Drew Wilson
Take Stock in Children is expanding from Florida’s middle and high schools to college campuses.
The group, which provides low-income, at-risk youth a chance to escape the cycle of poverty through education, mentorship and college scholarships announced this week that it’s launching a new program: “Take Stock in College.”
Take Stock in Children data shows less than half of Florida students living in poverty will graduate high school. Of those who do, only half will attend college. And of those students, only one in five will earn a degree.
The current program, established in 1995 and deployed in 800 Florida schools, is helping improve some of those stats. Namely, high school graduation rates and the proportion of young adults from low-income families who enter college. As of now, 6,000 young Floridians who have been helped by Take Stock in Children are attending a college or university.
“Take Stock in Children has a tremendous success rate among our students graduating high school and entering college, 96 percent respectively,” said Jillian Hasner, president and CEO of TSIC. “College attainment is the key to ensuring more students make it out of poverty and through Take Stock in College, we’re proactively putting our resources to work to increase our college completion rate to mirror our high school success rates.”
The new program will help students who earn their diplomas and start their quest for a degree get the job done. To achieve that, Take Stock in College is employing a three-pronged approach.
First, it’s leveraging its local affiliate organizations to scale established best practices from high school to college through a mini-grant program.
Second, a student ambassador will be posted at each of Florida’s 40 state colleges and universities.
Third, it’s tapping into a network of college completion coaches who will be assigned to multiple institutions and overseen by a project director tasked to ensure the program’s implementation is consistent across the state.
“For nearly 25 years, TSIC has created a community of mentors and supports for our middle and high school students to put them on a successful path to college,” Hasner said. “Take Stock in College is a further example of our commitment to ensuring our hardworking students have the resources they need to succeed and foster their ability to forge a new trail that prepares them for success during and after college.”
TSIC’s new program announcement comes after recent research shows the Sunshine State needs to boost educational attainment to keep up with its booming population and the need for more and better jobs that come along with it.
Data included in the recent Florida 2030 report from the Florida Chamber of Commerce shows 37 percent of Floridians have completed a two-year college degree and about 28 percent have completed a four-year degree. Overall, 48 percent of the state’s population holds some sort of post-secondary credential.
The Chamber says that number needs to jump to 55 percent by 2025, but research produced by the Lumina Foundation says the state needs to aim for 60 percent.
