Program offers College Knowledge

Red Bank High School graduate Kaitlyn Curtis, right, stands next to a photo of herself while she and Stacy Lightfoot, left, director of college and career success for the Public Education Foundation, listen during a news conference Thursday at the Red Bank Bi-Lo to launch the "College Bound!" program. The program features a graduate from each Hamilton County public school that is pictured on billboards and life-size displays in stores and schools, telling where the student will attend college this fall in an effort to encourage high school students to continue their educations.

Photo by John Rawlston.

Operating on the belief that students can never be too prepared for college, PEF will start offering monthly college information programs for parents, teachers and community members.

The monthly noon meetings, dubbed "College Knowledge Lunch Breaks," will bring in experts on financial aid, college entrance and workforce development. This week's inaugural event, set for Wednesday, will help families traverse the complex world of financial aid and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Organizers say the events are open to anyone who works with high school or college students.

"We know that one of the most important decisions that students are going to make is to continue on to post-secondary learning," said Stacy Lightfoot, PEF vice president of college and career success. PEF is a nonprofit, community-based organization that provides training, research and resources to teachers, principals and schools in Hamilton County and surrounding areas, according to its website.

Lightfoot said the College Knowledge programs are one way PEF is trying to reach out more to community members and parents. And while other resources are offered in schools and communities to help prepare college-bound students, Lightfoot said, "There can never be enough resources to help students on the road to college."

But the meetings won't just address the concerns of those headed to four-year colleges or universities. Even those interested in two-year, vocational or certificate programs will take something away.

"This is about life beyond high school, the tools that you need to get some kind of post-secondary training or learning," Lightfoot said.

Families will walk away with better understanding of the complex world of higher education finances. And they'll have a better idea of how to make lofty college dreams a reality, said Michelle Caldwell, coordinator of PEF's SOAR program, which mentors Chattanooga State students to help them graduate and continue on and graduate from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

"I think it will help them better understand the cost of college and to have an understanding that college is affordable," Caldwell said. "There are a lot of resources out there."