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Adams schools seek dropouts for second-chance
Contributed by: FRCC on 3/19/2008

WESTMINSTER, Colo. - The Denver area has the worst high school dropout rate in the country, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Two school districts and a community college in Adams County are doing something about it.

Starting this fall, 50 dropouts or students about to drop out from Adams Five Star Schools and Adams School District 50 can earn their high school diplomas and college credits by taking courses at Front Range Community College. Students will receive scholarships to cover their tuition and books.

FRCC expects to enroll at least 325 students over the first three years of the program. Students will receive individual support from dedicated academic coordinators who will act as advisers, mentors, and coaches. The coordinators will help the students on issues ranging from time management and study habits to course selection and career planning.

The project is based on a successful national model called Gateway to College that was started at Portland Community College in Oregon. FRCC is one of five colleges in the country picked this year to start the program in the fall of 2008. FRCC received a $325,000 grant from the Gateway to College National Network for program development and planning. The remaining funding is being supplied by the school districts and the college.

By this fall, Gateway to College will be operating at 18 colleges in 12 states nationwide.

"Gateway to College is about giving students a second chance," said Andy Dorsey, vice president of FRCC's Metro/North area. "We know many dropouts can be successful with the right support. This program has been extensively tested over the past five years, so if a student is motivated, we know this will give them a great chance to earn their high school diploma and even get a college degree."

-more-

To find out how to apply, students can contact the Adams Five Star or Adams 50 high school they last attended, or call Pat Middleton, FRCC director of Gateway to College, at 303-404-5167, Patrick Cordova, resource specialist, at 303-404-5584, or Elise Hauer, resource specialist, at 303-404-5147. Applicants must be between 16 and 20 years old.

For 2005-06, there were more than 18,000 dropouts in Colorado. More than 2,500 of them were in Adams County.


Portland Community College and the Gateway to College program are part of a $120-million-plus initiative to expand options for high school students being left behind in the traditional system. Funding for the Early College High School Initiative comes from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation along with Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Ford Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
FRCC is the first college in Colorado to be awarded the program.


FRCC offers nearly 100 degree and certificate programs from locations in Boulder County, Larimer County, Westminster, and Brighton, and online. FRCC's Web site is http://www.frontrange.edu.

FRCC is a member of the Colorado Community College System, the state's largest system of higher education serving nearly 110,000 students annually. CCCS oversees career and academic programs in the 13 state community colleges and career and technical programs in more than 150 school districts and seven other post-secondary institutions.



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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

John Eisel

Denver , COLORADO

John Eisel has posted 2865 stories and 12 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. John Eisel's average story rating is 4.39.
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