PORT ANGELES — A program implemented last fall and funded through a three-year, $4.3 million Gates Foundation Horizons regional grant is giving local high school students a boost toward getting them on a path to meeting their career and college goals.
Postsecondary Readiness and Enrollment on the Peninsula (PREP) is a partnership among school districts, colleges, community organizations and businesses that offers juniors and seniors in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap and Mason counties the tools they need to explore their future after they graduate.
Any 11th- or 12th-grader can can take advantage of the program, although its focus is students who face significant barriers to educational opportunities, such as those from rural areas and low-income backgrounds, and Black, Latino and Native American students.
Peninsula College, along with Bellevue-based nonprofit College Success Foundation and grant administrator West Sound STEM Network, is a core PREP partner for Clallam and Jefferson counties.
PREP is centered on high-quality advising, expanding successful existing programs and leaning into community networks invested in student achievement.
“It’s support for college preparation on steroids,” Peninsula College President Suzy Ames said. “None of the things that we’re doing are brand new, but all together, we’re putting our arms around every high school junior and senior in our community and walking them through that whole college exploration, college funding and college experience.”
College Success Foundation advisors work with students across multiple school districts and high schools, helping them identify post-secondary programs, fill out college and scholarship applications and gather letters of recommendations.
“Many of our students haven’t had that one-on-one support to successfully navigate a college system,” said Marlene Godsey, a College Success Foundation coach who assists students with the transition from high school to Peninsula College. “The smallest barriers can knock them down and make them drop out.”
For some students, a visit to a college campus is the first time they’ve ever encountered a place of higher learning. The PREP message: this isn’t high school, but it’s not scary — and it could be a path to your future.
Peninsula College hosted five tours last year during which students had an opportunity to meet with instructors in the IT, construction technology, automotive and medical assisting programs. They got to try on welding gear and practice CPR on a dummy in the health sciences lab.
In its first year, PREP focused on building a framework and partnerships in the fall, and rolling out programs in the spring. More than 1,300 students received one-on-one advising from a College Success Foundation coach. More than 800 participated in college and career field trips.
Among the initiatives developed was an “It’s Not Too Late” campaign targeted at seniors who don’t have a plan after they graduate and believe they have missed their chance at post-secondary education.
This year, PREP wants to increase the number of participants, enrollment in dual-credit programs like Running Start, the number of campus visits and continue to improve the completion rate for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which is an important marker of post-secondary enrollment.
Washington has among the lowest FAFSA completion rates in the country, with only about half of students applying for financial aid.
Another challenge for the upcoming year is developing a way to connect with students who are home-schooled or enrolled in private school or online learning programs.
Among PREP partners are the Clallam Economic Development Council and organizations like Northwest Maritime that introduce students to different careers and working professionals; the program can then provide guidance on pathways to obtaining the post-secondary education that will prepare them for the workforce.
Developing a program that will endure when funding ends has been critical, particularly with funding support for education being cut at the state and federal levels. The College Success Foundation lost many of its contracts, with the downstream effect of PREP having fewer advisors than it originally planned.
Fewer than half of adults in the state have a post-high school credential. Improving college enrollment has been a long-term goal for educators, businesses and lawmakers.
Ames said programs like PREP offer a pathway toward achieving it.
“The state of Washington has been trying to crack this nut for 25 years and figure out how to get more kids to go to college,” Ames said. “We think we’re onto something.”
A cost-effective program that leverages advisors across schools, works hand-in-hand with colleges, includes community partners and shows results will get the attention of legislatures, Ames said.
“That is a model that we don’t see elsewhere in the state, and we think that this is going to show what a bang for the buck the taxpayer dollars could be if this becomes adopted statewide,” she said.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
PREP Schools
Clallam County
• Clallam Bay High School
• Crescent High School
• Forks High School
• Neah Bay High School
• Lincoln High School (Port Angeles)
• Port Angeles High School
• Sequim High School
Jefferson County
• OCEAN K-12 School (Port Townsend)
• Port Townsend High School
• Quilcene High School
