News from CARA

Over the next year, CARA will be working to support a range of partners in Washington state to improve their college and career advising infrastructure. Working as a consultant for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CARA will be assisting in the creation of advising implementation plans for four recipients of a Horizons grant, each consisting of partnerships between k-12 districts, higher ed institutions, and local community based organizations.

CARA’s co-director Janice Bloom recently returned from Washington. She traveled to a range of areas, including the several districts south of Seattle that serve almost 40% of the state’s students, and rural areas on the Olympic Peninsula and in the southeastern part of the state where some districts have under 100 students in 6-12th grade. Having the chance to meet with college presidents and high school students who run their school’s greenhouse, talk with college and career counselors, and visit the longhouse at Peninsula College will help CARA to better understand and support grantees as well as understand the similarities and differences in advising needs across the country.

We’re excited to bring our expertise to new places and to learn new things to bring back to our work in NYC.

Over the last two months, it has become increasingly clear that the new FAFSA is not yet better, and in fact this year is much worse for high school seniors and their families, for the high school counselors working to support them, and for colleges.

A cascade of articles in the New York Times, Washington Post and Chronicle of Higher Education confirm the scope and magnitude of the problems the new form is creating. These include not just the late timing of the FAFSA release, but also:

• Technical glitches on the site;
• Delays in processing by the US Department of Education which mean that financial aid information will not get to colleges until March, delaying students’ reception of financial aid packages until much later than customary;
• Incorrect aid estimates for families, because the Education Department had failed to update a critical income formula when the FAFSA was initially released;
• Failure to create a way for students whose parents do not have an SSN to complete the form, even if the students themselves are US citizens. While a work-around was recently announced, one counselor quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Ed pointed out,

“In many ways, this proposed solution is too little, too late, with the burden of making difficult decisions on how to proceed forward with financial-aid applications being placed on students and families with limited knowledge of how the financial-aid process works…”

This has led to FAFSA submission rates that are 57% lower than last year at the end of January. What all of the articles agree on is that this will affect low-income students the most. As the Times article points out,

“The ripple effect could be catastrophic. Federal financial aid programs were created to open the doors to higher education, bringing a dream within reach for some who would otherwise be unable to unlock that future. Those who can least afford to pay for college will be the most adversely affected.”

For current college students, there are likely to be new issues as well. Unlike past years when they “re-filed” FAFSA (which was less onerous than the original filing), this year all students must complete a new FAFSA from scratch, including re-engaging their parents in the process. This means the new FAFSA may not just impact incoming students, but current first-gen students’ retention.

One short-term fix is pushing back “decision day” past the usual May 1st deadline; both SUNY and CUNY have done so, and some private colleges as well. This is a start, but we anticipate that getting FAFSA completion to the levels of past years – even post-pandemic ones – will be a herculean task for the class of 2024, and all who are supporting them.

CARA’s College Inquiry team spent the fall and early winter working with a group of eight Consortium schools in the Bronx. Heading into the 2023-4 school year, the “Bronx 8” – whose principals meet regularly together and each year undertake a shared pedagogical project – wanted to revitalize their 9-12 postsecondary access and matriculation support work post-pandemic.

In meetings with schools leaders and guidance staff, both as a whole group and with individual school teams, CARA brought critical attention to holes in the 9-13 postsecondary “pipeline”, helped schools to share strong practices and learn from each other, and shared resources to track data and measure effectiveness of schools’ practices. We saw great value in working together with groups of schools who are already networked in communities of practice, and see this as a valuable future direction for College Inquiry’s work going forward.

Thanks to Nancy Mann, who CARA began working with when we first began the College Inquiry Program, for bringing us back to this work in the Bronx.

CARA was honored to co-present, with our partners at CCNY, at NACADA‘s Regional Conference in Providence, RI. The conference’s central theme was mattering; our session, “Using Peer-to-Peer to Help Low Income, First Generation Students Persist and Belong”, was presented to 50 higher educational professionals, and showcased CARA’s collaboration with CCNY to scale peer-to-peer support to make it a fundamental component of the first-year experience.

Co-presenters Dominic Stellini (CCNY’s Executive Director of Student Engagement) and Sophia Bogues (Director of College Connect) emphasized the importance of working across various levels of leadership at a campus, integrating peer leaders into existing enrollment practices, and providing leadership opportunities for peer leaders. They highlighted that over the last 3 years CCNY has grown its reach to support over 50% more students than in the program’s first year, started peer-to-peer outreach earlier to help students build connections to their college community, and strengthened supervision for peer leaders. Dominic explained, “The most important feature of a successful program is a multilevel-tiered support structure – for students served and the peer leaders.”

