The recently launched COVID College Connect has broadened into a newly formed Summer of Success Campaign. The L.A. Compact Institutions of Higher Education Collaborative, along with Los Angeles City Mayor Eric Garcetti, California Community Foundation, the L.A. Unified LAUSD Division of Instruction, and the USC College Advising Corps, have partnered together to help college bound students get answers to questions and access information related to their college plans. Summer of Success will provide students with new resources throughout the summer and promote the use of a recently launched college advising hotline available to Los Angeles students and parents or legal guardians in multiple languages. Students without college plans can also call to explore their options and opportunities.

Summer of Success builds upon the progress of COVID College Connect, a joint partnership to support L.A.'s graduating high school seniors navigate their college options during these uncertain times. Reach Higher, a national campaign launched by former First Lady Michelle Obama, estimates that as many as 40 percent of college-bound students stop out of college in the months following high school graduation. This summer presents a valuable opportunity to help students successfully transition to college and encourage parents or legal guardians to stay involved in their student’s higher education experience. With that said, the Summer of Success website page will be continuously updated throughout the summer with action steps that students can take to advance their college and career success this summer, such as signing up for HIRE-LA’s Youth to gain work experience or connecting with the USC College Advising Corp. Additionally, the partners designed a survey that will be distributed to L.A. Unified recent graduates to learn more about their specific needs, especially around access to technology and counseling. Findings from the survey will help the Summer of Success partners tailor their student support efforts.

The L.A. Compact is excited to be a part of this effort to provide the Class of 2020 with additional supports to successfully transition to postsecondary education. The pandemic has shone a light on the existing inequities within our education systems. Now more than ever, cross-sector partnerships like Summer of Success are needed to help stem the tide of summer melt, especially for students who have historically been disenfranchised. 

For more information on the Summer of Success campaign, please contact Sr. Manager for Postsecondary Initiatives, Adam Gottlieb, at [email protected] and Sr. Director of Systems Change Strategy, Carrie Lemmon, at [email protected].