6to16 Overview
Overview | Goals | Solution | Resources | Contact Us
The vast majority of urban public schools in the United States fail to provide students with the academic preparation and social support necessary for high school and college success. The national high school graduation rate of low-income children stands at 60% (Bedford et al. 2006). Only one-third enroll in college, with one in seven earning a bachelor’s degree. In Chicago, only 8 percent of high school freshmen in 1995 graduated with a bachelor's degree 10 years later, according to a University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) 2006 study. Just 2.5 percent of African American and Latino boys who were high school freshmen in 1995 earned a college degree by their 25th birthday.
- Read the CCSR study "From High School to the Future: Potholes on the Road to College"
Given the level of knowledge and skills needed to participate fully in our economy and democracy, it is a national imperative to ensure that all students are college ready and college successful. To that end, the Urban Education Institute has launched 6to16 – a new classroom and online high school and college readiness tool for grades 6 to grade ‘16’ (the completion of undergraduate degree).
6to16 is designed to foster college access and success for a new generation of young people across the nation. 6to16 targets low-income African- American, Latino, and first-generation students whose access to social, economic, and cultural capital undermines their aspirations of attending four-year colleges. Students participating in 6to16 have a personal network of support consisting of a teacher/adviser, community members, and friends and family, as well as college and career mentors based on student interests.
6to16 is currently piloting in the Chicago Public Schools, but will grow to be a part of the national solution. We would like to gratefully acknowledge the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for making this program possible.
