Strategic Investing
Helios Education Foundation’s strategic investments in Arizona work to align high quality, early learning for Latino youth, especially in the urban core, to rigorous K-12 educational programs that provide academic support and lead to clear pathways to postsecondary education preparedness and success. Our priority is to improve academic preparedness and foster college-going and completing cultures in high poverty, Latino communities. Our partnership with the ACT District Choice State Test (ACT DCST) and the Excel Project both illustrate the Foundation’s strategic investments in Arizona.
ACT District Choice State Test (ACT DCST)
In an effort to help build a college-going culture in Arizona, Helios has provided the opportunity for more than 100,000 students to take the ACT exam at no cost to the student. The ACT was chosen because it is a curriculum-based measure of college readiness, defined as the level of achievement a student needs to enroll and succeed in first-year college courses.
Helios’ investment in the ACT DCST is part of our broader effort to ensure that more high school graduates are prepared to enter the workforce or take credit-bearing courses without remediation. The Foundation’s investment in this initiative is just one mechanism in a comprehensive strategy to create a culture that leads to opportunities for students to succeed in college and career. Over the past seven years, Helios has invested more than $2.9 million in this initiative and partnered with 14 school districts throughout the state. In 2015, the Foundation expanded the ACT DCST project into the College Knowing & Going initiative which now includes 18 partner school districts and adds a college application completion component and a FAFSA completion component.
Over the past seven years, Helios has invested more than $2.9 million in this the ACT District Choice State Test initiative and partnered with 14 school districts throughout the state.
The Excel Project
The Excel Project is a student success program developed in collaboration with the Maricopa Community College District at both Estrella Mountain and Glendale Community Colleges. The initiative provides a unique opportunity for students to receive additional support, advice and guidance as they pursue an associate degree and/or transfer successfully to a four-year university. All students in the program receive one-on-one support from a team that helps them accomplish their goals and connects them to the right services and resources.
In addition, the program has a family component that incorporates parents and family members in an orientation together. The orientation program includes information on how parents can be supportive of students throughout their college career. The program’s goal is to provide assistance to first generation, Latino students as they navigate the college experience. Currently the program is serving nearly 200 students.
This $2 million investment and partnership with the Maricopa County Community College District is part of Helios’ larger commitment to support postsecondary completion initiatives that help all students pursue, persist and achieve a postsecondary degree, but it focuses especially on underserved students and other students from underrepresented populations. A portion of this funding is dedicated to awarding associate degrees to students who have accumulated the required credits for the degree but have matriculated to a university without having applied for and received their associate degree.
“One of the most unique components of the Excel Project is its family component. The reality is that some students from this important population aren’t going to be successful unless their parents and families understand what is expected.”
Braulio Colón, Vice President and Program Director,
Postsecondary Completion, Helios Education Foundation