The Northern California College Promise Coalition: Postsecondary Impact Is Leveraged When Promise Programs Unite
Of the 300+ college promise programs in the nation, 90+ have been implemented in California. Leaders in northern California asked themselves what it would take to grow a collective to solve problems, scale-up efforts, and leverage combined efforts across the region. The solution was to found the Northern California College Promise Coalition (NCCPC) in 2019.
NCCPC believes postsecondary impact is leveraged when promise programs unite. The problem: across the U.S., students of color, those from low-income families, and those first in their families to go to college face many barriers as they navigate complex systems to: 1) apply to college, 2) complete college, and 3) launch their careers. Our most vulnerable students need support to apply to and enroll in college. These students need financial aid, but experience the most obstacles when completing the steps to get aid. Low-income students often work while attending college and are exhausted from working and schooling. This feeling of being tired and overwhelmed affects their college work and their efforts to launch their careers.
The NCCPC’s solution: cultivate a regional effort to bring together leaders, practitioners and resources and share leadership over the shape of college success efforts in the region, through governance, policy and partnerships. NCCPC is led by its Executive Director, Meredith Curry, and David Silver, the Director of Education for the Office of the Oakland Mayor, leads the NCCPC Steering Committee. In addition to the Steering Committee, an Advisory Council was established consisting of community leaders. During the past year, NCCPC has set goals for the upcoming year and worked to expand their reach across high schools, colleges and students.
Learn more about the Northern California College Promise Coalition through their recent policy brief here.