Gates funds post-secondary effort

PJ staff report | July 14, 2011

Post-secondary partnerships

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A community partnership in Raleigh led by N.C. State University has been awarded a $1.3 million grant by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to launch its plans to help that aims to help more low-income young adults get post-secondary degrees.

And a partnership in Charlotte led by Foundation for the Carolinas is developing plans for a similar initiative and will submit a proposal to the Gates Foundation in September for up to $1.3 million to put those plans into effect.

The Raleigh project joins two others in Amarillo and Brownsville, Texas, that previously received seven-month planning grants from the Gates Foundation and now have received grants to launch their projects.

MDC, a Chapel Hill think-tank that focuses on improving educational and economic opportunities throughout the U.S., has received $2.4 million in grants from Gates grant to lead the national three-year initiative and will continue to provide coaching and technical support to the participating partnerships.

The national Partners for Postsecondary Success initiative is part of the Gates Foundation's post-secondary strategy to double the number of adults ages 16 to 26 who earn a post-secondary credential with labor-market value by 2025.

A report by the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University estimates 63 percent of all job openings over the next seven years will require post-secondary education or training, MDC says.

The local Gates-funded projects aim to strengthen and build partnerships, to engage the local community to raise awareness about post-secondary completion rates, and to remove barriers that block students from supports they need to succeed.

The Raleigh partnership, which must raise $240,000 in funds to match the Gates grant, includes local colleges and universities, the local public schools, city and county government, United Way of the Greater Triangle , Captial Area Workforce Development board, and other local partners.

The Raleigh effort includes a summer program at two high schools to help students learn about educational options after graduation; campus programs that provide mentoring, work-based learning opportunities, and assistance with preparation of resumes and for job interviews; and city centers that offer walk-in advice about applying to college, securing financial aid and finding opportunities for on-the-job training.

"Too often those living in poverty must overcome significant obstacles to a post-secondary education that is the gateway to living-wage employment," David Dodson, president of MDC, says in a statement. "To build a well-trained and highly educated workforce for a new generation of jobs, communities must connect more low-income young adults to the resources necessary for academic success beyond high school."
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