Yesterday’s Seattle Times has an excellent article by Linda Shaw about Rainier Scholars, a nonprofit Seattle program aimed at helping low-income students of color succeed in school. The seven-year-old organization has just seen its first cohort of students graduate from high school, and all 40 of them are headed off to four-year colleges in the fall.
We’re pleased to note that six of the Rainier Scholars will be attending Independent Colleges of Washington member institutions, and many others will be attending top-notch private colleges around the country.
Rodney Proctor
The story calls to mind an opinion piece written by ICW board member Rodney Proctor and published last month by the Puget Sound Business Journal. (The article is here, though you need a PSBJ subscription to read it.) Proctor’s contention is that low-income students of color are likely going to be better off at private colleges, and the reasons are the same as those that have led to success for the Rainier Scholars: small classes, academic rigor, and plenty of support. The students bring to the table the smarts that it takes, and the schools don’t let them fall through the cracks.
The results show. All students, regardless of ethnicity, are as likely to graduate from an independent college in four years as they are from a public college in six.
Congratulations to the Rainier Scholars for what you’ve accomplished so far, and best of luck to the first cohort headed for college.
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I’ve just recently received a letter stating that I’ve been accepted into Rainier Scholars. I can’t wait!!!