Community Efforts to Curb Summer Melt - St. Louis Graduates

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.


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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 alleviated by the availability of college counselors

and teachers who help keep students on track by answering questions, prompting students to meet deadlines and keeping them motivated. Unfortunately, when summer hits, students are often left alone with a lot of unanswered questions, feeling flustered and overwhelmed. Research suggests that providing college-bound high school graduates with additional support during the summer months has a significant positive impact on fall attendance. In one randomized controlled study involving students in two urban districts, just two to three hours of additional support during the summer months resulted in up to an eight percentage point increase in on-time enrollment.2 Perhaps more importantly, students who met with advisors during the summer months were five percent more likely to be continuously enrolled in the fall and spring semesters. Another study found that summer counseling is beneficial to low-income students in three specific ways: 1) alleviating financial aid barriers by guiding students to advocate for reduced college costs, waiving of fees and other charges, and arranging payment plans; 2) developing student college literacy, including how to use online portals for communication with institutional staff and understanding standard operating procedures of the postsecondary system, (e.g. a tuition bill may be only for a semester, not a year); and 3) assisting students in development of a checklist so critical forms are completed and deadlines met.3

Castleman, Page & Snowdon. “SDP Summer Melt Handbook: A Guide to Investigating and Responding to Summer Melt.” Center for Education Policy Research. Harvard University. 2 Castleman, Benjamin L., Page, Lindsay C., and Schooley, Korynn (2013). The Forgotten Summer: Does the Offer of College Counseling the Summer After High School Mitigate Attrition Among College-intending, Low-income High School Graduates? 3 Arnold, K. D., Fleming, S., DeAnda, M. A., Castleman, B. L., Wartman, K. L., & Price, P. (2009). The Summer Flood: The Invisible Gap Among Low-Income Students. Thought and Action, Fall, 23-34. 1


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A NEED IN ST. LOUIS Since its inception, St. Louis Graduates has provided development opportunities for professionals who work directly with low-income and first-generation students. At a March 2013 session on summer melt, a number of St. Louis metropolitan high school counselors, financial aid advisors and youth service professionals expressed concern about their students’ susceptibility to the phenomenon. An informal survey revealed that counselors felt

one-third of their students were at risk. The conversation pointed to St. Louis Graduates being uniquely positioned to tackle this issue, and discussion began around how to develop a coordinated effort to mitigate summer melt, with resonance developing around the idea of a drop-in center that would give students access to counselors during the summer months.

“It’s one thing to have an idea, but another to have an idea in a community that already existed in support of the cause.” – Jane Donahue, Co-Chair of St. Louis Graduates

At a St. Louis Graduates professional development session on summer melt in March 2013, high school counselors expressed concern about the risk of their students dropping out of college before they begin.


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APPROACH St. Louis Graduates proposed to address summer melt by offering free summer counseling through a drop-in center for students making the transition from high school into postsecondary education. The High School to College Center would target primarily students who graduated from low-income

high schools in May of 2013, had plans in place to continue their education, and had questions over the summer but weren’t sure where to turn. The Center’s goal was to serve 100 students over the course of the summer with a high-touch, one-on-one counseling Center.

The Center’s Guiding Principles 1. Put students first 2. Help students/families make informed decisions 3. Protect confidentiality 4. Refer students to additional resources 5. Learn together 6. Build a community of practitioners


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RESOURCES & FUNDING To successfully acquire the resources needed to get the Center up and running on a tight timeline, St. Louis Graduates’ Co-Chairs and Project Manager credit a modest budget and the organization’s established network. Since St. Louis Graduates is a network that includes many funders, funding for the effort included many small grants from a diverse range of funders. “If we had asked this four years ago, we could not have gotten what we got this time. I would say to other regions, if you haven’t already built the climate, the conversation, the network, the trust – you cannot expect that kind of contribution to be made so quickly,” St. Louis Graduates Co-Chair Faith Sandler said. The first donation was a significant one; the space that housed the Center, was donated by Washington University in St. Louis in the prime location of the Delmar Loop, an area frequented by young adults and easily accessible by public transportation. Additional substantial in-kind contributions made creating the Center possible, including College Bound’s online tracking system used to standardize counseling sessions and ensure good communication between counselors. The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis committed to having a financial aid advisor on site each day. Deaconess Foundation provided computers and the Regional Business Council funded furniture. The biggest contribution came from Citi toward the Center. As a long-term funder of St. Louis Graduates, Citi Senior Vice President and State Director for Community Development for Missouri Melanie DiLeo recognized the challenge summer melt represented for students nationally and locally, as well as the unique urgency of the High School to College Center opportunity. Citi’s national commitment to degree completion among low-income students, coupled with local support of College Bound, St. Louis Graduates and the Beyond Housing 24:1 Initiative in Normandy School District, made the High School to College Center a priority for Citi. Several local foundations and corporations supplemented this support with grants, responding quickly and enthusiastically to the concept, recognizing it was a pilot project with a short turn-around time. Their vision and responsiveness made the Center possible.