We are looking forward to continuing our work at CCNY, alongside several other CUNY campuses and CUNY’s Central Office of Student Affairs, to build a sustainable scaled peer-to-peer model that helps to ensure all students see they matter and have the support they need to be successful in college.

CARA’s College Inquiry team spent the fall and early winter working with a group of eight Consortium schools in the Bronx. Heading into the 2023-4 school year, the “Bronx 8” – whose principals meet regularly together and each year undertake a shared pedagogical project – wanted to revitalize their 9-12 postsecondary access and matriculation support work post-pandemic.

In meetings with schools leaders and guidance staff, both as a whole group and with individual school teams, CARA brought critical attention to holes in the 9-13 postsecondary “pipeline”, helped schools to share strong practices and learn from each other, and shared resources to track data and measure effectiveness of schools’ practices. We saw great value in working together with groups of schools who are already networked in communities of practice, and see this as a valuable future direction for College Inquiry’s work going forward.

Thanks to Nancy Mann, who CARA began working with when we first began the College Inquiry Program, for bringing us back to this work in the Bronx.

CARA was honored to co-present, with our partners at CCNY, at NACADA‘s Regional Conference in Providence, RI. The conference’s central theme was mattering; our session, “Using Peer-to-Peer to Help Low Income, First Generation Students Persist and Belong”, was presented to 50 higher educational professionals, and showcased CARA’s collaboration with CCNY to scale peer-to-peer support to make it a fundamental component of the first-year experience.

Co-presenters Dominic Stellini (CCNY’s Executive Director of Student Engagement) and Sophia Bogues (Director of College Connect) emphasized the importance of working across various levels of leadership at a campus, integrating peer leaders into existing enrollment practices, and providing leadership opportunities for peer leaders. They highlighted that over the last 3 years CCNY has grown its reach to support over 50% more students than in the program’s first year, started peer-to-peer outreach earlier to help students build connections to their college community, and strengthened supervision for peer leaders. Dominic explained, “The most important feature of a successful program is a multilevel-tiered support structure – for students served and the peer leaders.”

We are looking forward to continuing our work at CCNY, alongside several other CUNY campuses and CUNY’s Central Office of Student Affairs, to build a sustainable scaled peer-to-peer model that helps to ensure all students see they matter and have the support they need to be successful in college.

It’s taken longer than initially anticipated, but CARA has finally moved! As of February 5th, both our fiscal and physical operations are located at The Fund for the City of NY.

CARA was incredibly lucky to have its home at the CUNY Graduate Center for our first thirteen years. When we began in 2011, our staff consisted of 3 people. Over the past twelve years we have grown considerably, into an organization of 15 staff members, multiple programs, and varied work streams both in and outside of NYC. While we are sad to leave this first home, we are proud of CARA’s growth, and clear that it is time.

As our mission is, first and foremost, to support institutions of public education and the students they serve, CUNY will continue to be a primary partner of ours. In addition to the program work we do with several campuses and CUNY Central, we will continue a research affiliation with the Graduate Center through The Public Science Project.

We are so very grateful to our longtime advisor Michelle Fine; to the CUNY Graduate Center; and to the Research Foundation of CUNY for supporting us for so many years.

And we are excited for this next step, and thankful to Lisette Nieves and the staff of the Fund for the City of NY for welcoming us.

We look forward to continued collaboration with so many of you from our new perch.

On January 17, CARA hosted a final public event at the CUNY Graduate Center, featuring our most recent report, “The Triple Impact of Peer-to-Peer Postsecondary Advising Programs: Narrowing Gaps in Guidance, Career Development, and Staffing.” Despite the bitter cold outside, the room was filled with a range of postsecondary access and success professionals including current and former peer leaders, school and community-based partners, and philanthropic organizations who have long-supported peer-to-peer programming.

The event highlighted the report’s key finding: best practice peer-to-peer postsecondary advising programs are a cost-effective way to simultaneously 1) expand advising capacity, 2) create professional internships for students from low-income communities, and 3) generate a diverse talent pipeline of well-trained candidates for counseling and advising positions.

This was brought to life through a panel discussion facilitated by Deneysis Labrada (CARA’s Director of College Bridge), in conversation with three professionals from the field: Luz Espinobarro (former Bridge Coach and current postsecondary program manager at ACTvF), Jackie Peña (college counselor, ELLIS Prep), and Dominic Stellini (CUNY City College advising administrator). The conversation highlighted the power of peer advisors across both high school and college contexts.

