OUR MISSION & HISTORY

OUR MISSION

Chester County Futures, Inc. provides a mentoring, academic enrichment, and scholarship program, starting in high school, for motivated, low-income students of promise.

BACKGROUND & HISTORY

A modest beginning in 1996: Chester County Futures was launched in 1996 with a seed grant from the Nelson Foundation. The non-profit organization served 13 motivated low-income students in that start-up year.

Reaching out to at-risk students: The initial 13 students were selected because, despite their academic potential and motivation, they were at risk of becoming high school dropouts because of the daunting challenges they faced due to poverty, language barriers, ill health, cultural differences, and difficult family circumstances.

Going where the need was greatest: In its start-up, Futures recruited students from two school districts where the greatest percentages of low-income households are concentrated in Chester County, PA :

• Coatesville Area School District with 34% or 2,440 of its 7,165 students qualifying as low-income in the 2004-2005 school year.
• Kennett Consolidated School District with 35.7% or 1,297 of its 3,632 students qualifying as low-income in the 2004-2005 school year.

Rapid growth and expansion: In more than a decade since Futures opened its doors, program enrollment has grown from the initial small group of 22 high school students in 1996, to more than 200 Futures’ students in the high school and the college program. This total does not include the more than 90 Futures students who already made it through high school and are enrolled in college, or who have already graduated from college.

Success is in the numbers: As of 2008, 100% of Futures’ students have made it all the way to high school graduation.

• 92% of Futures students have enrolled in post-secondary schools following high school graduation.

• They have achieved an impressive 82% college retention rate – 32% better than the national 50% college retention rate for students at all income levels and nearly double the national rate for low-income minority students like those Futures serves.

• Four classes of Futures’ students have graduated from college as of June 2008. Several went on to law school and one entered the Peace Corps.

Word spreads about Futures’ measureable success: Word spread quickly about Futures’ amazing success with low-income at-risk students. Before long, officials from unserved areas of Chester County began asking when Futures would launch programs in their school districts. Officials in school districts Futures is already serving repeatedly asked us to take on more of their disadvantaged students.

Adding new school districts: Despite limited funds and a small staff of three, Futures moved boldly forward in 2001, and began serving students in the Oxford Area School District. In 2004, with the addition of a fourth staff person, Futures expanded again, this time doubling its student enrollment by adding the Phoenixville Area School District. Oxford and Phoenixville were targeted for Futures services based on the level of student financial need:

• Oxford Area School District with 27%, or 846 of its 3,149 students qualifying as low-income in the 2004-2005 school year.
• Phoenixville Area School District with 18.4%, or 554 of its 3,007 students qualifying as low-income in the 2004-2005 school year.

Students served so far: As January 2007, Futures has served over 300 disadvantaged high school students, including 155 in high school and 47 in college in the 2006-2007 school year.

Reaching a Milestone with Futures’ first college graduates: In May 2004 and May 2005 Futures celebrated its first two classes of college graduates.

Futures Futures Success Stories

College Statistics 2000-2005 (PDF file, 53K)