Lead Funder Citi

Key Partners

College Bound Daughters of Charity Foundation of St. Louis Deaconess Foundation 501creative Incarnate Word Foundation Monsanto Company The James T. Pettus Jr. Foundation Regional Business Council The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis United Way of Greater St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis Additional Support Equifax Estelle W. & Karen S. Kalish Foundation Paper Sales Philibert Jerome Pratter

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STAFFING & RECRUITMENT Pursuit of resources and initial organizing activities were spearheaded by the Co-Chairs and Project Manager of St. Louis Graduates. Co-Chairs Jane Donahue and Faith Sandler called in favors to secure space and funding, while Project Manager Laura Winter served as the “hub at the center of the wheel,” coordinating everything from applying for occupancy permits and developing operation guidelines, to garnering press coverage and recruiting counselors to work at the Center. Recruited through partner organizations and local networks, the Center was staffed through a combination of talented professionals, including experienced high school guidance counselors, youth service organization advisors, middle school advisors, and postsecondary admissions representatives. Recognizing, up front, the complexity of financial aid questions for students, The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis committed to having a financial aid advisor on staff daily. Most counselors were loaned to the Center as volunteers on behalf of their organizations or schools. High school counselors on 9- or 10- month contracts were provided a stipend. Volunteer counselors were recruited, primarily, through professionals already connected to and familiar with St. Louis Graduates through their professional development training. The Center successfully recruited 62 counselors, including representatives from College Summit, Missouri College Advising Corps, The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, and Wyman Center, as well as individual counselors from several area high schools, middle schools, youth-serving nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions. St. Louis Community College committed to having an admissions representative on site every Tuesday in June and July, and representatives of other institutions of higher education spent days in the Center as well, including Southeast Missouri State, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Missouri-St. Louis and Webster University. Community Efforts to Curb Summer Melt: A Pilot Program Case Study

Every counselor, whether provided a stipend or serving as a volunteer, was required to attend one training session to review Center procedures and practices prior to serving students. This included review of the operations manual covering Center guiding principles, student check-in and follow-up, use of the in-Center counseling documentation system provided by College Bound, media, security and other logistical issues. Almost all of the counselors (89%) indicated that the training provided was very or extremely appropriate and adequate to preparing them for work in the Center. Almost all (88%) said they would participate in the Center again, if asked. Management The Center had an on-site manager each day responsible for opening and closing the Center, orienting counselors on site, welcoming students and families to the Center, and entering initial contact information into the Summer Melt Scorecard system. Initially three managers were trained to rotate through the summer, but a fourth was added in recognition of the challenge to keep the Center open every day for 11 weeks. The four managers included a veteran high school counselor, an experienced Missouri College Advising Corps counselor, a St. Louis Graduates professional development consultant who participates in a nonprofit college access program, and the St. Louis Graduates project manager. The management team communicated via conference calls and group e-mails to ensure consistency in service and prompt resolution of any challenges.

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COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING St. Louis Graduates used a multi-pronged communication and marketing approach with two goals: to encourage student participation at the Center, and to educate the broader community about the issue of summer melt and the importance of postsecondary completion. Direct Marketing A graduation card with the address and contact information for the Center was distributed to students through college counselors and by the Project Manager in targeted high schools in late April and early May. In addition, St. Louis Graduates reached out to students through the professional staff of college access organizations working in schools and in the community, youth-serving nonprofit organizations that serve low-income young adults, and public libraries. The St. Louis Graduates network of college access staff and frontline youth professionals yielded the most referrals to the Center. Throughout the summer, the Center was also represented at school and community events in the

