CARA was founded in 2011 with the goal of developing programs, conducting research, and advocating for policies that would better support New York City public school students to and through college.
Co-executive Directors Janice Bloom and Lori Chajet used their previous 20+ years of working in New York City public schools, coupled with findings from doctoral research they conducted on college access and persistence for first-generation college students, to shape the organization and its agenda.
In its first year, CARA had two programs that served 8 high schools and reached approximately 1,000 students in NYC. Now, it has five program areas, serves over 90 high schools, colleges, and community-based organizations, and reaches over 26,000 high school and college students per year in New York City and nationally.
Pre-CARA
2007: First two Student Success Centers (SSCs) launch in Brooklyn with Cypress Hills LDC at the Franklin K. Lane Campus and Make the Road NY at the Bushwick Campus
2010: College Inquiry curriculum developed and piloted at two schools in Brooklyn
2011 + 2012
CARA is founded
College Inquiry program launched
CARA partners with Urban Assembly and CUNY to create first Bridge to College program in NYC
2013 + 2014
CARA launches peer-to-peer persistence programming, working in partnership with CUNY K-16 to develop Strive for Success
CARA, in partnership with CUNY professor Michelle Fine, joins U.S. Department of Education’s “First in the World” Grant
2015 + 2016
CARA’s College Bridge program shifts to year-long model
CARA supports NYC DoE’s Office of Postsecondary Readiness in launching College Access for All
CARA partners with CUNY ASAP to develop a peer-to-peer component to its nationally-recognized retention model
2017 + 2018
CARA partners with NYC DoE and CUNY to design and launch College Bridge for All, expanding summer bridge programming throughout NYC
CARA partners with NYC DoE to open five new Student Success Centers across NYC, further expanding its Right to College program
2019 + 2020
CARA expands its work outside of NYC, working with Connecticut Rise to implement College Inquiry in CT schools
CARA develops a comprehensive set of core competencies and professional capacities for peer leaders, as well a performance-based assessment system for all of its peer leader programs
2021 + 2022
CARA releases its first two comprehensive policy reports: Organizing for Access: Building High School Capacity to Support Students’ Postsecondary Pathways and Peer-Led College Access Programming: A Profile of Student Success Centers in NYC
With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CARA partners with CUNY’s Office of Student Affairs to develop a strategic plan to create a sustainable system-wide peer-to-peer student support system at CUNY
CARA receives a $2 million grant from MacKenzie Scott
2023 + 2024
CARA continues to expand its access work outside of NYC, to Newark NJ, Hawaii, Indiana, and Washington state.
CARA begins to expand persistence work outside of NYC, to Tacoma-area colleges and at University of Maryland system campuses.
CARA moves from its original home at the CUNY Graduate Center to the Fund for the City of New York
2025 + 2026
CARA starts a Youth Research Council to incorporate youth voice into its policy research in an ongoing way
In partnership with Mandy Savitz-Romer and funding from the Gates Foundation, CARA creates and publishes a national framework for High Quality Advising
CARA was one of five NYC nonprofits honored for advancing educational equity and opportunity by the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice during NYC Nonprofit Week.