Thank you to everyone who attended the event, who read the report, and who shared this incredible work with others. Please support us in continuing to amplify the “triple impact” of peer-to-peer postsecondary advising programs by reading the report and sharing with your network!

In partnership with the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), CARA will be writing a 5-part blog series over the next several months. Drawing on the research in our Organizing for Access policy report, we lay out the importance of creating schools where EVERY student receives the postsecondary exploration, application and matriculation support they need WITHIN the school day. Future posts will share how schools we’ve worked with have developed four essential elements of that vision:

• Dedicate instructional time to postsecondary access knowledge in grades 9-12;
• Guarantee access to individualized postsecondary counseling for all students;
• Make postsecondary support the work of the whole staff;
• Leverage data to ensure all students are equitably served.

College Inquiry, CARA’s whole-school model, is on the move once again! The CI team is partnering with the Charter School Growth Fund to develop postsecondary access infrastructure at two Indianapolis schools, Purdue Polytechnic High School North and Believe Circle City High School.

Purdue Polytechnic High School-North enriches learning through immersive STEM experiences in urban agriculture, entrepreneurship, and design. Believe Circle City High School enables students to graduate 12th grader with an Associates Degree while scaffolding the skills they will need to navigate a college or career.

While work started remotely in November, in January CARA staff traveled to Indianapolis to meet with each school’s leadership, teachers, and counselors. Youth at both schools will be engaging with CARA’s 9-12 curriculum in advisory or academic classes this coming semester, with a scope and sequence mapped to each school’s unique model, in order to increase student enrollment into good match colleges and other high-quality destinations.

We’re excited to launch our whole school work in the midwest, and to learn from our partners there in the year ahead.

This year, CARA’s persistence program (College Allies) is piloting a new advanced leadership program. The “Peer Fellows” program is designed to deepen leadership skills and promote professional development for returning peer leaders and outstanding student leaders. This year’s cohort includes 6 fellows across three of our CUNY partner campuses (CCNY, Queens College & Hunter).

Through the program, Fellows are learning effective leadership skills such as giving feedback, setting boundaries, and public speaking. They are helping to identify campus-specific student trends, give recommendations, and lead special projects to address these trends. They will also participate in professional development activities such as career assessments, resume reviews, and informational interviews.

Angelica Garcia, Peer Fellow at Hunter, reflected:

Being able to help fellow students succeed in college gives me a sense of accomplishment. I look forward to helping students with whatever they need. I am trying to develop myself as a person, so that I can help others in the best way possible.

Last winter, CARA invited the peer leaders in its college access programs to attend a new element – a virtual career panel. This winter, Program Associates Krystal Diaz (Right to College) and Ashley Arias (College Bridge) organized the panel with a new twist – a specific focus on “unique” career pathways that young people are less likely to be familiar with.

Youth Leaders and Bridge Coaches got to hear stories from and ask questions to a diverse group of professionals:

• Massage therapist
• Freelance writer
• Stage Actor
• Production Company owner
• Gemstone specialist

Bringing peer leaders a space to explore more niche careers can expose them to the many and varied options for career paths. As New York City public schools begin broadening pathway options, knowing what’s available is essential to helping young people achieve the lives they strive for.

While many of us in the non-profit sector have had the opportunity to participate in DEI trainings over the past several years, the content and ideas from these trainings are not always brought to bear on youth-facing work. In order to close this gap, CARA collaborated this winter with Juliet Gomez (Training Heals) to think about how to deepen the cultural responsiveness of our programs.

Juliet’s session focused on trying out and turn-keying practical tools such as a “10 Identities” activity, Culturally Responsive School Checklist, scenario-based discussions, goal-setting exercises, and role-playing activities. Adapting these tools will support peer leaders and school-based adults to better navigate diverse cultural contexts.

These strategies will be instrumental in shaping an environment that not only acknowledges but actively celebrates and honors diverse cultural and other types of identities among the young people that we train and serve.

Across the country, educational leaders are advancing initiatives to increase career-connected advising and internship opportunities for both high school and college students. However, many public high schools and colleges, especially those serving high concentrations of students from low-income communities, do not actually have the resources to provide these opportunities to all of their students.

In our new policy report, “The Triple Impact of Peer-to-Peer Postsecondary Advising Programs: Narrowing Gaps in Guidance, Career Development, and Staffing”, we examine how peer-to-peer postsecondary advising programs can be a cost-effective and powerful approach to addressing student, institutional, and system-level barriers to equitable postsecondary access.

