"Kalamazoo Promise" Delivers

Teacher Hatched A Plan For Free College Education For Everyone In Her District

(CBS)  Welcome to Kalamazoo, Michigan — America's unlikely educational promised land, thanks to "The Kalamazoo Promise."

And Kalamazoo's patron saint of education is Superintendent Janice Brown, CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric reports.

"We will not rest until every child is educated every time," Brown says.

Seven years ago, this one-time special education teacher hatched a very special idea – a free college education for everyone in her school district. She says it took five years of conversations and a lot of faith to convince a group of anonymous donors to foot the bill: $12 million a year. And don't even try to ask her about who they are.

"I just say the donors," Brown says.

Students have to maintain a "C" average. They must attend a Kalamazoo public school for four years to have 65 percent of their tuition covered. The longer they're there, the more they get. If they attend from kindergarten on, it's a free ride.

Many families are moving there for that reason. "We have people from 23 different states right now. We had a family come in from Russia," Brown says.

"How can you have a healthy community — healthy economics — if you do not have a very well educated workforce? Can't happen," Brown says.

Since the program started last year the economic impact has been swift and impressive. The one-time manufacturing town relied on paper mills. When they shut down, the city fell on hard times. But now it's learning a lot about the power of the promise. They have 800 new families in the school district, a $10 million housing development, rising property values and two new schools. But the impact of investing in Kalamazoo's kids? Priceless.

Brown says she's seen this change the school system and the students. "A first grader coming up to me saying, 'I'm going to college. I don't know what it is, but I'm going,'" Brown says is an example of that change.

"Money is going to be a lot easier to come by for school," a student says.

"I was near dropping out and once I heard about 'The Promise,' I got back in school and I'm currently getting my grades up to graduate this year," says Molly, another student.

But the Kalamazoo promise cannot promise everything. Twenty-five percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Some of them are homeless and some of them are having real struggles.

"They can't think about the Kalamazoo Promise if they're hungry. They can't think about the Kalamazoo Promise if they're angry and lashing out, so that's the challenge," Brown says.

But in so many ways, it has delivered -- more inspired students, a more educated city, and kids who are invested in Kalamazoo's future as Kalamazoo is in theirs.

"I would like to experience life, go off and do something else, but I will come back to Kalamazoo," says one student. "I'm just going to come back and do whatever I have to do to return the favor."

Brown says she "absolutely" thinks it could be replicated in other cities across the country. "What the Kalamazoo Promise is about is will," she says, "and whether or not a community has the will to do this work is the true question."

[bethdnp]

I am pleased to report there is another Promise Program available in a resort town in Michigan: The Northport Promise is available to students attending the Northport School in Northport, Michigan. Our town is located in Leelanau County - a wonderful resort town nestled among vineyards and cherry orchards. Our program was just announced for the first time via a press release issued this week. Like the Kalamazoo Promise, students meeting the attendance and grade standards, as well as participation in community service activities, will receive paid tuition for 4 years at a public college. Tuition is paid on a sliding scale, based on years attended - so K-12 grads receive 100% of their tuition. Warm regards from Northport!
B. Dickinson, Funding Committee, The Northport Promise.

[agnim]

"and how many years of college does this program cover?
can someone go and become a doctor or something like that?

Posted by anopinion1 at 10:02 AM : Feb 06, 2007"
Duh!

Once you get to college, becoming a doctor is a cake walk if one has the abilities to be a doctor.

Take out a loan after college to pay for medical school; and repay the loan in a few years with monies received from overcharging your patients. LOL

[anopinion1]

and how many years of college does this program cover?
can someone go and become a doctor or something like that?
what if the person bounces around and cant find a major they like for a few years. (like over half of the people that go to college right out of high school including myself).
The best thing about this will be all these people that moved here so their kid can go to college and most all of them will ruin it for themselves anyway, during the first semester at college.
This will be the first time when they arent living in the same household as their parents/parent
and the new freedom will lead to partying skipping classes ect... and falling below the c average.

[ab543211]

Yes, can one imagine what a trillion dollars spent on our schools

instead of on a war of choice. Please God save me from your

followers.

[jgord1]

Hi Katie grate report about "Kalamazoo Promise" I heard about this over a year ago. I lived in Kalamazoo before and I did go to school there all 12 of my school years. And I graduated form Loy Norrix high school back in 19981 and I had the chance to go to a program called the Upward Bound program and MLK program at Western Michigan University for 2 summer. This program did help me stay out off the streets and out of the drug game on the north side of Kalamazoo. I wish that this program were offered back at the time that I graduated just may be I did not have to go to the army. At the time I did not know how inportened a good education was and now I am a 44 years old man just got divorced and on top of all this I have 8 year old twin boys that I have to care for that came from a prev- relationship. And I am out of work. I don%u2019t have a job. I have been looking for a job that fit the boy%u2019s school schedule and this is hard to do if you are a truck driver living in North Texas (Dallas, TX) and now I am looking to get into a online college program. So that I can get a good paying job but this will take time that I do not have. Thx you maay contact me a [e-mail]

[isavesmart]

Hi CBS News,
What a great story. I do hope that will catch on with all 50 states. Education provides the ability to make dreams come true and it so important for a proactive society. Image if everyone could get a college education. Sky is the limit. Americans "Can do" it.

Sincerely,
Robin Casey
www.isavesmart.com