How They Heard About the High School to College Center

19% other

34%

counselor/ school

10% media

10%

parent/ guardian

11% friend/ sibling

16%

nonproﬁt org/ higher ed


area to notify students and families of available services. Student volunteers helped to drive foot traffic by handing out flyers outside and around the Center, during hours of operation. Targeted e-mail blasts were sent to students attending universities whose representatives were on site during the summer to encourage them to connect to the admissions office one more time regarding summer orientation, financial aid and other questions. Traditional Media Local print and broadcast media outlets were contacted by a professional public relations consultant, resulting in significant coverage of the Center’s opening and progress throughout the summer, including a front page story in the St. Louis Post Dispatch; an article and follow-up piece in the St. Louis American, the weekly African-American newspaper in St. Louis; an evening story on KSDK News Channel 5; and an extensive interview for “St. Louis on the Air” on the local NPR affiliate, among others. Through a St. Louis Graduates Steering Committee member Clear Channel Communications agreed to provide public service announcements starting in July. This was a significant connection but proved to be too late in the summer to impact visits. Non-traditional Media In addition, St. Louis Graduates relied heavily on social media to help generate “word-of-mouth” marketing about the Center. By utilizing the network’s existing Twitter page, and creating a Facebook page specific to the Center, St. Louis Graduates shared photos, live updates and relevant information to both inform the public and drive 7

traffic to the drop-in center. Students who visited the Center and key partners were profiled in a new blog added to the St. Louis Graduates website. School districts distributed information throughout the summer. St. Louis Public Schools, the largest district in the region, posted information about the Center on the home page of its website and made robocalls to parents to inform them of this free resource. School phone operators were given information about the Center so they could refer seniors calling in to speak with counselors who were off for the summer. The significant media coverage drove more volunteers to the Center than could be accepted – demonstrating the effective reach, as well as the community’s recognition of the need. “We had more volunteers than we could take, and it’s all because we think the students are worth it and it’s really an investment in them and in our community,” Project Manager Laura Winter said. The call to action for the excess volunteers was to help spread the word to students who could utilize the Center’s services.

Professionals from many organizations helped to make the High School to College Center possible: Beaumont Technical High School

Pattonville High School

Central Visual and Performing Arts High School

Riverview Gardens High School

College Summit Confluence Academy DeLaSalle Middle School

St. Louis Community College St. Louis Public Schools

Fresh Start @Sumner High School

The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis

Gateway STEM High School

Southeast Missouri State University

Sumner High School Harris-Stowe State University Educational University of Talent Search Missouri-Columbia Kirkwood High School Marian Middle School

University of Missouri-St. Louis

Missouri College Advising Corps (through support from AmeriCorps)

Vashon High School

Metro Academic and Classical High School

Webster University

MICDS

Visitation Academy Washington University in St. Louis Wyman Center

Missouri Department of Mental Health North Tech High School Northwest High School Northwest Academy of Law


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OPERATIONS & SERVICES After a few short months of organizing, the Center opened its doors to the public on June 1st with regular hours of 12 to 5 p.m. daily. The primary services of the Center included:

significant research into postsecondary resources for students with disabilities provided weekly dedicated support to students with disabilities, to help them successfully transfer into postsecondary education.

• Meet one-on-one with a professional college counselor to review upcoming deadlines and develop a plan for meeting requirements including, but not limited to, housing accommodations, travel and registration for student orientation and class registration.

Throughout the summer, St. Louis Graduates beta-tested a proprietary tracking system from College Bound, designed to guide summer counseling sessions with students, track progress, and provide meaningful reports for implementation and evaluation. Counselors at the Center used the system to keep track of each student – including basic demographic information, reason for coming and future returns – and ensure all students received the complete scope of the help they need, including assistance with admissions, financial aid, housing and transportation. The system was the glue that held the Center together, providing counselors notes about students so that students received seamless service from one visit to the next. More than threefourths of students (79%) received some follow-up assistance in person at the Center or by phone with a counselor; the College Bound Summer Melt Scorecard system facilitated that follow-up. As one counselor noted, “It helped with keeping track of students throughout the summer and enabled conversations with returning students to be more direct and efficient.”

• Meet with a financial aid advisor to discuss the student’s financial aid package, strategies for addressing any gaps that might exist, as well as advocacy strategies for ensuring the student is aware of resources available through their postsecondary institution. • Access computers and printers to complete required forms and apply for scholarships online. As noted earlier, area community colleges, 4-year universities and technical schools provided representation on dedicated days at the Center, in order to address any specific questions and concerns, and complete enrollment for students planning to attend those institutions. A local student from Washington University in St. Louis who has done


Another aspect of the Center was provision of resource material and information to students and families. Prior to the Center opening, St. Louis Graduates requested and collected insightful and practical handouts and tools from local partners. These included financial aid resource guides; packets detailing on-campus resources for the most attended colleges in the area; information for students who are new immigrants, parenting or pregnant, or disabled; and other resources. In addition, the Center was equipped with guides to majors, colleges, scholarships and other books, as well as a comfy window seat in which to read them.