Our research indicates that best-practice peer-to-peer advising programs broaden postsecondary opportunities in three significant ways:

• Increasing postsecondary planning support for students by expanding capacity in under-resourced public high schools and colleges,
• Providing career development for students from low-income backgrounds who often have limited access to internships, and
• Creating a diverse talent pipeline for counseling and advising fields of candidates well-trained for positions in public high schools, colleges, and non-profit organizations.

The report includes recommendations for scaling peer-to-peer programs across the country, in order to close equity gaps, increase student retention and success, and broaden pathways that lead to satisfying and family-sustaining careers among young people from low-income communities.

The long-awaited “Better FAFSA” will finally be arriving in the final hours of 2023.

On November 15th, the Office of Federal Student Aid announced that the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid will open “by December 31”; for the purposes of both high schools and colleges, this means that work to complete FAFSA won’t commence until students return to school after the new year.

While the shortened format of the new FAFSA will hopefully lead to easier completion of financial aid applications in the future, college access professionals across the country – and in the schools and community-based organizations that CARA partners with – are deeply worried about FAFSA completion for the class of 2024. The obstacles they see include:

• A time-crunch in completing FAFSA
• Delays in financial aid packages from colleges, due to the delayed timeline; which will in turn push back the decision-making process for students
• Likely technological glitches with new and untested systems
• The un-linking of FAFSA from state financial aid applications, making it much more difficult for schools to support students and families with completing both important sources of financial aid

The format of the new FAFSA also creates a set of new obstacles for underserved communities. While it requires families to do less gathering of tax information, its format leans more heavily than the previous FAFSA on resources that are in short supply for these communities, such as:

• Ongoing access to technology, including an email address, for multiple family members
• Trust to release sensitive financial documents to the government through electronic means that they do not understand or feel comfortable with
• Increased involvement in the application from stepparents, as in some cases stepparents will need to create an FSA ID, consent and sign in addition to the primary contributor
• Lack of clarity around verification processes with the new FAFSA and the timeline for processing supporting documentation; it is also unknown how this will affect the overall timeliness for students to receive financial aid packages from institutions
• Time and ability to engage in a cumbersome and fraught process of proving identity for undocumented parents of American citizen children

The fact that counselors will be learning this new system alongside students and families will make the financial aid work of school counselors more difficult than ever this spring.

CARA wants to shout out the incredible work this fall of counselors at our partner schools – and across the city – as they responded to a policy change in CUNY application submission.

While a system of individual income-based waivers for the $65 CUNY application fee has been in place for multiple years now, a wholesale waiver for all students went into effect this year for the month of October only. When this new policy was announced in September, we witnessed counselors and schools across NYC reconfiguring established plans to ensure that as many students as possible completed the application in October. And they succeeded! As reported in Chalkbeat, applications for the fall 2024 semester reached nearly 41,000 in October — roughly a 386% jump from the same time last year.

We applaud the incredible work, flexibility and dedication of NYC college counselors for supporting students on this first step of college applications.

CARA and the NYCPS Office of Student Pathways teamed up to host the first Pathways Advising Student Success Center Summit. Principals and school counselors came together with their CBO partners to uplift the incredible work happening through their SSCs and celebrate the impact of that work on NYC high school students.

The event featured a panel of school and CBO partners representing SSCs at Richmond Hill High School, William H. Taft Educational Campus, and Franklin K. Lane Campus. Opening the event, Chief of Student Pathways Jade Grieve acknowledged SSCs as a core model for ensuring NYC high school students graduate with three important things: real skills for career readiness, a head start through work-based learning, and a strong plan that will enable them to pursue the pathway of their choice.

Elizabeth Demchak, Principal of Claremont International High School at the William H. Taft Educational Campus, spoke powerfully about the value the SSCs add for her students:

We couldn’t do this work without the funding that we’re provided from the city. As a school that services newly arrived immigrant students, almost all of our students are first generation going to college in the United States, and the first person in their family to be having a post-secondary plan anywhere. New Settlement has been instrumental in supporting our students to have access and helping us break down barriers to resources that maybe other communities don’t have to break down. Knowledge is power, but access is [also] power.

The youth leaders have been instrumental in helping this work…Over the past decade plus, their work has resulted in growth within our community of not just having the students to apply to college, but to build their awareness of [postsecondary options]. It hasn’t just been how many students are applying, but what is the plan?