Welcome to College Summit

For School Districts

"We seldom talk about poverty; we talk about opportunity. When you mess with the senior class, you affect the entire school. College Summit is changing the conversations in schools across our district—elevating the conversation so that it's now about college. College Summit excels in each of the 3 'R's in high school reform: Relationship—their ability to customize the program for our system is wonderful; Relevance—kids can see why the program [and college] is for them; and Rigor—College Summit has helped change the [academic] expectation to include real reflection and writing a personal narrative. But there is a fourth 'R' as well that College Summit delivers: Results."
-Charlotte Ciancio, Superintendent, Mapleton Public Schools and 2006 College Summit - Let Talent Shine Award Recipient

“Every year over 2,000 youth graduate from Denver Public Schools, and most do not enroll in college the next year. One of the main barriers these young people face is a lack of support and the financial resources to pursue a post secondary education. With College Summit and the Denver Scholarship Foundation, as well as and other college access support, thousands of Denver youth will now enroll and graduate from college.”
- Theresa Peña, President of the Denver Public School Board of Education and Board member of Denver Scholarship Foundation

“Going back into my school now, I am proud to see that the College Summit Navigator is being made available to every senior. I have had the opportunity to go back and talk about my own experience with College Summit and college and encourage others to do the same. My school has now become a place that is more aware of higher education opportunities, and has changed its attitude about higher education.”                                                                                                                                         -Joanna Burciaga, College Summit and Skyview High School (Mapleton) Alumna, Sophmore, University of Denver

2007-08 School and District Partners

Denver Public Schools

• Abraham Lincoln
• CEC Middle College of Denver
• Denver Center for International Studies
• Denver School of the Arts
• East High School
• George Washington High School
• John Kennedy High School
• Montbello High School
• North High School 
• South High School
• Thomas Jefferson High School
• West High School 

Mapleton Public Schools

• Front Range Early College 
• Global Leadership Academy
• Mapleton Expeditionary School of Arts
• Skyview Academy
• Welby New Technology

Other Schools

• Colorado High School Charter
• Denver School of Science and Technology

Youth Agencies

• ACE Scholarships
• Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation
• Save Our Youth

School Spotlights

Center for International Studies (Denver Public Schools): A magnet school within Denver Public Schools that prepares students for college by developing multilingual, interculturally competent citizens who are actively involved in our rapidly changing world. Though it has been operating within an existing high school for 20 years and has worked with College Summit-Colorado in a limited capacity, CIS will open in its own facility in Fall 2006 and provide College Summit curriculum to all of its seniors (30 seniors in 06-07; seven attended a summer workshop) to create post-secondary options for their students.

Colorado High School Charter (Denver Public Schools): Our partnership began in 1999 and we are both committed to continuing this relationship to guide students through the post-secondary process and to create a college-going culture at their school. Colorado High School Charter is devoted to providing solid academics as well as fostering personal growth to prepare students for successful futures beyond high school. Their school offers small classes, a mentoring program and a block structure, which supports them in the goal of finishing high school. College Summit-Colorado will serve approximately 20 seniors at Colorado High School Charter and five of those seniors attended the 06 summer workshop.

This year, Colorado High School Charter will implement the College Summit curriculum 5 times a week for 50 minutes. Colorado High School Charter will be conducting College Summit in their Foundations class and will be utilizing Language Arts to assist in the essay portion of the curriculum. College Summit is a graduation requirement and students can earn up to 3 credits by the end of the year for participating in our program. Colorado High School Charter will be conducting one more booster event this year as well as hosting two parent nights in September on the 14^th and 19^th. They also will be embarking on its first senior retreat hosted by Regis University.

Horizon High School (Adams 12 District): a comprehensive high school with an enrollment of approximately 2,223 students in grades 9-12 (31% ethnically diverse). Established in 1988, it is one of four high schools in the Adams Twelve Five Star School District located in a suburb north of Denver (Adams County). In 2006-07, College Summit-Colorado is implementing a small demonstration model at Horizon High School serving 30 seniors with seven of those students attending a summer workshop.

Global Leadership Academy (Mapleton Public Schools): one of the new Mapleton Public Schools that will be working with College Summit-Colorado.  The school is characterized by students developing their leadership skills beginning with themselves, their classrooms and their school community. The Academy motivates students to meet or exceed high standards in the areas of science, social studies, math, reading and writing. In the 2006-07 academic school year, five influential seniors from Global Leadership Academy attended a summer workshop and all of their seniors (total of 25) will receive a weekly structured College Summit class.

Mapleton Preparatory High School (Mapleton Public Schools): also one of the new small schools in the Mapleton district. Located in historic Old Mapleton High, Mapleton Preparatory High School is a Big Picture inspired school that approaches instruction “one student at a time.” Students and parents are active participants in the design and assessment of the student’s personalized learning plan, which starts with the student’s own interests. Around these interests, the student’s advisor, internship mentor and parents wrap a formal curriculum, internship learning goals, and community-focused learning opportunities. Preparatory students become problem-solvers, life-long learners, and cooperative members of the community, prepared for college and beyond. Four students attended a summer workshop and an additional nine seniors will complete the College Summit senior year curriculum.

Skyview Senior High School: While Skyview Senior High School is being transitioned to a small school, College Summit-Colorado continues to fully implement the curriculum at Skyview, serving every student in the senior class. Results in Year One produced strong data: at the close of the 2004-05 school year, 94 percent of Skyview’s Peer Leaders (those who attended a Summer Workshop) had plans for fall 2005, as did 80 percent of all seniors. In 2005 (Year Two), College Summit-Colorado served nearly 300 seniors and the results look promising. In Year Three, we will be serving nearly 200 rising seniors at Skyview Senior High School with 37 of those students attending a summer workshop in 2006.

Skyview Senior High School will be implementing College Summit everyday for 90 minutes duirng Senior Seminar in conjunction with AVID. Students can earn up to a full credit after completing the College Summit curriculum in May. In an effort to utilize Peer Leaders and sharpen their leadership skills, Skyview Senior High School created Peer Leader Information Sessions (PLIS) designed to inform Peer Leaders on school events and activities and how they can play a leadership role at school. This school also created the Breakfast Club for Peer Leaders and this group will meet twice this year off campus to have breakfast as a group and reconnect. Breakfast Club will meet Friday, October 6^th and February 2^nd. Skyview Senior High School has several College Summit activities planned throughout the year, including the kick-off of a Peer Leader Retreat held on August 10^th. Skyview Senior High School will also be conducting 3 booster events this year as well as the second annual 1+ 1 Rally. The first Parents Nights are scheduled for November 1^st and 2^nd.

South High School (Denver Public Schools): We are excited to implement a pilot program at South High School in Denver Public Schools for the first time! Although it’s Year One at South High School, the College Summit Coordinator, James Durgin, is no stranger to our program. James Durgin will lead the pilot implementation at South High School and has maintained a strong partnership with College Summit at Leadership High School for the past four years.  He believes that College Summit has a dramatic impact on students and believes that College Summit can be a key part of the college-going strategy for the entire district. Approximately 10 students attended our summer workshops and 115 students will be served at South High School in 2006-07.