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| Read More About | Project GRAD | in Holly Holland's | book, | Whatever It Takes | |
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  Project GRAD is spearheading a college-bound solution and impacting over 134,000 students from low-income communities across the country. Project GRAD has a proven track record nationwide in increasing high school graduation and college attendance rates for low-income students.
GRAD believes that all students in high-need, low-income schools can graduate successfully from high school and pursue a postsecondary education. Some of GRAD’s initiatives include:
· GRAD’s College Readiness Initiative targets six mutually reinforcing elements that are integral to successful high school graduation and college matriculation. Read More
· GRAD’s is also impacting academic excellence and college readiness across the state of Pennsylvania. Read More
Two GRAD Sites Win Prestigious GEAR UP Awards
Kenai Peninsula (Alaska) and Los Angeles to Expand, Innovate
WASHINGTON, DC. OCTOBER 17, 2011. Two Project GRAD sites have been selected winners of this year’s highly-competitive GEAR-UP awards from the U.S. Department of Education, as announced by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan earlier this month.
The winning proposals, from Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula (Alaska) and Los Angeles (CA), were among only 66 selected nationwide for the prestigious GEAR-UP grant, which stands for “Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.” GEAR UP provides matching grants for entire grades of students, beginning no later than seventh grade, and following them through high school – a natural fit for GRAD.
“We’re very excited, as you can imagine,” said Ford Roosevelt, Executive Director of Project GRAD LA. “This grant allows us to continue, basically, our work in the schools. What we’re trying to do, as the GEAR UP grant requires, is to move forward in the community where we’ve been since 1999 to enhance awareness of what it takes to get to college.” Out of a possible 106 points by grant evaluators, the LA site scored 105.
“We have sustainability, which is great, for the next six years,” said Mike Petersen, Executive Director of Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula. “Senator Begich’s office just called the school district to announce that GRAD had gotten the grant. It was a nice surprise.”
Both sites will use the matching federal grant – released over six or seven years – to advance the core GRAD model of college-preparatory supports for a full cohort of students. Each site strengthened partnerships and proposed innovations, too, to win the grant. Click here to read the full story!
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 | | In the Spotlight 
Davis High School, Houston TX
From "Dropout Factory"
to National Model OCTOBER 12, 2011. The principal of Jefferson Davis High School in Houston, TX used to be embarrassed that his school ranked dead last in high school graduation rates in the district. Under his watch and in partnership with Project GRAD Houston, the high school has rocketed from last place to first in graduation rates, according to data just released by the Houston Independent School District. What happened? “What happened is that we’re not accepting that anymore,” says Davis Principal Jaime Castaneda. “Davis used to be considered a ‘dropout factory.’ We started asking, how can we do things differently? We started recovering kids, making home visits. And we take advantage of everything GRAD Houston offers us.” Read the full story | | | | |
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