View this email in your browser

Dear colleague:
This PCPR announcement is full of information for your professional growth and news you should share with your community. We've divided the message into sections - "Your Professional Growth & Advocacy", "For the Community You Serve" and "Your Philadelphia College Prep Roundtable".

Sign up now for the PCPR monthly meeting where we'll hear from David Hawkins on the joint NACAC/NAFSAA research report on postsecondary access. Of special note - April is "Community College Month, #CCMonth". We hope you will lift up our community college colleagues for the great work they do. We're highlighting a couple events from our stakeholders for your professional growth. And scholarships and college fair opportunities you should make you constituents aware of.

We hope this helps you have a productive April!

YOUR PROFESSIONAL GROWTH & ADVOCACY

Philadelphia College Prep Roundtable Monthly Meeting
April 21st, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Topic: "Addressing An Age-Old Challenge. What New Research Reveals about Equity, Fairness and Inclusion in Admission and Financial Aid."

Join us as we dive into “Toward A More Equitable Future For Postsecondary Access”, a Lumina-funded research project conducted by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), in partnership with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).

David Hawkins, Chief Education and Policy Officer from NACAC, takes us through this critical journey of self-examination with a look at the entry challenges to postsecondary education and the recommended next steps.

This is Part 1 of a series of sessions to help professionals better assist students in navigating through the significant and continuous college admission and financial aid shifts.

Register for the virtual meeting at bit.ly/pcpr_mtg422.

April is Community College Month!

April is Community College Month, and that presents a great opportunity to get the word out about why community colleges matter, how your college is serving your community's needs today, and why public support for our colleges is more important than ever.

Join with PCPR as we applaud and support the work of Community Colleges in the region. Go to the #CCMonth Campaign page and pledge your organization's support as well as your personal support of Community Colleges.

PCPR will being presenting at this year's PA Black Conference On Higher Education on Friday, April 8th, 2:10 - 2:55 pm. The session title - "“College Access: We’re All in this Together”.

This year's theme is #R.E.A.C.H.: Race, Economics, Academics, Covid-19 and Health: Examining the Impact of Racism on Leaders. Conference workshops will examine or address the impact of race on one or more of the other four areas (economics, academia, COVID-19, and health) through the lenses of policy, practice, pedagogy, and/or research.

The virtual conference takes place on April 7th and 8th. Registration is $125. Registration can be found at this link.

Cabrini University's Center for Urban Education, Equity, and Improvement (CUEEI) would like to inform you of our Annual Shirley Dixon Celebration of Urban Education Symposium. This year keynote speaker will be the honorable Dr. Cornel West.

Dr. West will be attending Cabrini's campus on Thursday, April 28, 2022. This will be a hybrid event. Please pass the word on to your fellow colleagues. Feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. I hope to see you then.

Symposium description - https://www.cabrini.edu/about/departments/academic-affairs/The-Center-for-Urban-Education-Equity-and-Improvement/urban_education_symposium

Tickets/Registration - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/annual-shirley-dixon-celebration-of-urban-education-symposium-tickets-213720462657

Foster Care 2 College Zoom Meeting

This is a reminder about the upcoming Foster Care to College (FC2C) Zoom meeting.
When: Apr 5, 2022 10:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://upenn.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAvcO6rrzstGNEmkv6LVN8j6OPGCA5a8BZx

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

You are invited to join The Field Center for statewide networking meetings for professionals from child welfare, education, and other disciplines to discuss and learn how best to support students with foster care experience and help them to succeed in higher education! During the quarterly meetings you will learn about resources and best practices, hear presentations from other professionals, and have an opportunity to connect with colleagues across the Commonwealth.

