COMMUNITY EFFORTS TO CURB SUMMER MELT: A Pilot Program Case Study

Table of Contents

Overview.........................................................................................1 Background.....................................................................................2 A Need in St. Louis..........................................................................3 Approach........................................................................................4 Resources & Funding......................................................................5 Staffing & Recruitment...................................................................6 Communications & Marketing........................................................7 Operations & Services....................................................................9 Evaluation.......................................................................................10 Lessons Learned.............................................................................13 Conclusion......................................................................................14

Community Efforts to Curb Summer Melt: A Pilot Program Case Study

OVERVIEW In the spring of 2013, a group of college access and persistence professionals attending a professional development workshop presented St. Louis Graduates with a challenge. A deep concern existed about the phenomenon known as “summer melt” – in which students who are accepted and enrolled in college fail to show up to campus in the fall. Given St. Louis Graduates’ extensive network of college access professionals and organizations, and commitment to helping students succeed in postsecondary education, could something be done to stem summer melt in St. Louis? The solution materialized as the High School to College Center. By leveraging the power of its network, St. Louis Graduates quickly developed and launched the Center by June 1st. During 11 weeks of operation, 214 students were served, over 60 volunteers were engaged, and significant media coverage educated the broader community about this phenomenon plaguing low-income and first generation students in the community.

Community Efforts to Curb Summer Melt: A Pilot Program Case Study

1

BACKGROUND The High School to College Center (referred hereinafter as “the Center”) was a pilot program implemented by St. Louis Graduates to assist in the transition from high school graduates to enrolled college students, in response to the problematic phenomenon known as “summer melt.” St. Louis Graduates is a collaborative, collective network of youth-serving college access organizations, K-12 and higher education institutions, philanthropic funders, and businesses in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The mission of St. Louis Graduates is to increase the proportion of lowincome students in the St. Louis region who earn a postsecondary degree. Started in 2008, St. Louis Graduates increases public will to support lowincome students in their pursuit of postsecondary success by publishing data and advocating for student-centered policies; builds capacity and scale of the community that works directly with lowincome high school students through professional development; and cultivates an environment in which all players work in coordination to maximize access to services for a growing number of lowincome students. Summer melt is a phenomenon that occurs between high school graduation and the beginning of college, when many enrolled students, especially those coming from low-income areas and school districts, simply do not make it to campus on the first day of class. This phenomenon is believed to affect 10 to 40 percent of students nationwide, with significantly higher rates occurring among low-income and first generation college students.1 The reasons are many and individual, but range from insufficient financial aid to a lack of social/emotional support from family and friends. During the school year, these issues are allev