The following is a proposal for a project aimed at reducing the rate of poverty in the North Miami Beach community through initiatives increasing college attendance rates. It is theorized that it would be more efficient to address the children attending high school and familiarize them with financial opportunities available to them. The hypothesis is that an intervention approaching the stigmas of college amongst high schoolers will translate into a decreased poverty rate in the North Miami Beach community.
The proposed intervention program will focus on the students in the last semester of the 9th and 10th grades and the first semester of the 11th and 12th grades attending the client schools. The raw materials the project requires are minimal, with the brochures and pantalets containing information about scholarships, financial aid, and dual enrollment produced for the purposes of educating the students. The program will take place on the property of the schools within the Miami-Dade County school district.
The proposed program will include homeroom sessions with counselors, homeroom teachers, and financial aids advisors. These sessions will address the students’ perception of college and acquaint them with the existing scholarships, federal financial aid, and other opportunities they can access in order to afford higher education. In addition, current college students will be invited as guest speakers to share their college experiences and reduce bias. The project aims to reduce college stigma to increase college attendance rates. Research illustrates that high school students from low-income backgrounds are more likely to decide against college due to uncertainty, bias, and loss aversion (Dynarski et al., 2018). Thus, it is necessary to decrease uncertainty rates and bias among students by introducing them to different financial support systems. All students will be evaluated concerning their perception of college, the dual enrollment programs, and their knowledge on whom to ask for help. These dimensions will serve as the primary measurements of the provided service.
The proposed program will be assessed by a range of rating scales, questionnaires, and interviews to measure the perception of higher education and the bias against college education among high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The project’s budget is not expected to exceed $261,750.00, with $227,500.00 being assigned to the wages and salaries of the invited professionals. Other expenses will include the purchase of needed supplies, equipment, printing, and duplicating. The project will be financed primarily by the Saltman Family Foundation and a variety of third-party payments. Approximately 25% of the program budget will be covered by government grants and a donation from Mackenzie Scott, a philanthropist known for supporting projects advocating equity (Parks, 2020). The financial support provided to the project will cover all the necessary expenses of the program.
The proposed project is estimated to have several vital impacts on the North Miami Beach high school students and community:
- It is expected that high school students will engage in more conversations about college and request information about higher education from school counselors.
- It is anticipated that the number of students aware of different financial support avenues, including scholarships and federal grants, will increase in each district school by 100%.
- Admission in dual enrollment programs is estimated to rise by approximately 30%.
Consequently, the anticipated primary impact of the project is the 10% reduction of poverty rates in the North Miami Beach area.
References
Dynarski, S., Libassi, C., Michelmore, K., & Owen, S. (2018). Closing the gap: The effect of a targeted, tuition-free promise on college choices of high-achieving, low-income students (25349). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Parks, D. (2020). Mackenzie Scott showers $1.7 billion on nonprofits, mostly groups fighting for equity. The Chronicle of Philanthropy.