Education professionals working with Native American high school students can attend a free webinar on Monday, June 3 at 2 p.m. EDT, introducing Native Pathways: A College-Going Guidebook, a new, culturally relevant
guidebook for college-going Native students published by the American Indian College Fund.
The webinar, hosted by the College Fund and ACT’s Center for Equity in Learning, will:
- describe the need for a guidebook tailored to Native students;
- provide an overview of guidebook content related to how to get into college, choose a school, pay for it, and what to expect the first year in a way that speaks to Native cultures;
- demonstrate how practitioners can use the guidebook in daily work with students.
Practitioners can register for the event on the ACT’s web site, Students, school counselors, and others can download a free copy of the Native Pathways: A College-Going Guidebook on the College Fund’s web site.. Hard copies may be available for some high schools. Please send an email to nativepathways@collegefund.org for more information.
The guidebook was created as part of the Native Pathways to College Program, also funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The College Fund launched the program to meet the needs of tribal communities and in response to the college-going and completion crisis among Native American and Alaska Native students. Research shows the national rate of all students going to college within six months of graduating from high school is 70%. For Native American and Alaska Native students, those numbers are closer to 20%.
The College Fund knows that education improves the lives of individuals, their families, and entire communities, yet merely providing scholarships to help students pay for college is not enough for Native students to succeed. It is critical to include Native students in conversations regarding educational equity. This new Native Pathways guidebook is a great starting point to guide practitioners in their conversations. The College Fund initiated the program to create a college-going culture, working with high school students, first-year, students, and two-year college students seeking to continue their education at a four-year school. With a $2.5 million grant renewal from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the College Fund will continue to increase college access and success.
About the ACT Center for Equity in Learning
At ACT, we believe that talent and potential are widely distributed across society, and that the circumstances of a child’s birth should not determine their college and career opportunities.
ACT Center for Equity in Learning aims to help under-served learners and working learners (individuals who are employed while also learning new skills in pursuit of greater success) achieve education and career success.
Through purposeful investments, employee engagement, and thoughtful advocacy efforts, the Center for Equity in Learning supports innovative partnerships, initiatives, campaigns, and programs that help young people succeed in education and the workplace.
About the American Indian College Fund—Founded in 1989, the American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native higher education for 30 years. The College Fund believes “Education is the answer” and provided 5,896 scholarships last year totaling $7.65 million to American Indian students, with more than 131,000 scholarships and community support totaling over $200 million since its inception. The College Fund also supports a variety of academic and support programs at the nation’s 35 accredited tribal colleges and universities, which are located on or near Indian reservations, ensuring students have the tools to graduate and succeed in their careers. The College Fund consistently receives top ratings from independent charity evaluators and is one of the nation’s top 100 charities named to the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org.
