College Summit

History

In 1996, Keith Frome Ed.D, J.B. Schramm and Derek Canty started a teen education center in the basement of a low-income housing project in Washington, D.C., working with students who had the intelligence, resiliency and grit to succeed in college and careers.

Through this program, they saw first-hand how the influence of one student could push friends on the path to a higher education.

They founded College Summit by answering a simple, yet important question: "Who is the most influential person to a 17-year-old?"

The answer: "Another 17-year old."

From that modest experience and critical insight, College Summit has grown over the past two decades into a national movement harnessing the power of peer influence to transform the lives of low-income youth.

Founders

Since its founding, Frome, Schramm and Canty have remained actively involved with College Summit.

In 2015, Keith Frome became College Summit's second-only CEO with a vision to scale the organization's impact on college access and success by leveraging the power of student-driven change.

Prior to his appointment as CEO of College Summit, Frome designed and then led the King Center Charter School, an innovative K-8 on the east side of Buffalo, NY, successfully creating a college-going culture among that city's at-risk elementary and middle school students. Earlier, he served as Headmaster of the Elmwood Franklin School in Buffalo and Assistant Headmaster of the Browning School in New York City.

J.B. Schramm currently chairs the Learn to Earn initiative at New Profit, a venture philanthropy and social innovation organization that provides funding and strategic support to help the most promising social enterprises achieve scale. College Summit is a longtime coalition member of New Profit, and an integral part of their grant portfolio.

Derek Canty is also founder of Winning Edge, Inc., a Las Vegas-based company that helps individuals, colleges and nonprofit organizations achieve maximum personal and organizational effectiveness. In addition to providing ongoing training and coaching to College Summit staff, students and schools, he also played an integral role in the pilot program of PeerForward, College Summit's campaign for the next generation.

Approach

College Summit's program is unique in harnessing the power of student-driven change to boost college access and career readiness. Peer Leader teams, supported by educators, College Summit staff, curated technology tools and other online resources, lead successful campaigns proven to increase college enrollment across the entire school.

1. Picking Influencers: College Summit helps its school partners identify four incoming juniors and four incoming seniors per school. These are the influencers - College Summit Peer Leaders. Not necessarily high achievers or star athletes, these teens have the respect of their classmates. They are proven to be the most effective change agents driving college enrollment and success.
2. Training for Impact: The incoming 12th grade Peer Leaders gather at college campuses for four-day summer workshops to understand the practical and emotional aspects of the college application process, as well as to learn mobilizing activities they can employ to help their classmates. The intensive experiences and practical hands-on trainings solidify their capacity to influence networks of fellow students. A teacher sponsor receives training and professional development alongside their students.
3. Achieving Benchmarks: Back in their schools, the junior and senior Peer Leaders drive three campaigns most predictive of college enrollment and success.
   1. Applying to three or more colleges - Simply applying to more than three colleges measurably increases the chances of enrollment. Increasing the number of college applications submitted from two to three can raise a student's probability of enrollment by 10%.
   2. Early filing for financial aid - The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is required for need-based financial assistance, yet 2.2 million low-income students never file. Low-income FAFSA filers are more than twice as likely to persist as non-filers and timely filing can double a student's grant funding.
   3. Connecting academics to college and career - First generation students often don't connect academic excellence to specific life goals. Our career exploration initiative opens their eyes. Research shows that a student who makes a connection between college and his or her life goals is six times more likely to attain a degree than one who doesn't.

Geographic Reach

College Summit works with some of the largest school districts in America, including New York, Los Angeles, Miami-Dade, St. Louis and Prince George's County, MD. This scope allows partner schools to benefit from the best practices and success stories from across the United States.

College Summit has a presence in high schools across the U.S., including:

Results

In its 20-year history, College Summit's one-of-a-kind youth-driven college access service has placed more than 250,000 students from 500 high schools on the path to college and career success.

Partner schools have experienced increases in college enrollment rates up to 20% and college persistence rates equal to the national average for students of all income levels.

PeerForward

In 2015, College Summit launched PeerForward, a campaign for the next generation of College Summit that builds on decades of experience as well as third-party research about what really works in schools.

Over the next decade, PeerForward will help 1.8 million students from 1,000 schools across the nation unleash their potential.

The program will roll out in the 2015-16 school year, with full implementation coming in the fall of 2016.

Board of Directors

College Summit's 2015-16 Board of Directors include:

Philanthropy

College Summit's list of supporters includes foundations, individuals, corporations, and public and investor categories.

Notable corporate contributors:

Leadership Level:

Supporter Level:

Awards & Accolades

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