In 2004, at the urging of Jane Donahue, a former College Summit writing coach who had recently moved to St. Louis and saw the need for the program in her new hometown, educators and community leaders escorted a small cohort of students from St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) to a College Summit workshop in Colorado. By the end of the weekend, nine rising seniors were ten steps ahead in the college application process, two college counselors had seen a system that would allow them to do their jobs more effectively, and seven school and community leaders had become passionately committed to bringing College Summit to St. Louis.
With additional buy-in from superintendents, school administrators, and the higher education and business communities, College Summit-St Louis was officially launched in 2005, initially serving 400 SLPS students. Since that time, partner schools have seen double-digit increases in their college enrollment rates, we have extended outreach beyond St. Louis Public Schools to the Wellston Public Schools and Normandy School district, and transformed the lives of 3,700+ St. Louis metropolitan area students.
(Back L-R) Erica Tyson, Stacy Clay, Stacy Lewis
(Front L-R) Maureen Ross Lang, Julia Santiago (P2C trainer), Leila Nguyen, Dionne Ferguson
College Summit uniquely combines a passion for inspiring students with precision measurement to deliver meaningful outcomes for the students and schools it serves. In 2008-09, school partners demonstrated impressive results:
“College Summit and the Isaac Bruce Foundation share a commitment to the youth of St. Louis. Our partnership has helped ensure more youth in the greater St. Louis Metropolitan area have received the support and opportunity to realize their dreams of continuing their education. The Isaac Bruce Foundation is proud to partner with College Summit in this important work.”
-Isaac Bruce, the Isaac Bruce Foundation
KMOV News Channel 4 interviewed College Summit students at Cleveland High School, a College Summit partner school within the St. Louis Public Schools District, on November 17th.
> Read moreThe St. Louis Public Schools District is pleased to announce that the Class of 2009 earned $42,968,553.00 in scholarships and grants towards higher education pursuits.
> Read morePBS's NewsHour recently aired a segment with Judy Woodruff on the progress St. Louis Public Schools and College Summit have made in improving college-going in the city. Filmed over two days at Roosevelt High School, the piece features the stories of two students and highlights the dedication of the school's educators and principal to ensuring all students have the opportunity to experience high school, not as a destination, but as a launchpad to college and career success.
> Read more
Learn more about College Summit by watching this informational video.