“Alamo Promise” Launches

Alamo Promise, a new program in San Antonio that ensures free tuition to Alamo Colleges for graduating Bexar County seniors, held its official debut recently, as reported by the non-profit Rivard Report by Emily Donaldson.

In its first year, Alamo Promise will be open to students from 25 local high schools as a last-dollar scholarship, meaning the program will cover any remaining expenses not already covered by other scholarships or grants. In its second year, Alamo Promise will expand its reach to 20 additional Bexar County traditional public high schools.

Alamo Colleges chose the 25 initial high schools because of their high concentration of economically disadvantaged students and low rates of college attendance, the article reports.

Many potential students in the program will already qualify for various financial aid programs, but Alamo’s announcement is still a significant development. The Dallas County Community College District also offers its version of free tuition for students. The state of Tennessee pioneered the “promise” concept for its community college students, attracting a great deal of attention.

Obviously funding is a key issue. From the article:

• In recent months, Alamo Colleges has worked with community partners to fund the program. Two weeks ago, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas committed $500,000 for Alamo Promise’s first five years. The City of San Antonio’s fiscal year 2020 budget put aside $1.4 million for the program in 2021.

As noted here often, when students don’t enroll in college, or drop out if they do enroll, it generally doesn’t have anything to do with academic rigor or the curriculum. Certainly a lack of student preparedness remains an issue, but economic and family challenges are formidable.

A nice anecdote from the piece:

• Judson High School journalism teacher and San Antonio College alumnus Pedro Cabrera addressed the seniors, underscoring why free access to Alamo Colleges was so significant. Before graduating from Holmes High School, he researched his options for college and found many to be cost-prohibitive.
• He ultimately began studying journalism at San Antonio College before transferring to complete his bachelor’s degree at Texas State University. Now, Cabrera is close to completing his doctorate. He recently checked his student loan balance and discovered he still owes close to $85,000.
• “I’m really jealous of all of you,” he said. “You guys now have something that a lot of your teachers didn’t. … That opportunity is there, and you guys just have to take it.”