With all of the pandemic-related concerns around how children, parents and educators will deal with in-person or remote learning this fall, Bill Gates says it is important to look ahead, too, and consider what might happen to graduates after they leave high school.
In a GatesNotes blog post earlier this month, Gates wrote that COVID-19 has the potential to “permanently derail the dreams of hundreds of thousands of young people,” especially those from underrepresented communities who already deal with longstanding obstacles when it comes to higher education.
To that end, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is expanding its partnerships with three organizations that work to give students the support they need to get, and stay, on a path to a college degree, the Microsoft co-founder said.
The Gates Foundation has committed more than $23 million to the following organizations, highlighted in the blog post:
- College Advising Corps: Places college graduates into high schools where they serve as full-time college advisors, helping students find schools, apply, and get ready to attend. The group currently works in 782 high schools across the country and figures from 2018 show that the students they met with were 18 percent more likely to apply to a college or university and 19 percent more likely to get in. Since the pandemic started, support from the Gates Foundation has helped CAC identify more than 170,000 students who were partway through applying for college and financial aid and enabled advisors to connect with these students virtually to help them finish the process.
- City Year: Places “student success coaches” into high schools to provide role models, offer encouragement, and help students make decisions that keep them on track for college. By developing strong personal relationships with students and working on both academic and social and emotional skills, they help make sure each student feels connected to school.
- Saga Education: Embeds math tutors in high schools, where they work with students who need help with algebra, and also gives the students access to an online learning platform. Saga students pick up an extra 2.5 years’ worth of math in one academic year and are 60 percent less likely to fail a math class. The Gates Foundation recently funded 28 Saga tutors for six high schools in New York City who will work with 2,000 9th graders over the next two years.
Gates encouraged other groups to contribute funds and recent college graduates to consider serving with one of the organizations.
“It’s impossible to list all the ways that COVID-19 has upended America’s education system,” Gates said. “And tutoring, mentoring, and advising aren’t silver bullets that will solve every problem. But they will be an essential part of keeping young people on the track to a brighter future.”
