Partnership For Regionaleducational Preparation-Kansas City

PREP-KC FOCUSES ON CREATING AND IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES THAT HELP STUDENTS ATTENDING KANSAS CITY'S BI-STATE URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS SUCCEED IN POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION AND THEIR CAREERS. PREP-KC WORKS WITH THESE URBAN DISTRICTS TO SUPPORT AT-SCALE IMPROVEMENTS IN UNDERSERVED STUDENTS' OUTCOMES, MOST OF WHOM ARE FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE-GOERS. IN ADDITION, PREP-KC INVESTS IN RESEARCH-BASED STRATEGIES THAT WILL PREPARE STUDENTS FOR CAREERS IN HIGH-DEMAND, WELL-PAYING JOBS IN THE KANSAS CITY REGION. PREP-KC PARTNERS WITH SIX SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND FOUR CHARTER SCHOOLS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE STATE LINE. TOGETHER, THESE DISTRICTS SERVE 66,000 STUDENTS AND PRODUCE OVER 3,800 ANNUAL HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES; 80% IDENTIFY AS STUDENTS OF COLOR, AND 82% ARE LOW-INCOME. MANY OF OUR STUDENTS LIVE IN HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, AND PREP-KC'S PARTNER SCHOOLS SERVE 19 OF THE 20 ZIP CODES WITH THE LOWEST MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN THE 9-COUNTY METROPOLITAN AREA.

SEE SCHEDULE OSINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 2006, PREP-KC HAS BEEN DEVELOPING AND PILOTING AT-SCALE STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE STUDENT OUTCOMES IN THE BI-STATE REGION'S URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS. AS PREP-KC MEASURED PROGRESS (I.E., HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATES), IT BECAME CLEAR THAT A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA IS NOT ENOUGH TO PROVIDE STUDENTS FROM LOW-INCOME BACKGROUNDS WITH THE PREPARATION, EXPERIENCE, AND RELATIONSHIPS THEY NEED TO SUCCEED AFTER HIGH SCHOOL. NOR TO GAIN ACCESS TO HIGH-GROWTH, HIGH-DEMAND CAREERS IN OUR REGION'S ECONOMY. PREP-KC PROVIDES INTERCONNECTED STRATEGIES FOR K-12 STUDENTS THAT GIVE YOUNG PEOPLE INFORMATION, SKILLS, AND OPPORTUNITIES THEY NEED TO SUCCEED IN COLLEGE AND THEIR CAREERS. OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAMS FOCUS ON K-3 LITERACY AND COLLEGE AND CAREER EXPOSURE FOR STUDENTS IN GRADES 3-5. IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS, PREP-KC FOCUSES ON PROVIDING STUDENTS WITH RICH OPPORTUNITIES TO CONNECT WITH INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS THROUGH VARIOUS COLLEGE AND CAREER EXPLORATION OPPORTUNITIES. IN HIGH SCHOOL, PREP-KC SUPPORTS A VARIETY OF COLLEGE AND CAREER PREPARATION PROGRAMMING FOCUSED ON HELPING STUDENTS EARN MARKET VALUE ASSETS (MVAS). MVAS ARE RIGOROUS EXPERIENCES COMPLETED DURING HIGH SCHOOL THAT PREPARE STUDENTS FOR THE 21ST-CENTURY WORKFORCE. THESE MARKET VALUE ASSETS INCLUDE INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED CREDENTIALS, 9 OR MORE COLLEGE CREDITS, INTERNSHIPS/ CLIENT-CONNECTED PROJECTS, AND/OR ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPERIENCES. PREP-KC IS ON TRACK TO REACH OUR GOAL OF HELPING 10,000 STUDENTS GRADUATING FROM URBAN HIGH SCHOOLS ACROSS THE HEART OF KANSAS CITY EARN AN MVA THROUGH 2025. THROUGH 2022, PREP-KC HAS HELPED NEARLY 4,200 GRADUATES EARN AN MVA.THE CONNECTOR PLATFORM HAS BECOME A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF PREP-KC'S EFFORTS TO INTEGRATE INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS INTO THE CLASSROOM. EXCEEDED USAGE GOALS IN 2021-2022 WITH 2,435 SESSIONS COMPLETED (GOAL=1400).