In Oakland’s educational landscape, a stark reality persists: just 50% of Black and Brown seniors complete their A-G courses with grades of C- or better, despite high school graduation rates above 75%. Yet, we know that students who earn a four year college degree make $1.5M more over their lifetimes. These numbers reveal a critical gap in college access and economic opportunity.
In a moment of opportunity, we asked ourselves, “What would be possible if we married FIA’s parent power building approach with K2Cs ambitious goals to build college mindsets and strategies with elementary families?” FIA is thrilled to announce a new partnership with Oakland Promise, Cox Academy to build Kinder2College Family Champions. Our big goal is to build parent leadership to close the racial opportunity gap in college access starting in elementary schools
The program targets elementary school families, building a college-going culture as early as 4th and 5th grade. By empowering parents with critical information and strategies, K2C is transforming how families approach educational planning. This pilot will take place at Cox, a school with robust parent leadership, where they are dedicated to increasing engagement with families and building their capacity to partner in their child’s education to strengthen college-going culture during elementary school. They seek to empower parents to encourage, motivate and teach additional parents how to get involved with their child’s path to college.
The overall initiative brings together 25-30 parent leaders who will be trained to conduct comprehensive college access workshops. They’ll learn to understand college-going data, explore the benefits of four-year college degrees, and discover how early financial planning can create meaningful educational pathways.
With an ambitious goal of engaging 100 families through a “train the trainer” model, the program goes beyond traditional educational support. Parents will become advocates, conducting data town halls and one-on-one conversations that spread knowledge about strategic school choices and college preparation. What does success look like? Families will establish a college goal for their child, practice activities at home that build college-going mindset and habits and train our parent advocates on how to activate Oakland Promise’s K-8th grade scholarship and My529 College Savings Accounts.
Our goal with the support from our parent leaders is to help enroll 100 families for the K-8th grade scholarship or My529 College Savings Account.
The middle school options window represents a critical moment of intervention. Families will learn to compare and vet school options, making informed decisions that align with long-term college goals. This approach transforms passive participation into active educational planning.
As Maribel Cervantes, K2C Program Coordinator, powerfully explains, “College is a path that leads to many roads. College helped shape me as a person and professional. This work allows me to give back to my community and support youth and families by connecting them with resources and providing scholarships. Our goal at Oakland Promise is to expose students to different career paths and support their educational journey to keep pushing our community to reach financial independence.”
The K2C Family College Champion initiative is more than a program – it’s a promise. A promise that every child, regardless of income or background, can see themselves on a path to higher education.
We can’t wait to see this movement come to life and update our FIA community!
