Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois seeks to improve Illinois' public education system, with the goal of improving student outcomes, closing achievement gaps, and promoting opportunities for meaningful and sustaining careers and economic mobility for all students. AI pairs strong policy research with grassroots relationships and partnerships with education and policy leaders to identify critical priorities and push for change. AI believes a healthy education system is one that ensures adequate and equitable resources across the birth to higher education continuum; infuses more transparency and rigor into state data systems and student assessments; produces high quality, diverse teachers, and leaders; and ensures social-emotional learning and development for students.
North Chicago Public Education Foundation | Warhawk Lancer Scholarship
North Chicago Public Education Foundation awards scholarships to highly qualified graduates of North Chicago Community to College of Lake County so they can attend college regardless of their financial capabilities. The scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and wrap-around support to ensure success in the students’ first years of college. It also provides on-going support from the scholars' high school counselors in addition to support from their CLC academic advisor in order to help eliminate any barriers to completing their degree.
Partnership for College Completion
Partnership for College Completion provides leadership for a systems level approach to support college completion and eliminate institutional inequities in higher education outcomes. It is guided by a mission to champion policies, practices, and systems that increase college completion and eliminate degree completion disparities for low-income, first generation, and students of color in Illinois. PCC’s work is especially important as it’s the only organization in the state singularly committed to advancing equity within Illinois’ higher education system. Because of PCC’s efforts, Illinois Equity in Attainment Initiative institutions have published institutional equity plans detailing strategies for improving outcomes for Black, Latinx and low-income students.
Rosalind Franklin University | INSPIRE and Science Saturdays
RFU addresses the demand for more healthcare providers and better health outcomes in medically underserved communities by forging strong educational pathways and learning opportunities for underrepresented grade school, high school, college, and post-baccalaureate students. Science Saturdays provides academic engagement in critical areas of math and science while helping students gain skills, techniques, and confidence to efficiently work in a laboratory setting. INSPIRE primarily serves Latinx and African American students pursuing higher education in the fields of science, medicine, and biomedical research. ITs students conduct original biomedical research under the direction of a graduate student mentor and faculty advisor in RFU’s research laboratories.
Waukegan to College
Waukegan to College (W2C) aims to create brighter futures for Waukegan students, families, and the community by helping students prepare to enroll in and graduate from college. To achieve its mission, W2C provides a suite of wrap-around services that includes 1:1 tutoring, family workshops, mentoring, field trips, site visits, application assistance, SAT/ACT prep, 1:1 college advising, financial aid assistance, and more for students as young as 5th grade. W2C has also established a parent leader group and a parent peer-mentor program, ensuring grassroots connection, voice, and support to families as a unit. W2C is working towards its 2029 goal of serving 1000 students on their paths to and through college.