Students from a Chicago public school have done the work. They've been accepted to college. Trouble is, few have the money to go.
You have to admire the ambition of an inner-city high school that calls itself Johnson College Prep. Especially when a third of the students have no permanent home and many dodge violence just to get to class. But the students in this Chicago public school believe in their name. They've done the work. They've been accepted to college. Trouble is, few have the money to go. Johnson College Prep needed something like a miracle. And we were there when the miracle called Hope Chicago arrived.
Jonas Cleaves: You know, we have students who are doing construction, working in warehouses-- working the night shift, getting off at 6:00 a.m. and coming to school. Jonas Cleaves: What could that kid do if given the chance? Suffering, in his view, because the richest country in history has not found a way to educate all its children.Pete Kadens: I used to think that college and going to college was the great equalizer. In truth, what we've come to find out; college is the great stratifier in this country. It furthers the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Most people just don't realize that. And they don't realize how expensive it is for a minority student in a disinvested community.
Pete Kadens at assembly: You are going to walk out of here forever changed today and that is because if you are a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior, at Johnson College Prep, your college tuition, your room and board, your books and fees will be paid for. You will go to college for free!Free. Kadens' charity, called Hope Chicago, will pay in-state tuition and expenses. An act of kindness so great it had to be squeezed to fit within belief.
Once homeless, Yolanda White, a single mother, cleared a path for five children -- two through college already. Janice Jackson: We have to catch up, that's the bottom line. And I may be biased but I do believe education is the single most powerful way to disrupt generational poverty. It is. And for some of our parents, once they have children, they put their hopes and dreams on hold. And so, this is an opportunity to get back in the game.Of course, money isn't everything. Kadens told us counselors working with Hope Chicago will guide parents and students all the way to success.
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