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What does the landscape of college look like for first-generation college students outside New York City? How can CARA expand its capacity to meet a nation-wide need for educational equity while maintaining the organization’s small size? We have begun to explore these questions as part of a promising new partnership with Connecticut RISE, a network of public schools and educators reaching over 6,000 students in Connecticut cities. 

 

Two RISE districts, East Hartford and Meriden, are poised to begin using CARA’s 9 -12 College Inquiry curriculum as part of their high schools’ efforts to help students achieve college and career success. 

CARA co-founder Janice Bloom and Director of College Inquiry Programming Ally Levy have spent several days with staff at East Hartford High School, Maloney High School, and Platt High School learning about the challenges they face, assessing their current college and career exploration programming, and identifying goals for next school year. 

 

In addition to direct work with Connecticut schools, we’ve been training RISE staff on College Inquiry’s whole-school model for college access so that they can implement the curriculum in other Connecticut school districts they serve, which represent 20% of the state’s low-income students. Leveraging RISE’s existing coaching relationships with schools allows us to extend our geographic reach while ensuring the fidelity and sustainability of CARA’s College Inquiry model.