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Gateway Granted $1M for Job 'Ladder'
Program will permit 60 EZ residents to pursue higher ed
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Business New Haven
11/11/2002
By: BNH
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NEW HAVEN - The board of directors of Empower New Haven has approved a $1 million grant to Gateway Community College to fund a new program to be known as the Career Ladders Institute. The gift represents the largest single award Gateway has ever received.
The purpose of the program is to assist residents of the New Haven and West Haven Empowerment Zone (EZ) in attaining a two-year associate's degree. Empower New Haven and Gateway will create and implement a strategy to identify 60 EZ residents with high school diplomas or GEDs, who will agree to a two- to three-year commitment in pursuit of an associate's degree.
The program is also open to Empowerment Zone residents currently attending Gateway.
The Career Ladders Institute will provide tuition, books, academic support services such as counseling and tutoring, and job-placement assistance. In exchange, students agree to stay in the program by signing a commitment contract for 24 to 36 months.
"The approval of funding for this program is a prime example of the good things that can occur when community leaders, educators and business partners work together to benefit our most valuable human capital - the students," said Gateway President Dorsey Kendrick. "We are very excited about the prospect of providing access to success to the community through this collaboration."
The Career Ladders Institute represents a collaboration between and among Gateway, the Empower New Haven Workforce Development Committee and Neighborhood Management Teams with the goal of helping Empowerment Zone residents who might not otherwise have considered college an option.
The Career Ladders Institute will consist of a steering committee including two directors of Empower New Haven, one member of the Workforce Development Committee, one Empower New Haven council representative from each of the six EZ neighborhoods, one representative from the New Haven Board of Education, and two Gateway representatives from Gateway Community College.
"We take students from where they are and show them how to become lifelong learners," Kendrick explained. "By lifting the financial barriers and providing academic support, the chance of success increases and students can focus on their studies."
The goal, according to Kendrick: "To make tomorrow a better place for all citizens in New Haven."
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