Community-Based Programs
College Now Greater Cleveland not only works within schools but also within the communities where our students live to deliver programs that will help students and adult learners navigate the college application and financial aid process.
College Now offers a variety of services to the community. Click the following link for a menu of services that we can provide for your organization: Community-based Menu of Services.
Aspire
The Aspire Program at Hathaway Brown recruits fifth grade girls from neighboring urban districts to participate in a three-year summer program to develop leadership, mentorship, exposure to new ideas, and choice while identifying a pathway to college. A cohort of approximately 36 students has begun each year since 2002. College Now has partnered with Aspire for several years to provide college and financial aid counseling to its senior alumnae in area high schools. College Now also has provided in-school college awareness services to their tenth and eleventh grade alums, as well as financial aid presentations and individual counseling sessions for seniors and their families.
Cleveland Goes to College
Cleveland Goes to College is a partnership between College Now, the City of Cleveland, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, the Cleveland Public Library, the Cleveland Recreation Centers and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cleveland. This four-part workshop series provides free college, career and financial aid planning for students and families.
Educational Talent Search Program
Educational Talent Search (ETS) is a federally-funded TRIO program designed to assist low-income, first generation college students navigate the path to education beyond high school. To accomplish this, Advisors maintain offices in their schools for one-on-one appointments as well as present monthly workshops and organize field trips to college campuses and cultural destinations. ETS also provides student activities during spring and summer breaks.
GEAR UP
Through a six year federal grant awarded to the Ohio College Access Network, the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio Department of Education in 2005, College Now began providing GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness & Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) services to all students at Westwood Junior High School and Elyria High School in the Elyria City School District. The Elyria City School District was selected as one of the eight “lighthouse” sites throughout the state of Ohio.
Generation Success-Teens Achieving Greatness
Generation Success-Teens Achieving Greatness (GS-TAG) is a program conceived by the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) to offer their teen residents an opportunity to work for wages at the agency while developing their leadership skills. College Now has been providing college preparation workshops for GS-TAG participants for three years.
McDonald Youth Mentoring Program
The McDonald Youth Mentoring Program (MYMP) is the result of a two-year old partnership among Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU), E-CITY (now a part of YOU) and College Now. The partners work in three high schools to deliver a complete class room experience for tenth and eleventh grade students who are interested in business and entrepreneurship. Activities include field trips to businesses, development of business plans, professional mentoring, college visits and a summer job opportunity fair. Scholarships are available for students who complete the program and meet the College Now scholarship criteria.
SIX TO SUCCESS PROGRAM
The goal of the Six to Success Program is to give students an early start on the right path through the academic pipeline by helping them gain awareness, prepare for and complete college. Six to Success is a systemic approach to college access, providing services to Cleveland Municipal School District students along a continuum beginning in sixth grade through postsecondary school.
STEP UP
STEP UP (Steering Talented and Engaged Pupils Towards Undergraduate Programs) started in 2003 in East Cleveland’s five elementary schools. The program offers after-school, weekend and summer enrichment activities to students from first through twelfth grades to encourage academic achievement and to whet their interest in college. College Now advisor Amiya Hutson has tutored the group from the start and works with the College Now staff to identify the students’ educational strengths and deficiencies. She adds enrichment activities, including homework and tutoring, to keep the student achievement levels high. Drug and alcohol awareness and self, career, and college counseling activities are included in STEP UP’s ongoing educational and enrichment programs. The program calls for students to apply for scholarships when they go to college; the remaining tuition will be paid for through a fund established at the Cleveland Foundation.