BC selected for Achieving the Dream Catalyst Fund Program

Brazosport College was selected as one of four community colleges to participate in the new Catalyst Fund grant program, and will receive a $215,000 grant.

The Catalyst Fund grants, administered by Achieving the Dream, Inc. – a national nonprofit leading the nation’s most comprehensive non-governmental reform network for community college student success – with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will assist Brazosport College in the process of scaling effective interventions to reach a significantly large population of students.Brazosport College was selected because of its known commitment to student-centered, evidence-based reforms and outstanding increases in student outcomes.

"Brazosport College is recognized as a leader in the Achieving the Dream National Reform Network for their proven success and commitment to student achievement,” said Rachel Singer, Vice President for Community College Relations and Applied Research, Achieving the Dream, Inc. “The effective practices Brazosport College has chosen to scale will yield important information and lessons which will be used to inform the field.”

The Achieving the Dream National Reform Network is committed to investigating ways to scale effective interventions to ensure that more, and ultimately most, students attain the skills and credentials necessary for success in the global economy. Beginning with Brazosport College, the Catalyst Fund will support the expansion of programs and policies that promote widespread scaling – both within the college and to other community colleges across the nation.

“Postsecondary completion is one of the Gates Foundation’s major priorities,” said Suzanne Walsh, Senior Program Officer, Postsecondary Success at the Gates Foundation. “We want to see most students who enroll in a community college complete what they started. Achieving the Dream Colleges have a great tradition of working with students in an intense way and effectively using evidence to guide their decision-making process. We are pleased to fund this critical initiative to scale proven interventions.”

As part of the Catalyst Fund, Brazosport College will work to scale their proven interventions through the Achieving the Dream Student-Centered Model of Institutional Improvement, which is based upon four critical principles: committed leadership, use of evidence to improve programs and services, broad engagement, and systematic institutional improvement. Additionally, Brazosport College will work to scale its interventions in a systematic way, so that the interventions may be embedded in the institutions’ framework for sustainability.

Lessons learned from Brazosport College will help inform best practices for scaling interventions to better inform the Achieving the Dream National Reform Network and community colleges across the nation.

Presidents, faculty and staff from Brazosport College and Achieving the Dream will convene for an inaugural Catalyst Fund Kickoff Institute at the Sheraton in Silver Spring, MD oat 8 a.m. on November 15 to noon on November 16.

The following are all four Achieving the Dream Leader Colleges that will each receive a $215,000 grant to spur the expansion of proven interventions at the heart of their student success work.

- - Brazosport College (Lake Jackson, TX)

- - Bunker Hill Community College (Boston, MA)

- - Durham Technical Community College (Durham, NC)

- - Patrick Henry Community College (Martinsville, VA)

Achieving the Dream Leader Colleges

- Completion of certificates or degrees

- Term-to-term and year-to-year retention

- Completion of college-level math and English courses

- Advancement from developmental to credit-bearing courses

- Course completion

For more information on the Leader Colleges, visit www.achievingthedream.org/get_involved/leader_colleges

Achieving the Dream, Inc.

Achieving the Dream, Inc. is a national nonprofit that is dedicated to helping more community college students, particularly low-income students and students of color, stay in school and earn a college certificate or degree. Evidence-based, student-centered, and built on the values of equity and excellence, Achieving the Dream is closing achievement gaps and accelerating student success nationwide by: 1) guiding evidence-based institutional improvement, 2) leading policy change, 3) generating knowledge, and 4) engaging the public. Conceived as an initiative in 2004 by Lumina Foundation and seven founding partner organizations, today, Achieving the Dream is leading the most comprehensive non-governmental reform network for student success in higher education history. With nearly 200 colleges, more than 100 coaches and advisors, and 15 state policy teams - working throughout 32 states and the District of Columbia – the Achieving the Dream National Reform Network helps 3.75 million community college students have a better chance of realizing greater economic opportunity and achieving their dreams. To learn more, visit www.AchievingtheDream.org.