OneGoal Honors Chicago School Leaders at Sixth Annual Partnership Breakfast
Chicago Public Schools Chief Equity Officer Maurice Swinney delivered the keynote address
CHICAGO, March 26, 2019 — College access and success organization OneGoal honored local education partners at its Sixth Annual Partner Appreciation Breakfast at Northern Trust. Foreman College and Career Academy was named Outstanding Secondary Partner while Robert Morris University was named Outstanding Postsecondary Partner.
“When I think about this work, I also think about how we show up in front of the young people we serve all day,” said Maurice Swinney, chief equity officer for Chicago Public Schools. “How do we help kids not only get into college, but stay until they’re done? What does it mean for them to feel like they belong on campus?”
The event brought together CPS administrators, as well as principals and teachers, to celebrate the potential of all students, as well as recognize OneGoal’s secondary and postsecondary partners throughout Chicago.
“From top to bottom, OneGoal is a really great organization,” said Andy Berger, vice president of admissions and recruitment at Robert Morris University, who also shared how his institution’s partnership with the education nonprofit has help reduced out-of-pocket expenses for students with the most financial need.
Dr. Tracey Garfield, assistant principal at Foreman College and Career Academy, echoed Berger’s sentiments. “OneGoal is a very invaluable part of our school culture,” she shared after accepting the award on her school’s behalf.
Established in 2007, OneGoal – Chicago will serve more than 6,000 students in 71 CPS high schools by the end of the 2018-2019 school year. OneGoal’s unique three-year, teacher-led program includes an in-school, credit-bearing class taught to a cohort of students in junior and senior years of high school, and continues with one-on-one remote support from the same teacher through their first year of post-secondary education.
“OneGoal helped me with bettering myself, the importance of prioritizing my time and preparing for college,” said Katelyn Williams, a freshman at Robert Morris University who shared her OneGoal experience at the breakfast. “My Program Director helps me with school and life in general and checks up on me out of the blue to see how I’m doing. If I didn’t have OneGoal, life would look very different.”
About OneGoal
OneGoal is a coalition of teachers, students, school leaders and education advocates working to close the degree divide and ensure all young people have an equitable opportunity to achieve their greatest postsecondary aspirations. We collaborate closely with public schools in low-income communities, providing teachers with a robust curriculum, technology, training and coaching to implement our three-year model with a group of 25 students (called Fellows) per cohort. Teachers (called Program Directors) support the same group of Fellows beginning in 11th grade and bridge the gap through their first year after high school graduation. In communities where students typically have a 22 percent chance of graduating from college, 81 percent of OneGoal’s high school graduates enroll in a postsecondary institution and 86 percent of those who enroll persist one year later. OneGoal works in Chicago, Houston, Massachusetts, Metro Atlanta, New York and the Bay Area. For more information, visit onegoalgraduation.org.