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EVALUATION College Bound’s proprietary tracking system and counselor surveys provided the means by which the Center’s performance was evaluated. Student Demographics Upon its closing on August 18th, the Center had served 214 students – more than double the anticipated amount! These students represented 74 area high schools (and GED earners), 79% of whom were 2013 graduates. Fifty percent of students who visited the Center were graduates of St. Louis Public Schools. These 214 students are attending 69 different colleges in the fall, with approximately one third attending St. Louis Community College. Interestingly, there were an unexpected percentage of students with non-traditional education backgrounds, graduates who had not yet applied to college, and younger students seeking assistance. While the purpose of the Center was to prevent summer melt among recent high school graduates or GED earners, one in five students graduated in a previous year. Many of these students had previously applied or even taken some postsecondary

Where Students Attend College 3.5%

technical school

2%

52.3%

2-year school

44.2%

proprietary school

4-year school

24.1%

private school

73.9%

public school


coursework and were now seeking help re-enrolling in college. The only students the Center turned away were current high school students with at least one or more years of high school remaining. St. Louis Graduates exists to supplement the existing infrastructure rather than supplant it. Students in high school were encouraged to connect with their high school counselors and community programs in the fall. Service Demand Overwhelmingly, financial aid was the number one concern among students visiting the Center. Approximately two-thirds of students (61%) received counseling through a Scholarship Foundation financial aid advisor on site. While in many cases this involved clarification of financial aid award letters or guidance on addressing issues with an incomplete or inaccurate Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the typical student entered the Center with a large financial aid gap and sought quick sources of grant funding to address it. This required a counseling session of one to two hours to cover financial aid basics that, ideally, would have been covered at an earlier point in a student’s college application process, including the extremely limited availability of scholarships, grants and loans in summer months. In many cases, students were offered good financial aid packages from their prospective institutions but those packages still left a gap in excess of $10,000 per year, or students were offered financial aid packages that required a significant PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students) loan. In those situations, students were strongly encouraged to consider alternatives, including taking entry-level courses at a lower-cost institution, like a community college. The High School to College Center was fortunate to raise sufficient funds for operations to create an emergency fund for students who were able to meet their tuition needs through scholarships, grants and 10

loans, but still had challenges paying for transportation, books and/or housing deposits. Typically students came to the Center with a specific question (e.g. assistance in securing and sending a transcript) but counseling revealed a more complex set of challenges. For example, one student came in seeking assistance with a PLUS loan application. A review of her financial aid award letter revealed her financial aid package only included a $2,000 Perkins loan, requiring a significant PLUS loan to finance the gap. With access to counseling, including financial aid basics, a reference to an emergency interest-free loan program via the Scholarship Foundation, and a recommendation for a $1,000 St. Louis Graduates emergency fund grant to cover books, transportation and personal care items, the student had the financial resources in place to attend college by the end of the summer. By mid-summer, most questions were due to financial aid issues and the financial aid questions grew in complexity. In response, the Scholarship Foundation financial aid advisors provided the other counselors with additional training to better help students and families with that process. Counselors were then able to assist with financial aid basics while financial aid advisors assisted with complex FAFSA completion issues and advising families on loans and other forms of debt. In addition, as the summer progressed, the proportion of students who had not yet applied to

“The fact that I can go somewhere and get help is really reassuring because I probably would not be starting school in the fall if it was not for this place.” – Jazmin Hoey, Kirkwood High School, Class of 2013


High School to College Center BY THE NUMBERS

62

In the summer of 2013, volunteer and paid counselors

served

214 students from

74 area high schools. 61% came to receive financial aid counseling. These students are headed to

