With warm weather finally here and the school year drawing to a close, College Now Greater Cleveland is keeping busy! Exciting events are quickly approaching, such as the 2012 Celebration of Excellence and the Higher Education Compact Symposium. College Now experienced tremendous success this school year. You'll read about a few of those successes in this newsletter, as well as exciting new programs we're gearing up to roll out in the fall! 

Read on to learn more!

Calling All Mentors

 

Building on the success of the first full academic year of the College Now Mentoring Program, Mentoring Program Coordinator, Lauren Marchaza, is looking ahead and gearing up for the 2012-2013 school year, for which our goal is to QUADRUPLE the number of mentor/mentee pairs!

To reach that goal, we need your help.  We're looking for:

• Individuals with professional backgrounds looking to have an impact on a student's success both personally and professionally and, at the same time, improve their own leadership skills.
• Companies looking for a path to direct employees towards community engagement.

Taking advantage of the innovative, web-based iMentor Interactive makes being a mentor easier than ever, as mentors can communicate with their mentees, anytime, anywhere!

Many first-generation students and students from low-income backgrounds don't know where to turn when they encounter an obstacle at some point during their college experience.  Having a mentor who has been there and can provide guidance and support can make all the difference in a student's success.

If you want to share your experience with a College Now scholarship recipient or know someone who does; OR, if you think this could be a great opportunity for your colleagues to get involved in the community, contact Lauren Marchaza at lmarchaza@collegenowgc.org or (216) 241-5587.

Read what one mentor, David Mariano, has to say about the program by clicking here.

College Now Receives Highly Competitive Upward Bound Grant 

College Now recently received news that the organization will be receiving a 5-year Upward Bound grant. Upward Bound is a Trio Program, one of a group of federally-funded programs designed to assist low income, potential first-generation college students in enrolling and completing college.

To apply for this grant, College Now submitted a 60-page proposal outlining every detail of the program to the U.S. Department of Education. Three readers scored each proposal and the highest scorers received the 5-year grants. It is particularly difficult to get a new grant because those that already have the program receive up to 15 additional "prior experience" points. Out of 780 Upward Bound grantees, only 8% were awarded to new grants. College Now is thrilled to be one of 62 new Upward Bound grantees. 

Thanks to this grant, one full-time advisor will provide intense services to 60 students annually in East Cleveland's Shaw High School. These services will include tutoring, cultural trips and college visits, parent meetings, ACT preparation, individualized college and career planning, and a six-week summer program at CSU. The full-time advisor will know the student's grades, attendance, extracurricular activities, families, college and career aspirations, and their strengths and weaknesses. To participate, Upward Bound students and parents will have to sign a commitment letter agreeing to participate in the Upward Bound programs that will make the students college ready. The effectiveness of the program will be measured by the following indicators: the number of students with a GPA of 2.5 or better; student performance on standardized tests; promotion to the next grade; on-time graduation; post-secondary enrollment; and post-secondary completion. Upward Bound is a gift to both College Now and the students of Shaw.

Grant from KeyBank Foundation Brings New Opportunities for CMSD Juniors and Seniors

With generous support from the KeyBank Foundation, College Now Greater Cleveland has created another initiative for juniors and seniors attending the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) whose GPA and ACT scores are good enough statistically to indicate their readiness to attend college. However, these students often do not benefit from the special programming that gifted students receive or attract the attention of postsecondary institutions in the same way very high achievers do. As a result, these students can miss out on attending the "best fit" colleges for attaining their career and personal goals where they may also receive the most financial aid.

To address this, KeyBank Foundation and College Now are partnering on a new initiative that focuses on increasing opportunities for these students. Thanks to a grant from the KeyBank Foundation, College Now will run an intensive summer boot camp in July for about 50 CMSD students from the class of 2013 who fit the academic criteria of a 2.5+ GPA and an ACT score between 21 and 23. The summer boot camp will result in students writing polished essays, creating rough drafts of college applications and working to improve their ACT scores to 23 or above. In addition, during the boot camp, students will visit local colleges and meet with local employers. Once back in school this fall for their senior year, College Now advisors will work with these students and others to offer enhanced advising, ensuring completion of at least three college applications to students' "best fit" schools by November 15 as well as encouraging applications for numerous scholarship opportunities, including those offered by College Now. 

Former Board Chair Receives H. Peter Burg Regional Vision Award

Congratulations to former Board chair Dr. Jeanette Grasselli Brown and her husband Dr. Glenn Brown for their selection as this year's recipient of the H. Peter Burg Regional Vision Award! This award, the highest bestowed by Team NEO, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to advancing the economic development of Northeast Ohio. The impact of Jenny and Glenn's hard work and tremendous determination is evident across the region; they have led efforts to create jobs, attract businesses and advance new technologies, not to mention their leadership roles with numerous other nonprofit organizations across the region.

 Celebration of Excellence 2012: Mark  Your Calendars!

The 2012 Celebration of Excellence is approaching! It will take place on Tuesday, June 19 at John Hay High School. The event will recognize the achievements of our first-time scholarship recipients as well as the achievements of our scholarship recipients who are completing their degrees and graduating from college. Registration begins at 4:30 p.m.; the formal program begins at 5 p.m.; and a reception will follow at 6 p.m. The Celebration of Excellence will feature Senator Nina Turner as the keynote speaker, WMJI Radio Personality and College Now Board Member Jimmy Malone as the emcee, and College Now Scholarship Recipient and CSU '12 graduate, Clarissa White. To RSVP, e-mail Kathy Soucek at ksoucek@collegenowgc.org by June 12.