Kalamazoo Promise model used in New Haven

New Haven, Conn., is now one of a handful of communities across the country with school districts  that provide college tuition for their students, reports the New Haven Register.

The program is modeled on one offered in Kalamazoo. The Kalamazoo Promise, which appears to be the first such program in the country, was launched with the goal of offering up to full tuition for public school graduates to go to state-funded universities or community colleges. Since the inception of Kalamazoo’s program, similar “promise” programs have popped up all over the country.

New Haven sees the program as not only a way to boost its schools, but as an economic development tool as it is viewed in Kalamazoo.

Excerpt:

A group of researchers with the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research observed trends in enrollment and student achievement in Kalamazoo Public Schools before and after the 2005 implementation of the Promise program. Researches noted that a decades-long downward trend in enrollment was reversed that year. Based on estimates of this year’s enrollment, the district has experienced a more than 20 percent increase since 2005.

Michelle Miller-Adams, one of the Upjohn researchers and author of a book about the Kalamazoo Promise, said there have been significant gains in student achievement and college preparedness since the inception of the Promise.

To find out more about New Haven’s program, read the rest of the story.

Source: New Haven Register