New York group hired to study free tuition programs

The now-famous free tuition Kalamazoo Promise scholarship program inspired local community groups to make their own promise - to at least try to do the same in Flint.

And they are keeping that promise.

This spring, a nonprofit New York City-based organization hired by local groups will start researching similar types of scholarship initiatives around the country.

MDRC, a nonpartisan social policy research group, is expected to report findings this summer to the Greater Flint Education Exploratory Committee. The committee includes 13 local groups exploring ways to make college more accessible here.

"This research will help us see what else is out there - what's good about it, what's bad about it," said Patrick Naswell, vice president of community impact at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.

"I think we're going to try to be fairly modest in terms of our goals. The goal of our research is to form a discussion around the feasibility of something like the Kalamazoo Promise."

A group of local "funders" - whose names are undisclosed - helped the community foundation cover the $30,000 fee to pay for the research. Foundation administrators did not say if the donors were individuals or community groups.

Naswell said MDRC will look at how various, geographically based scholarship programs and student preparation opportunities have worked or haven't worked, what level of community collaboration it would take and how much it would cost, among other issues.

MDRC's research also will incorporate ways efforts have worked in Kalamazoo, which offers a full-ride privately funded scholarship for a four-year degree for the district's high school graduates.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm's Promise Zones - a proposal modeled after the Kalamazoo Promise in communities struck with high unemployment and poverty - also will be considered.

The local exploratory committee includes local colleges, K-12 schools and community and philanthropic groups.

Kevin Walker, associate vice president for programs at the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, said the local effort "goes further than a scholarship."

The committee agreed it should be a "holistic" approach that will also examine ways students are being prepared for college, so that they succeed when they get there.

Walker said Kalamazoo's headline-snagging idea has inspired communities all around the state.

"In today's economy, post-secondary education is becoming a must, and all of us in Flint and Michigan need to get in step with that reality," he said.