Educational Pathways to Prosperity

Support for Foster and Systems-Impacted Youth

Applying a proven model or solution to a new issue or sector (e.g., using a job recruiting software or strategy to match clients to supportive housing sites, applying demonstrated strategies from advocating for college affordability to advocating for housing affordability and homelessness, etc.)

To give you a small indication of the need, in many LAUSD high schools, student ratio to college counselors is 1,000 to one. Worse still, some high schools have a college counselor assigned to help students apply for college, just one day a week. Students, especially those in foster-care, receive little personal attention. Contrast that with offerings from the college admissions industry. Parents with means pay thousands of dollars to hire educational consultants. College applicants compete on unfair playing fields-from the hurdles of "legacy admissions" to the kinds of practices revealed by the recent pay-to-play scandals.

The Educational Pathways to Prosperity project is an innovative educational equity and access program, serving 650 BIPOC foster and low income youth in accessing debt-free college admission, mentorship, and career pathways training and job placement to thrive. As a Black-led organization, we have a deep understanding of the inequities our BIPOC students face. Our College Access Program is designed to address the equity gaps that disadvantaged Black students, particularly those in foster care, face via three components: College Counseling and Preparation; Mentoring and Networks of Support; and Financial Education and Support. Within this framework, we provide an individualized and comprehensive array of services and support designed to help students stay on the pathway from high school to college and career. Since our founding, we have helped over 5,100 students achieve a college degree. Each year 100% of EST students are accepted to a four-year university, more than 50% receive scholarships, and 25% are awarded full-ride scholarships. So far this year, seven out of 25 high school seniors in our program have been awarded full-ride scholarships - the most we have ever had this early in the application process! We are also proud to share that three of our students competed with 2200 students and were awarded the prestigious Posse Foundation Scholarship this year, making them part of an elite community of future leaders.

Los Angeles County is defiantly already different due to the successful work of Educating Students Together over the past 21 years of our organizations existence. Since our founding, we have helped over 5,100 students achieve a college degree. Each year 100% of EST students are accepted to a four-year university, more than 50% receive scholarships, and 25% are awarded full-ride scholarships. So far this year, seven out of 25 high school seniors in our program have been awarded full-ride scholarships - the most we have ever had this early in the application process! We are also proud to share that three of our students competed with 2200 students and were awarded the prestigious Posse Foundation Scholarship this year, making them part of an elite community of future leaders.

Over the course of the grant period, Educating Students together will achieve the following service outcomes: 100% of participants will receive ACT/SAT course preparation and enrollment upon graduation 100% of participants will apply to 10-15 4-Year Colleges and University in Fall 2023 100% will complete at least complete 5 scholarship application upon the completion of EST program 75% of participant will receiving 2-3 1:1 college coaching session to prepare for supplemental and acceptance process 50% of participants will apply to 10 part-time and full-time employment opportunities at the completion of the school year We will measure our program outcomes as evidenced of the following: 100% of students will be accepted into a 4-Year College or University upon graduation. 85% of students will attend college debt-free upon graduation. 100% of students will receive a partial or full-scholarship opportunity after completing the college access program.