OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS
We have learned alongside our Community Partners as they have faced challenges, overcome barriers, and achieved extraordinary successes. Find out more about each project and the outcomes below.
YEAR
2007
GRANT CATEGORY
Education
GRANT AMOUNT
$104,000
Organization:
College Forward
Project Title:
Round Rock College Readiness Program
Project Description:
College Forward provides college preparatory and retention services to motivated, economically-disadvantaged students in order to facilitate their transition to college and make the process exciting and rewarding.
College Forward will use the Impact Austin grant to expand its comprehensive after-school program to serve 11th and 12th graders at Stony Point High School in Williamson County. Funds will help 80 low-income and first-generation students prepare to become the first in their families to earn Bachelor's degrees, impacting their lives and communities for generations to come.
Grant Status:
Aiming to provide services to 80 students, College Forward actually served 114 of which 85 successfully completed all the requirements of the College Forward program, a 75% student retention rate.
Senior Accomplishments:
34 Stony Point High School seniors completed the two-year after-school college preparatory program.
100% applied to at least one college or university.
32 of the 34 seniors were accepted into at least one college or university by the end of the grant period, 31 into four-year institutions.
32 successfully completed and submitted either the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the Texas Application for Student Financial Aid (TASFA).
Seniors improved on their ACT scores by 17% on average (2.4 points).
At the end of the grant period, SPHS seniors had earned a total of $356,000 in grants and financial aid (not including loans).
29 of the 34 SPHS seniors signed contracts to join College Forward’s College Persistence Program to receive ongoing college advising, care packages, virtual mentoring, and college transition support services next year.
Junior Accomplishments:
51 SPHS juniors completed the first year of College Forward’s two-year after-school college preparatory program
48 completed college search activities and compiled a list of colleges to which they will apply in the fall
38 completed at least one ACT diagnostic test
44 took the ACT exam, 40 took the SAT, and 39 took both
29 applied for scholarships
Other Accomplishments:
Participants contributed almost 1,000 hours of community service to the Round Rock area.
15 joined the College Forward Summer Tour of Colleges and met with admissions and financial aid professionals at Baylor University, Texas A&M University – Commerce, Texas Woman’s University, University of North Texas, and University of Texas at Arlington.
60% of the SPHS parents attended at least one College/ Universidad 101 Workshop. An additional 9% met with College Forward College Coaches either at a Parent/Coach Gathering or during a Parent Leadership Council meeting.