Background

To help prospective college students from Hammond, IN more effectively navigate the often challenging waters of college access and success, the non-profit Hammond Education Foundation, in partnership with the School City of Hammond (SCH), introduced The Blueprint college transition and readiness initiative in 2016 for high school seniors.

Consistent with its mission of supporting extraordinary learning experiences to help students succeed, the Hammond Education Foundation advanced The Blueprint as a strategy to better position for college entry more academically-qualified students, many of whom seek to become the first in their family to earn a higher education degree.

The Blueprint is an innovative, 2-phase program. In phase 1, classroom instruction provided at each SCH high school is designed to help students identify best-fit colleges/universities, apply for/gain admission, and acquire scholarships & other financial assistance, while obtaining insights about how to succeed as college students. Phase 2 features the College Persistence Program--intended to track and encourage Blueprint high school graduates as college students in their persistence to earning a higher education degree.

The Blueprint College Persistence Program

What is "persistence"? Persistence is the firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition. The path to a college diploma is not easy or earned without demonstrating persistence. The Blueprint's College Persistence Program (CPP) is a support plan designed to ensure the well-being of the whole student as he/she engages in the rigors of earning a college degree.