Kalamazoo Promise spurs academic achievement in public schools

To prepare students for college and create a college-going culture for its students, the Kalamazoo Public schools have adopted a comprehensive list of social and academic expectations for children of every age, reports the Detroit News.Kindergartners are learning about college. Literacy is a focus of learning in early grades. And college visits in middle years and Advanced Placement courses in high school are all leading to more students seeking higher education.An unprecedented experiment, The Kalamazoo Promise pays college tuition to public colleges and universities in Michigan — 65 percent is covered for those who attend one of Kalamazoo’s two public high schools. If they attend a district school for 13 years, beginning in kindergarten, 100 percent is covered.Excerpt: “The money has acted as a catalyst for the community to put education at the center of its vision,” said Michelle Miller-Adams, a visiting scholar at W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, a nonpartisan think tank in Kalamazoo.While funding is a critical part of an equation to help students become successful, the community also plays a crucial role in supporting the larger goals of the program, Miller-Adams said. So far, she said, the school system is delivering.”Across the board, there has been an effort to create and deepen a college-going culture throughout grades K through 12,” said Miller-Adams, author of “The Power of a Promise,” a book about the scholarship program. “This is a district that has a high proportion of low-income kids, and that is not typically a population that has a high level of college awareness or aspirations. But there have been efforts at every level to deepen that college-going culture.”The story also says The Promise also helped Kalamazoo Central become the first high school to win a commencement address from President Barack Obama.Source: The Detroit News