Nine Delaware school districts and high schools will carry out strategies to increase college readiness and access during the 2016-2017 school year with grants from the state’s College Access Fund.
“These grants will support preparing middle school students to take advanced classes when they reach high school, increase training for teachers of advanced classes, support counselors on college access work and allow for partnerships with community organizations to increase support for students,” Secretary of Education Steve Godowsky stated.
The grants from the Delaware Department of Education’s Higher Education Office are part of a broad state strategy to increase college-going that includes the Getting to Zero campaign and investments in boosting success in Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment classes.
The Delaware Goes to College grant and the AP Incentive Grant support innovative and proven programs that increase student access to rigorous coursework and drive all students towards post-secondary education, including certificates, apprenticeships, and two-year and four-year degrees.
Both grant opportunities provide districts and schools with funding that can be used to support programs and professional learning in both middle and high school that drives change in any of the four recommendations from the 2016 College Success Report: http://www.doe.k12.de.us/collegesuccess.
The Delaware Higher Education Office selected two districts and two high schools to receive 2016-2017 Delaware Goes to College grants that were open to all districts and charters to promote their comprehensive strategies:
- George’s Technical High School ($60,950) will implement Project Hawk SOARS (Students on Accessible Roads to Success) to provide services to first-generation college going students, males of color and/or students from low-income households, while enhancing targeted supports for all students around success, college awareness, and transitions to post-secondary education.
- Middletown High School ($60,060) will expand existing services including the CAVS College Boot Camp Series and cast a wider net to extend programs district-wide to service middle school students. These efforts include increasing the number of college visits, mentoring initiatives, dual enrollment and growing workshops to increasing parent awareness, advocacy and financial literacy.
- Indian River School District ($30,880) will enhance school counselor professional development, middle school training programs and strategic partnerships with community organizations to define better support systems that assist in the transition from middle to high school, high school to college, and college to career.
- Colonial School District ($52,000) will expand its Communities in Schools (CIS) program to McCullough Middle School to address middle-level needs as well as continue CIS in William Penn High School and the Wallin School to prepare students for college and career readiness before, during and beyond high school.
Through a separate competitive grant open to all districts and charters, four districts and two high schools received 2016-2017 Advanced Placement Incentive Grants. Colonial and Appoquinimink school districts received both grants.
- Appoquinimink High School ($56,610)
- Brandywine School District ($38,100)
- Capital School District ($35,760)
- Colonial School District ($39,390)
- Newark Charter High School ($23,540)
- Milford School District ($16,100)
The districts and schools will use the grants to provide teachers of AP classes with professional development and to increase the rigor of middle school courses to prepare students better for AP classes in high school.