69 different colleges, with 1/3 attending St. Louis Community College. college increased. As late as August, the Center served students who had not thought about what they would do come fall. In most of these cases students were encouraged to think about applying to the community college system to begin postsecondary coursework. In descending order, students also received assistance regarding admissions (26%), academics (9%), student orientation (7%), and housing (5%). Scheduling and Traffic The Center was open every day of the week from noon to 5 p.m. from June 1st through August 18th – approximately 11 weeks. It was a goal of the Center to be open daily to meet the needs of working students who may need weekend or late afternoon hours. However, the usage of the Center was almost the opposite of what was expected. Over the summer, 90% of students visited the Center on weekdays between noon and 3 p.m. On several days, students were waiting at the door when the Center 11

opened. The busiest day of the week was Tuesday, which can be attributed to scheduled representation by St. Louis Community College – where nearly one third of students planned to attend. Student Outcomes Through on-site data collection using the College Bound Scorecard system, St. Louis Graduates was able to collect enough information from 124 students (58% of the total served) to verify fall semester enrollment through the National Student Clearinghouse. Of the students for whom data was available, 78 (63%) are enrolled full time, which is a good predictor of continued enrollment. Another 28 (23%) are enrolled half time.

“Working at the Center was one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional career. The opportunity to network with colleagues, discuss best practices and empower students to overcome obstacles to enrollment – priceless!” – Counselor Response in Evaluation Survey

Counselor Engagement The Center had a total of 62 paid and volunteer counselors to support students throughout the summer. Through a survey, in which over half responded, 91% would likely participate next year, and 54% were likely or very likely to apply something they learned at the Center to their work during the year. Counselors reported the experience of working side-by-side with peers at the Center was a learning experience. While some counselors knew one another casually, working together with a student provided an opportunity to share approaches and resources. Counselors found the depth of knowledge of the financial aid advisors from The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis to be particularly valuable; mid-summer The Scholarship Foundation staff held an in-service open to all counselors to formalize the learning.


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LESSONS LEARNED With the goal of combating summer melt, and ultimately increasing the rate of postsecondary success in the St. Louis community, the need for the High School to College Center was reaffirmed by the number of students that sought support – more than double the number anticipated during planning, most of whom made follow-up visits throughout the summer. An unexpected but welcome outcome was the professional development opportunity the Center turned out to be for the counselors. An overwhelming majority found the experience to be incredibly rewarding and an outstanding opportunity to learn best practices and network with peers. A number of them noted that they had learned something through the process that they would take back to implement at their schools. Future Considerations As St. Louis Graduates considers future iterations of the Center to further support its ultimate goal of increasing rates of postsecondary completion and success, there are a few lessons and considerations, taken from the pilot year. • With the luxury of more lead time before the Center’s doors re-open, promotion of services should start earlier in the year, to allow for greater accessibility to students while they are still in school. • Days and hours of operation should be reconsidered to both be more accessible to students and respectful of volunteer time. Based on student trends in participation, weekend hours would likely be eliminated or available by appointment only.

require sensitive information regarding finances or personal life to be highly effective. • Additional locations should be considered for greater accessibility for students. Partnerships with community organizations should be explored to extend the reach of counseling and information. • Increased visibility of the Center, through signs and location, could increase the level of foot traffic. • The College Bound Summer Melt Scorecard was essential to sharing information between counselors and assessing Center needs but could be cumbersome, particularly for counselors who spent only a day in the Center. Counselor feedback was sought and will be helpful in tweaking the system so that it is more intuitive in the future. • On-site handouts and resources could be better utilized. In subsequent years, a standard packet could be created that could be supplemented based on student needs. • The Center was a high-touch operation, providing individualized counseling for students. This was provided at a cost of $199 per student, in line with the estimated $200 $300 cost per student documented by similar summer melt initiatives around the country. St. Louis Graduates should explore other, lower-cost options for subsequent years, including the use of texting reminders and other technologies to remind students of key milestones.

• The physical space in the Center allowed for little privacy for conversations apart from other students and counselors. Future spaces should consider allowing for more confidential spaces to help facilitate conversations that Community Efforts to Curb Summer Melt: A Pilot Program Case Study

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CONCLUSION The St. Louis Graduates High School to College Center was a quintessential example of a community solution to a community problem. The pre-established network of organizations, professionals, funders and community members, built by St. Louis Graduates around a common goal, enabled a quick and effective response to a

real need in the community. While the outcomes exceeded the expectations in the pilot year, a number of lessons and considerations for future implementation can ensure future efforts to combat summer melt and increase postsecondary success can have even greater impact.

“The community really rallied around it, people wanted to get involved. The fact that we were able to pull this together in two and a half months is really a testament to the people involved.” – Laura Winter, Project Manager, St. Louis Graduates


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This case study was made possible by a grant from Citi.

www.StLouisGraduates.org