College & Career Persistence Overview

We support our alumni on their education and career journeys through the age of 25.

Our commitment is simple: as long as our students and alumni are prepared to take one step toward us, then we are prepared to take two steps toward them.

We have built a set of programs to help our alumni access and persist in:

  • Best fit high schools
  • Affordable post high school education – including college, trade school and training programs
  • Start of careers

These programs begin in earnest in 7th grade with a weekly class to help our students understand the complexity of the high-school landscape and the options that might be available to them.

In 8th grade, our students and their families work with a dedicated College & Career Persistence Counselor who helps guide each family through the application process for schools and scholarship organizations that will best serve them.

Once our students graduate from eighth grade and enter high school, College & Career Persistence Counselors continue to offer support through in-person visits, bridge workshops, summer jobs, ACT prep and college and career counseling.

When our alumni enter college or professional pathways, we remain a strong advocate for them as they chart their paths toward meaningful employment. Most importantly, our alumni and their families know that we will continue to walk with them through any challenges or crises that they may face.


CPS outcomes from the University of Chicago To&Through Project.
Chicago employment data from the University of Illinois at Chicago Great Cities Project