Getting Started/Guidelines

Suggested Guidelines for Pilot Partnership Planning Phase

Actionable Promises. Engaging Families. Supportive Relationships. Strengths-Based. Access,Success.

CORE Project Principles

• • Project targets supports to students who would go otherwise unserved. Preferably, students in the “moveable middle” with potential to propel forward with comprehensive supports.

  • Cohort-based model to strengthen peer-to-peer support and identity building.

  • Promises include, at a minimum:

    • Assigned adult mentors/coaches

    • Multiple opportunities for meaningful interactions with college students

    • College campus visits and overnight stay(s)

    • Individual Success Plans (to support college and career goals, action steps.)

    • Awareness and knowledge building for college-going process, includes assistance with application, FAFSA, and scholarships

    • College Application Fee Waiver by participating colleges

    • Academic supports (tutoring and access to rigorous coursework, e.g. via dual enrollment and AP opportunities)

    • Integrated content related to racial/ethnic, gender and socio-economic identities.

Planning Phase 1. Solidifying the Partnership (September-October)

• • Identify your leadership team. (No more than 4-8 people.) It is tough to move a large group into action, therefore it is important to have a nimble, tight team to make decisions quickly and move agendas. These individuals represent a point-person from each of your partner organizations that will be responsible for seeing the project through. You will also need to designate a liaison to the DHE.

  • Develop shared vision for 100 males in your community with key learning outcomes that will help you think of the types of activities/resources/opportunities you’d like to make available for them through their journey.

• • For example, “College going: Students can identify the key components necessary for going to college: Application Process, FAFSA Process, Identifying Mentors, SAT/ACT Prep” and “Financial Planning: Student will be able to create an estimated budget plan.”

  • Consider developing small working teams to tackle important work buckets. E.g. (1) youth developmentally appropriate learning outcomes and touch points. (2) MOA + Promises (3) Budget/ Resource mapping

  • Develop a timeline for the pilot project with solid deliverables in year 1, and projected activities in years 2, 3 and beyond.

  • Decide how you will want to communicate moving forward. Successful partnerships are highly communicative, consistent and reciprocal. In-person meetings, though time-consuming, are invaluable to relationship building and asserting folks are on the same page. Partners may want to explore other ways of communicating once the pilot is off the ground (e.g. web tools, conference calls, etc.)

  • Develop an asset map of resources and opportunities that would be available through your organization (and possibly others) to help you meet your vision and project learning outcomes.

• • Develop your partnership list of actionable promises. Each organization is responsible for offering and implementing promises.

  • Develop a Memorandum of Agreement for your partnership that memorializes the commitments you are making in the short and long term, and helps define roles and responsibilities of each partner.

  • Develop a working budget for your pilot project, which includes the anticipated in-kind and cash resources. Perhaps include a wish list of items that you cannot resource with the partners at the table, but may want to collaboratively seek through private partners.

Planning Phase 2. Preparing for the Launch (October-December)

• • Identify and recruit 100+ students (includes developing criteria , discussing possible cohorts; once identified, includes early conversations with students and student/parent sign-off.)

  • Discuss and plan for building in strengths-based conversations/activities that resonate with experiences of the students and communities they come from.

  • Assess professional development needs of folks in the schools (high school and campuses) and draft a plan for addressing needs.

  • Recruit potential supportive adult “coaches/mentors” and provide orientation on 100 Males to College with plan in place for on-going PD & support. (Develop a touch point map and share with the coaches.) Who in the partnership will manage the coaches?

  • Develop a plan for college-to-high school student engagement. (Consider enlisting college student leaders from campus male programs to assist with the planning phase.)

  • Develop a family engagement plan to include families as partners to students’ success.

= Indicates possible resource or tool that can be borrowed from Springfield Pilot project.