Grantee Profile: Gateway to College

Roughly 1.4 million U.S. students drop out of high school each year, severely limiting their chances for success in life. To assume that these young adults can’t or don’t want to achieve is to give up on a wealth of undeveloped talent and potential. Yet in today’s economy, young adults without college-level skills find it difficult to land well-paying jobs.

Gateway to College breaks the myth that high school dropouts can’t or won’t succeed in school.

The program serves 16- to 20-year-old students who have dropped out of high school or are at risk of dropping out. Gateway to College puts them on a track to complete their high school diploma while simultaneously earning credits toward an associate’s degree or certificate at local community and technical colleges. Most of the students are minority and from low-income homes, and will be the first in their families to go to college.

Repaving the Path to Success

As a result of joining the Gateway to College National Network, young people who had little chance of graduating from high school are achieving success beyond high school. By reengaging dropouts as students and offering them tailored support, Gateway to College has developed an innovative, proven model for helping at-risk youth graduate high school and earn credits toward college completion. The model, which emphasizes both academic and personal skills, teaches students how to thrive in an educational setting and helps prepare them for the transition to college. Results show improved achievement (a 75 percent passing rates in developmental classes), higher attendance rates (88 percent on average), and fewer academic-related barriers.

Expanding the Network of Support

Gateway to College began a decade ago at Portland Community College to help high school dropouts continue their education. Since 2003, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has funded the Gateway to College program through its Early College High School Initiative.

In January 2010, the foundation deepened its investment in the Gateway to College National Network with a $7.28 million, three-year grant to help fund expansion into 15 new community colleges. This grant, made in conjunction with other funders, will benefit an estimated 10,000 additional young adults each year, and will help build the evidence base necessary to advance our goal of doubling the number of young people who earn a postsecondary degree or certificate by age 26.

The Impact

Ensuring that more young people in America have the opportunity to complete college is the key to economic stability and growth. By addressing the real and often insurmountable challenges that today’s young adults face—helping students get further, faster, through flexible programs focused on helping them earn degrees or certificates with real value—the Gateway to College National Network has developed an innovative model that does just that.