultimately hopes to sponsor up to 300 students with corporate internships, but they need more support from local businesses to make that happen.

Father Alex connected with APP through our 2010 Lifetime of Learning conference and the Alabama Possible summit, where he shared resources and experiences with others fighting poverty through education and ministry.

How can you bring relational ministries to your community?

People like Father Alex are engaging poverty in Alabama every day. Know someone showing what is possible? Nominate them for the Alabama Possible Spotlight.

Posted by Robyn Hyden

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Posted in Economics & Employment, education, Fighting Poverty with Faith | 2 Comments »

Alabama ranked 9th in poverty statistics

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

16.6 percent of Alabamians lived in poverty last year, according to newly released 2009 US Census Data. This puts us ninth in nationwide rankings of poverty rates.

During that same time, 25.8 percent of children in Alabama lived in households below the poverty line.

The poverty threshold measures household income to determine who lives in poverty. In 2009, the poverty line was $22,050/year for a family of 4, or $10, 830 for an individual.

The numbers of people living in poverty have increased due to unemployment and the recession, says Kristina Scott, executive director of the Alabama Poverty Project. The numbers of the working poor have grown, while the middle class is shrinking.

This trend is evident in the statistics of those subsisting just above the poverty line.  23.9 percent of Alabamians live at or below 125 percent of poverty, and 30.6 percent of Alabamians live below 150 percent of poverty. This means that nearly 1 in 3 of our neighbors in 2009 made the equivalent of less than $33,075 for a household of four.

Single mothers have also struggled during the recession. A staggering 51.2 percent of single female-headed households with related children lived below the federal poverty line. 68.8 percent of single-female-headed households with children lived at only 150 percent of the poverty line during the same time.

Food banks and food assistance programs have reported a dramatic increase in first-time visitors and working families who seek aid, while applications for TANF and food stamps have increased dramatically during the recession.

At the same time, Alabama has weathered the recession better than some of our neighbors, and over the past 10 years we have made significant steps to reduce poverty.

What can you do?

Short term:

  • Support economic development efforts. Job loss is the number one factor in increasing poverty rates.
  • Advocate for policies that offer temporary assistance, as well as policies to create more jobs
  • Help struggling friends and neighbors through trying times. Strong relationships are key to rising out of poverty.
  • Donate to support local assistance programs providing immediate relief

Long term:

Posted by Robyn Hyden

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Posted in Census Stats on Poverty, Economics & Employment, education, Fighting Poverty with Faith, Making A Difference | 1 Comment »

Reducing poverty through higher education

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

In today’s Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, Dr. Michelle Asha Cooper of IHEP notes some of the benefits to increasing college access for low-income young adults. At the same time, she’s realistic about the obstacles that remain:

“Obtaining a college degree or other advanced credential has proven to be a critical factor in producing both individual and societal benefits. It is often education that breaks generational cycles of poverty. Yet it is troubling to know that 1 in 10 impoverished young adults who have a postsecondary degree still fail to immediately get out of poverty.

This is an alarming trend because these students already face greater academic and financial risks than their more well-off peers when attempting to complete college.

Who are these low-income young adults? According to our recent report at the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), A Portrait of Low-Income Young Adults in Education, there are 35.2 million low-income young adults in the United States who are between the ages of 18 and 26, and whose parents’ income or their own (if financially independent) is up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

…For many low-income young adults, pursuing a college degree involves taking bold steps toward bridging education, careers, and employment. And from a national perspective, higher education success among poor young people puts us closer to achieving our national college completion goals or enjoying the anticipated economic boost that a more educated workforce will generate.”

Asha Cooper adds that young adults with a college degree still face many obstacles: degree values vary, local labor markets fluctuate, and the economic recession may hinder job availability. However, she says, an increasing number of jobs in the future will rely on secondary degrees – and a college degree is still the fastest route out of poverty.

What can we do to increase college access here in Alabama?

Our Higher Education Alliance will address this issue at our Lifetime of Learning Conference, September 17 at Auburn University Montgomery. We’ll bring together presentations on college access, student retention, and service-learning with some of the most engaged and creative people from colleges and universities across the state.

Learn about models of community outreach and service-learning that are making an impact today.

  • Christianna Russell of Auburn’s Loachapoka partnership will present the K-12 and community initiatives connecting Loachapoka families to the Auburn campus.
  • Cindy Walker of Faulkner will talk about connecting student athletes to at-risk kids in the community in a mentoring and service-learning partnership.
  • Athens State will present best practices for implementing a Success program in a local middle school.

Higher education faculty, staff, students, and other community partners are invited. Check out more of our scheduled agenda here. Be sure to register by August 31 for the early-bird registration rate. Contact Hannah Selles for more information.

Posted by Robyn Hyden

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Posted in education | No Comments »

Spotlight webcasts on education and poverty

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

If you haven’t checked out the excellent Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, we highly recommend it. They offer great resources on poverty in the U.S.

Recently they posted these Spotlight discussions on education reform, educational equity, and poverty:

Spotlight Webcast: Education, Equity and Poverty from Spotlight on Vimeo.

Spotlight Webcast: Education Reform and Poverty from Spotlight on Vimeo.

Posted by Robyn Hyden

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Posted in education | No Comments »

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