DEF Awarded College/Career Access Program Grant

Program will help students pursue postsecondary education

(August 3, 2005) The Delmarva Education Foundation (DEF) has been awarded a $5,000 Planning Grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation to design a college access program for students in our region, starting with pilot programs in Wicomico and Somerset counties.

The planning grant is part of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's College Access Network initiative, established to create college access networks in Virginia and Maryland. The Foundation will invest $1 million in Maryland during 2005 and 2006 to help create a network of college access programs through grants to new or existing community nonprofit organizations such as DEF. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private, independent foundation established by the estate of the late Jack Kent Cooke whose business interests included ownership of the Washington Redskins.

“The goal of this initiative is to raise the community's rate of postsecondary education attendance, which supports the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's mission of providing resources to help young people of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education. We are excited to be working with the Delmarva Education Foundation on this important project,” noted Matthew J. Quinn, the Foundation's Executive Director.

The Delmarva Education Foundation College/Career Access Program will guide local students through the preparation and application processes, with advice for understanding the costs and benefits of pursuing postsecondary education for career training or a college degree.

According to the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, college access programs operating in 36 states have proven that they can increase college-going rates substantially. One study showed more than 70 percent of students assisted by these programs graduated from college, compared to the national average of 50 percent. Many of these students are the first in their families to attend college, and nearly all have financial need.

The Delmarva Education Foundation, having a longtime interest in the growing trend of college access programs across the nation, stepped forward in applying for the planning grant as a result of an education meeting facilitated by the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore . Elizabeth Morgan, Director of Youth Programs at the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, presented information about its college access grant opportunities to leaders from DEF and the key business and education stakeholders brought together by Dr. Spicer Bell, Community Foundation President.

Delmarva Education Foundation Board Members (l to r) Bill Wyatt, Roger Harrell, Don Harting, and Sharon Clark meet at the

Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore to discuss the College/Career Access Program with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

Dr. Sharon Clark , DEF volunteer Associate Executive Director, has since invited participants from that meeting and others to create a College Access Council to guide this program to fruition. This group is chaired by DEF board member Roger Harrell . DEF will apply for a Start-up Grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation this fall as the next step in moving the program forward. “This program will serve all students, but have particular emphasis on low-income and potential first-generation college students,” Dr. Clark explained. “It will help students in local communities and schools understand the value of a college education or specialized training for a career,” she added.

DEF's College and Career Access Program will provide one-on-one advising and group sessions about college selection and admission, financial aid, and scholarships; raise local funds to award need-based scholarships to some students; and provide services in public high schools in close coordination with school personnel. This builds on DEF's existing Financial Aid Clearinghouse project, which makes information about local scholarships available through our webpage Scholarships and Aid database.

DEF is grateful and appreciative of the confidence that the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has demonstrated by awarding us this grant and providing additional resources that will help insure our success in establishing the DEF College and Career Access Program for the benefit of residents of the Lower Delmarva Peninsula .