Why ‘free college’ programs don’t always deliver on promise KPRC2
In this image provided by Hope Chicago, Pete Kadens, Hope Chicago co-founder, shares the stage with Dr. Janice Jackson, CEO of Hope Chicago, where they announced on Feb. 25, 2022, that the entire student body, 503 students total, at Farragut Career Academy High School in Chicago, were receiving full, debt-free college scholarships to partner colleges and universities.
Kadens, who retired in 2018 at age 40 to focus on philanthropy, passionately believes education can help lift entire communities out of poverty. He choked up when announcing scholarships last month in Chicago. Many philanthropists and promise backers dream of more than just sending kids to college. To them, such college aid can be an elixir for economic and workforce development, poverty, and a community’s well-being. The track record of promise scholarships, however, suggests that it takes sizable sums to deliver such benefits. And local philanthropy often can’t, or won’t, put up the dollars.
Kalamazoo imitations sprang up quickly — in Denver; El Dorado, Arkansas; and Pittsburgh, among other places. But recent promise efforts look quite different. Rather than offer aid to a range of two- and four-year institutions, they provide scholarships to local community colleges — or sometimes just one. The strategy, they believe, will help provide workers to labor-starved area businesses.
Some new promise efforts focus on adult learners in addition to high-schoolers. Hope Chicago and Hope Toledo pledge college aid to high-school seniors and one of their parents or guardians. “Poverty is a multigenerational issue,” Kadens says. Kalamazoo’s donors promised to fund the program in perpetuity. Other organizations haven’t found it easy to raise money for the long run. “It’s often the case that programs at the city level start with seed funding from philanthropy, then fade out or foreclose” or change eligibility criteria as funding tightens, Smith says.
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