Group coordinating assistance for students receives more than $170,000

Kathy Jennings | Thursday, March 20, 2014

Kalamazoo County has many individuals and organizations working to help high school students do well so they can go to college and succeed there. A group that coordinates these activities, the College and Career Action Network, has been awarded nearly $172,000 for operations.

The grant from The Learning Network of Greater Kalamazoo supports CACAN’s operational efforts through September, 2014.

CACAN’s goal is to get more students from Kalamazoo County to attend and graduate from college, says Brenda Pickett, of CACAN. It focuses particular attention on helping students who are the first generation in their family to attend college, students of color, and those from low-income families.

College is considered to be any post-high school institution that offers certificates or other credentialed training and prepares students for a career, including two- and four-year academic degrees.

According to Kalamazoo Regional Educational Services Agency (KRESA), 72 percent of Kalamazoo County high school graduates currently enroll in higher education after graduation. CACAN hopes to push that number to 82 percent by 2017.

CACAN is one of three action networks of the Learning Network of Greater Kalamazoo. The other two address Kindergarten Readiness and Adult Learning. CACAN also receives some state support along with its operational grant from The Learning Network.

CACAN, like each of networks and programs of The Learning Network, strives to make sure efforts are not being duplicated, to identify gaps in resources to students and seize opportunities as they present themselves.

“We think of CACAN as wrapping our community’s collective arms around these students,” says Pickett. “We help them recognize the value of a college education and we offer tools and support to help them succeed there."

The Learning Network of Greater Kalamazoo is funded by the Kalamazoo Community Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Its mission is to create a culture of learning throughout the community.

Source: Tom Vance, Kalamazoo Community Foundation