 |
|
Harcum College at Congreso by Lisa Heredia, Senior Director of Operations, and Carlos Garcia, Community Outreach Specialist Philadelphia ranks 92 out of the 100 largest cities in postsecondary attainment despite having the second highest concentration of postsecondary institutions in the country. Only one in six adults 25-49 years old possesses an associates or bachelor’s degree. These are startling statistics. We understand that educational attainment is a critical component of our community’s prosperity and have invested accordingly. Congreso established partnerships with Harcum College, Pennsylvania’s oldest associate degree-granting institution and the Institute for Leadership Education, Advancement, and Development, Inc. (I-LEAD) to create Harcum College at Congreso. We designed Harcum College at Congreso as way for working individuals within the community to pursue postsecondary education within their own neighborhood. Additionally, students have the option of being dually enrolled in Alvernia College and Eastern University for continuation of a bachelor’s degree program. At its core, Harcum College at Congreso promises:
We piloted Harcum College at Congreso in September of 2006 with eight staff members who wished to further their education. With encouragement and support from this original cohort and increased interest from the community, we devised a recruitment strategy and hired full-time staff to structure the program. We have enrolled 57 students ranging in age from 17-52. Students are grouped into small cohorts of seven to fifteen students each. We plan to expand enrollment to 300 as capacity increases. The program currently averages 90% attendance. Beyond these tangible results, Harcum College at Congreso has galvanized public and private leaders to come together in new and effective ways to tackle one of our community’s most pressing competitive and social challenges. Corporations such as PECO and Aramark have collaborated to create career pathways and opportunities through internships for our students. Teachers share best practices and develop collaborative solutions to engage more students and support them through degree completion. They utilize innovative, instructional approaches through small cohort learning in an accelerated program. Anarely Guzman, a current student, explains: “This program has affected my life in such ways that I never thought would be possible. The time we spend together is well invested. Together we can change the future through education.” In order to reach the Congreso’s goal for youth education, we expanded our outreach from adults to high school seniors. Through aggressive outreach to local high schools such as Thomas Edison High School, Kensington Capa and Kensington Business High Schools, Fairhill Academy and Mariana Bracetti Academy Charter High Schools we discovered the majority of high school seniors lacked post-graduation plans. Informational sessions at these high schools and within the local community engaged over 100 individuals in the program. We very quickly realized the need to maintain momentum for the students during the summer between their high school graduation and their Harcum start dates. We created a program, in collaboration with the Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN), that allowed prospective students to earn a paycheck while receiving college preparatory courses and building on 21st century skills. Students were divided into three groups, each focused on one of the three majors offered at Harcum College at Congreso: legal studies, leadership studies, and human services. The facilitators of these groups gave an introduction to the students’ choice of concentration and helped them build a repertoire of important leadership skills while encouraging the students to create tangible community-based leadership activities. The leadership students organized a fundraiser community car-wash to fund the purchase school supplies for approximately 25 underprivileged children at a battered women’s shelter. The human services group surveyed the community to identify some of their greatest needs. They used the information gathered to produce a brochure for the community that listed local agencies and resources. These students also volunteered weekly at a local hospice center and developed a deeper understanding of the care for individuals with terminal conditions. The legal studies students learned the inner workings of their local, state, and federal governments; public leaders; and the role of the court system. They met with police officers to learn the application of constitutional rights. |
Facilitators also conducted workshops dealing with 21st century skills. These skills included cover letter and resume building, money management, professionalism, conflict resolution, interviewing skills and technology integration. Various leaders from the community such as Captain Daniel Castro (24th District Philadelphia Police Department), hospice social workers, leaders from Wachovia Bank (Wells Fargo), and college professors came to speak about their professions and share their success stories. Jacqueline Fleming, an academic advisor, selected Harcum @ Congreso students to compete with other programs participating in PYN’s Summer WorkReady Competition at the Philadelphia Convention Center. On August 13th 2009 Harcum @ Congreso competed against over one hundred and forty other projects and won first place in the category of 21st Century Technology and Career Education. Students began to see that Congreso was offering more than a college—that we were offering a support system to help them succeed. Harcum at Congreso links students with Primary Client Managers (PCMs) in order to remove barriers to degree completion--reliable, affordable childcare, transportation, stable housing, and emotional support. This innovative tactic develops and maximizes utilization of supports proven to increase retention and completion by:
Many of these services are offered on a walk-in basis, over the phone, or by email. In today’s economy, a family-sustaining wage and pathways to advancement requires postsecondary training or education. Our goal is accomplished by focusing on helping our students build supportive pathways to good jobs that sustain families and communities. The productivity potential of the individual combined with the strength and prosperity of the family builds skillful and knowledgeable grassroots leaders better able to create deep and radical changes in their communities. With a restored sense of efficacy and a degreed citizenry, the economic, civic, and social well-being of a community can be sustained into the future. By unlocking the doors to education we afford individuals and families an opportunity to build better lives and the means to realize their full potential.
|