Development and Progress of the Appalachian Higher Education Network
HISTORY OF THE AHE NETWORK MODEL: OHIO APPALACHIAN CENTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
Common Elements of Effective Programs
"The programs that appeared to be most effective [at increasing the college-going rate] had the following elements in common:
Patricia Gandara and Deborah Bial. (September 2001). Paving the Way to Postsecondary Education: K-12 Intervention Programs for Underrepresented Youth. Report of the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative Working Group on Access to Postsecondary Education. National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/2001205.pdf page 9.
Formation of Ohio Appalachian Center for Higher Education
These barriers remained "remarkably consistent" across all groups in the survey. Identification of the barriers by the Access and Success Project presented the Ohio Board of Regents with an opportunity: address and eliminate them. Thus the Ohio General Assembly established the Ohio Appalachian Center for Higher Education (OACHE) (http://www.oache.org/) under the leadership of Wayne White, a retired school superintendent and native of the region. OACHE, run by the same consortium of two- and four-year institutions of higher education that conducted the "Access and Success" study, began operating in 1993. The program offers competitive grants of $5,000-$10,000 to high schools in Appalachian Ohio and has recently begun funding middle and elementary schools to get their students thinking about college as well. These grants, supported by training and technical assistance from OACHE, provide the funds for the schools to sponsor college visits, mentoring programs, career exploration, and assistance in identifying and applying to colleges. The OACHE mission is to get the students to continue their education beyond high school, whether at a technical school, two-year college, or four-year college—it does not matter where the students go.
Newcomerstown High School in Tuscarawas County was one of the first applicants in 1993. Pat Cadle, a guidance counselor at Newcomerstown developed what is now called the "model program". Using this program, Newcomerstown High School increased its college-going rate from 28 percent to 72 percent in only three years. The model has been successfully replicated in numerous other schools including Southern Local High School in Meigs County, Ohio, where the college-going rate exceeded 90 percent in 2001. The model is built on involving the total school, not just selected students or teachers, infusing career exploration throughout the curriculum, and holding monthly parent meetings. Parents are provided training on how to help their children select and apply to colleges, and apply for financial aid. Students learn about career options, take interest and ability tests, travel to worksites and college campuses, and meet with current college students and successful adults who have completed a degree or certificate program.
Schools applying for an OACHE grant may submit a proposal based on the model program or an "innovative" program. By submitting a model proposal, schools are committing to implement all of its components and timeline. An innovative proposal may use some or all of the components with adjustments to the timeline as necessary and add components to meet the unique needs of that school.
OACHE is currently funded by the Ohio General Assembly and receives numerous grants and gifts from other governmental agencies, foundations, private corporations and individuals. In May 2001, the Public Employees Roundtable named OACHE top public-service initiative in the State category. In May 2003, OACHE received the prestigious 2003 "Innovations in American Government" Award from the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. To date, OACHE has given over $1 million to 61 schools in Appalachian Ohio. While not all of the schools have seen a tripling of their college-going rates, most have been extraordinarily successful. (See Table II for pre- and post-intervention college-going rates of high schools funded by AHE Network centers in 2002–2003.)
|"The key to the success of the model program has been total school buy-in with all of the teachers and administrators participating and having ownership."
Wayne White, Executive Director, OACHE
First Replication: West Virginia Access Center For Higher Education
In 1998, the Community Colleges of Appalachia, an association of two-year colleges in the Appalachian region, approached ARC about replicating OACHE. The Community Colleges of Appalachia had heard from its Ohio members about the success OACHE was having and knew the importance of raising the levels of educational attainment to the region. With $144,000, including $35,000 from ARC, and training from Wayne White of OACHE, the North Central Appalachian Center for Higher Education (NCACHE) opened at Bluefield State College. NCACHE, directed by Sarita Gattuso, a native of McDowell County, West Virginia, was to serve the entire state of West Virginia and the three western counties that make up Appalachian Maryland. Opening its doors on September 1, 1998, NCACHE had the additional mission of proving the replicability of OACHE.
Following the OACHE model, NCACHE issued a request for proposals (RFP) in West Virginia and Appalachian Maryland. That first year, NCACHE awarded $10,000 to each of six schools in West Virginia. (Schools in Maryland chose not to apply for this funding.) The following year, NCACHE sent an RFP to 135 high schools, received 18 proposals, and made eight new awards. With training and mentoring from White and assistance from the Community Colleges of Appalachia and ARC, Gattuso and NCACHE appeared to be off to a good start. ARC thus provided a second year of funding at $35,000.
In 2000, "because of the tremendous critical need in West Virginia and the enthusiasm of schools in that state," NCACHE shifted its focus entirely to West Virginia and was renamed the West Virginia Access Center for Higher Education (WVACHE). (http://www.oache.org/wvache_history.htm) With the support of Bluefield State College, Gattuso established WVACHE as a tax-exempt corporation to allow it to solicit donations and apply for a wider variety of funding. Sizable grants from Bob and Jewell Evans ($150,000) and the Benedum Foundation ($110,000) have been major sources of funding since.
|"Students are making better-quality decisions. They are researching their options, getting more financial aid information, allowing more to attend private schools."
Richard Duffield, Counselor, Valley High School, Pine Grove, West Virginia.
West Virginia Results
WVACHE soon proved both its worth and the replicability of OACHE. Wirt County High School, one of the first to be funded, increased its college-going rate from 47 percent to 72 percent in just two years. Other high schools were seeing similar success rates. (See Table II for all pre- and post-intervention college-going rates of currently funded high schools.) Since opening its doors, WVACHE has provided over $290,000 to 17 schools throughout West Virginia.