FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 27, 2014 FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Rominna Villaseor Director of Communications and

Marketing OneGoal Chicago Phone: 773.916.4164 Fax: 312.202.0263 rominna.villasenor@onegoalgraduation.org ONEGOAL, CHICAGO-BASED COLLEGE PERSISTENCE ORGANIZATION RESPONDS TO WHITE HOUSE ONEGOAL COMMITS TO SERVE 5,000 STUDENTS BY 2017 AND PARTNER WITH NATIONAL COLLEGE ACCESS AND SUCCESS ORGANIZATIONS AND COLLEGES ACROSS THE COUNTRY Chicago, IL OneGoal, the nations only teacher-led college access and persistence program founded and based in Chicago, committed to increase access and college completion rates for low-income students during a summit at the White House with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on January 16. OneGoal CEO Jeff Nelson joined more than 40 organizations and 100 colleges and universities as well as business leaders and other college access organizations to meet the Presidents goal of leading the world in the share of college graduates by 2020. The participants were asked not simply to attend an event but to commit to action in areas crucial to college graduation. According to published reports, more than 100 new commitments have been pledged by these groups to improve college access for low-income students OneGoal was featured as a promising model. OneGoal answered the administration's call to action by publicly committing to doubling down on growth efforts over the next three years. This spring, OneGoal will serve 2,500+ kids in Chicago and Houston. By the spring of 2017, OneGoal committed to grow to serve 5,000 students annually in Chicago, Houston, and three additional markets. OneGoal also committed to prioritizing and sharing innovations and lessons that can dramatically impact college graduation for all students across partners in K-12 and the higher education community. "We still have a long way to go to unlock the doors of higher education to more Americans and especially lower-income Americans," President Barack Obama said in remarks on Thursday at the summit. Were going to have to make sure theyre ready to walk through those doors. The one goal for OneGoal students is college graduation. Led by exceptional teachers, called Program Directors, students make transformational academic gains throughout the program which spans junior and senior year of high school and freshman year of college to enroll in and persist toward graduation at match colleges. In addition to transforming students academic performance, the OneGoal model teaches non-cognitive skills within the context of a rigorous college prep curriculum, during a daily, inschool, credit-bearing course. Non-cognitive skill development is a cornerstone of the model and 1

OneGoal was profiled in acclaimed journalist and author, Paul Tough's bestseller, How Children Succeed last fall. To date, 87 percent of OneGoal's high school graduates have enrolled in college and of those who enroll, 85 percent are persisting in college or have graduated with a college degree. OneGoal has developed a scalable model for college success that works for underperforming students living in low-income communities. Nationally, the rate of college completion for students growing up in the highest income quartile is 82 percent, but for students growing up in the lowest income quartile it is only eight percent. Our city has an economic and moral imperative to offer solutions to this reality and OneGoal is seeing evidence every day that college graduation is possible for all students regardless of background. Weve got that chance, said Nelson. We can answer this call, go all in and play a role in moving our great nation forward to the day when every student, in every community, has a real chance to succeed. About OneGoal Nationally, only eight percent of ninth graders in low-income communities are expected to graduate from college by age 25. These numbers stand in stark contrast to rates for students in America who grow up in the top income quartile: 82 percent of these ninth graders are expected to graduate from college. OneGoal is a rapidly expanding movement dedicated to systemically changing this reality in Chicago, Houston and beyond. As the nation's only teacher-led college persistence organization, we identify, train and support our nation's most effective teachers to lead underperforming high school students to reach their full potential and graduate from college. More information about OneGoal can be found at onegoalgraduation.org ###