The Administration recommends that the Board of Education (i) ratify the execution and performance of a contract by The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee, subject to funding, and (ii) ratify the execution and performance of a Letter of Agreement by The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee, as follows:

Contract With:

KIPP Philadelphia

Letter of Agreement With:

The Neubauer Family Foundation

Purpose: 

To provide a Director of College & Career to implement college and career programming for students at Benjamin Franklin High School

Start Date:  9/3/2019

End Date:  6/30/2020

Value of No-Cost Services not to exceed:  $175,000

Location: 

Benjamin Franklin High School

Description:

 The School District of Philadelphia is partnering with KIPP Philadelphia and the Neubauer Family Foundation to get more students at Ben Franklin High School to and through college.  This project will allow the Neubauer Family Foundation, KIPP and the School District to focus on improving college match practices using KIPP's evidence-based College Match Strategies Framework.   The first year of implementation will occur at Ben Franklin High School.  The School District will evaluate the program's success, at the end of the first year, and determine if and how the project will move forward. Ideally, the project needs four full years to create a college-going culture where one currently does not exist.  If successful, the project could potentially scale up other District high schools.  In addition, by training existing District school counselors and the District’s professional school college and career staff to increase the number of students who are prepared for college, matriculating to college, and graduating from college. The College Match Strategies Framework operates on the notion that not all colleges are equal when it comes to graduation rates for students from low-income communities. The model uses the College Match Framework while counseling students and families through the college decision-making process. Students who match well are more likely to graduate college.  While the College Match Framework outlines, in detail, the steps that high school juniors and seniors should follow, the four steps below are critical for all students as they prepare for the match process: 1. Getting an early start and applying ahead of admission deadlines giving students access to the largest pool of financial aid and, in some cases, increasing their odds for acceptance through Early Decision or Early Action options; 2. Exploring the student’s passion, purpose, plan and fit priorities, reflecting on what the student wants out of a college education, including college experience, learning environment, location, area of study, and career opportunities; 3. Preparing for the cost of college to understand their options, to help them increase eligibility for aid, and to avoid excess debt; and 4. Knowing their numbers such as academic profiles, including their GPA, ACT, and SAT, that affect which schools they can attend.

 KIPP Philadelphia has received funding from the Neubauer Family Foundation to support the position of Director of College & Career working at Ben Franklin High School.  The Neubauer Family Foundation is prepared to make a grant of $175,000 to KIPP Philadelphia to fund the first year of this pilot program. Ben Franklin was selected because of the opportunity to establish a college going culture and because its principal is a Neubauer Fellow, who is greatly supported by the Neubauer Family Foundation, and because the District wants Ben Franklin students, during this year of transition, to know we are making important investments in their futures.

 The Director of College and Career was hired By KIPP and began working at Ben Franklin in September.  It was subsequently realized an action item was need to accept the donation. The grant to KIPP includes the salary of the director, professional development ($5,000); supplies, technical equipment, and building college access capacity at Ben Franklin ($20,000).  Ratification is requested based on this earlier start date.

 Anchor Goal(s) Supported:  Anchor Goal 1 - 100% of students will graduate ready for college or career