Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

PCC selects two sites as part of national replication project

Photos and story by James Hill

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Community College (PCC) has selected two community colleges to replicate its successful Gateway to College program. Riverside Community College in Riverside, Calif., and Montgomery College in Rockville, Md., will each receive a planning and start-up grant to take the college’s successful alternative high school to other parts of the country. Gateway to College (formerly College Bound), serves at-risk youth, 16 to 20 years old, who have dropped out of school. Students complete their high school diploma while simultaneously earning college credits toward an associate degree or certificate. "We are thrilled to provide the opportunity to bring Gateway to College to two new institutions,"said Nan Poppe, campus president of the Extended Learning Campus and interim campus president for the Cascade Campus of PCC. "Both colleges have a significant population of high school dropouts who will benefit."PCC was awarded a $4.8 million grant in March 2003 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to replicate its program at eight other sites. During the next two years, six additional colleges will be chosen for replication grants; each award will range between $300,000 and $350,000 over three years, depending on student enrollment.In addition to this grant, Riverside Community College and Montgomery College will also receive intensive technical assistance. Staff from each college will visit PCC over the next nine months to participate in internships and other training sessions. The replication sites will begin serving Gateway to College students in the fall of 2004.PCC is one of 10 intermediaries replicating programs through the Early College High School Initiative sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in partnership with Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. In 2002, initiative partners committed to fund more than 100 early college high schools over a five-year period. "Early college high schools will help bridge the gap between high school and college, a transition period during which we lose too many students,"said Tom Vander Ark, executive director of education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Early college high schools typically serve students in grades nine through 12, allowing them the opportunity to complete high school and two years of college within four years. By bridging the divide between high school and college, the initiative is making higher education more accessible, affordable and attractive for traditionally under-served students. Gateway to College is unique because it is the only early college program targeted to high school dropouts. "Gateway to College is a break-through design giving out-of-school youth a real second chance for academic success,"said Linda Huddle, director of PCC Alternative Programs, including Gateway to College. "Students who did not thrive in a traditional high school setting are earning their high school diplomas while making significant progress toward a college degree and a bright future."The program, now in its fourth year at PCC, is helping hundreds of former dropouts achieve their education goals. Of the 35 students who graduated from the program in the spring term of 2003 by earning their high school diploma, 51 percent graduated with honors. These students also earned an average of 64 college credits, and 9 percent completed their associate’s degree prior to graduation. Fully 80 percent continued their college education. Students in the program are supported through contracts with the Beaverton, Lake Oswego, Portland and Tigard-Tualatin school districts.