Sarah Wasch, MSW
Program Manager
Field Center for Children's Policy, Practice & Research
University of Pennsylvania
3815 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
215.573.9989
www.fieldcenteratpenn.org

Protecting Children – Preserving Dreams

2022 Guiding the Way to Inclusion

July 24-27, 2022
Philadelphia, PA

NACAC’s Guiding the Way to Inclusion (GWI) conference is aimed at secondary, postsecondary, and CBO college admission professionals committed to championing the needs of diverse students within the college admission process. The annual gathering offers educational sessions regarding multicultural recruitment and campus inclusion while also providing a shared space for like-minded professionals to reflect on current issues and share best practices related to equity in higher education. Small group sessions, roundtable discussions, and networking opportunities provide avenues for both personal and professional growth.

More details can be found at GWI Information page.

FOR THE COMMUNITY YOU SERVE

Virtual College Fair

Registration is Open!

Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Educational Sessions at 4pm
College Presentations at 5pm, 6pm, 7pm

Registration is now open for our Virtual College Fair! Sign-up to virtually connect with colleges and universities from around the country for free.

During the Virtual College Fair, you will have the chance to hear from many different colleges. You can choose which colleges you want to hear from by registering for their sessions. You and your family can ask questions of the college representatives throughout the presentations too!

Each program will start with a college knowledge session:
April 19 – Ask a Counselor
April 27 – Financial Aid

strivescan.com/pennsylvania
Please share with students and families today!

Check out the schedule, list of colleges, and register now!

We are looking forward to sharing this virtual experience with each of you!

Community College of Philadelphia is currently recruiting students to join the next cohort of the Octavius Catto Scholarship. A partnership between the College and the City of Philadelphia, the Catto Scholarship provides Community College of Philadelphia students with last-dollar funding to attend College debt-free. Free really means free.

In addition to covering the cost of tuition, Catto Scholars also receive a monthly stipend, funding to cover the cost of books, meals, and transportation, as well as one-on-one coaching to ensure that they stay on track.

Additional information on the Octavius Catto Scholarship, including the full eligibility criteria, can be found by visiting ccp.edu/catto.

Please note that there is no application for the Scholarship and that students must enroll full-time at the College and will be contacted by a Catto Scholarship team member to confirm their eligibility in the program. Individuals interested in taking advantage of the Catto Scholarship can get started by applying to Community College of Philadelphia at ccp.edu/getting-started and completing their FAFSA.

There is no age limit to the Scholarship and accommodations are made for students who are undocumented. You can direct any questions you have to cattoscholarship@ccp.edu.

Follow the College on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

PhillyGoes2College.org, powered by The Philadelphia Education Fund, is your source for information on planning, applying, and paying for college. From our calendar of local college admissions events, our directory of Philadelphia-area college access opportunities, and our comprehensive scholarship bank, PG2C is here to help you make your mark.

YOUR PHILADELPHIA COLLEGE PREP ROUNDTABLE

The Philadelphia College Prep Roundtable is an appreciative recipient of the William Penn Foundation "Racial Equity Grant Fund". Recently there was a blog entry from Ebony English and Amanda Charles reflecting on the grant.

A portion of the blog - "Small organizations whose leaders come from the communities they serve have a strong understanding of the unique strengths and needs of their communities and are well-positioned to build relationships with children and families. Yet small organizations led by people of color have had less access to capital – a primary barrier to their organizational growth. In designing the Racial Equity Grant Fund, we sought to address this barrier and focus on organizations whose work supports our education program’s goals of increasing early learning and high school graduation."

Click on this sentence to read blog.

Become a Member of PCPR

Are you a member of the Philadelphia College Prep Roundtable? Your return on the investment (ROI) is more than immeasurable:
Individual Membership ($35):

Access to PCPR members - Listing in the members only online directory
Discount registration fees to PCPR events and professional developments
Access to NCAN professional developments

Institution Membership ($250)

Membership for up to four individuals affiliated with organization
Listing in the members only online directory
Access to members only online membership directory
Logo and website on the PCPR website
Invitations to host at partner opportunities, workshops and events
Email messaging in PCPR email blasts and newsletters
Access to posting job announcement areas

For more details and how to join go to http://collegepreproundtable.org/memberinfo.