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Kalamazoo Promise: Purpose and concept |
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The Kalamazoo Promise differs from most other scholarship programs in that the allocation of funds is based not on merit or need, but on place. Beginning with the class of 2006 and continuing indefinitely, any KPS graduate who has been continuously enrolled in and resided in the district since Kindergarten will receive a scholarship covering 100% of tuition and mandatory fees at any of Michigan’s public colleges or universities. Graduates who have attended a public school and lived in the district for four years will receive a 65% scholarship, with a sliding scale for those in between. There are remarkably few strings attached: students must maintain a 2.0 GPA in their college courses and make regular progress toward a degree. With current in-state tuition ranging from under $2,000 a year for a full-time student at the local community college to $10,000 a year at the University of Michigan 100 miles away, the benefit to families is worth as much as $40,000 per child, while the cost to the donors is expected to rise to $12 million a year once four classes of “Promise-eligible” students have graduated. At first glance, it is easy to miss the economic development implications of the Kalamazoo Promise. The sole direct contribution of the donors is to lower the cost of post-secondary education, thereby increasing incentives for high school graduation, college attendance, and college completion. This intervention on the “demand” side is likely to translate into changes on the “supply” side, including the broader availability of college-preparatory courses within the schools and intensive efforts to close the achievement gap between students of different races and income levels so that all students can take advantage of the scholarship funds. The Promise is also expected to reverse the school district’s decades-long slide in enrollment and the increasingly minority and low-income composition of the student population. The anticipated results include higher lifetime earnings for the community’s young people, a better-trained workforce for area businesses, and a school district that has more resources and is more diverse in terms of both race and socioeconomic status. But beyond its impact on human capital and the educational system, the Kalamazoo Promise is envisioned as a catalyst for economic growth and development. By creating incentives for current residents to remain in the district and new residents (especially those with children) to move in, the scholarship program is expected to bring about a tightening in the slack housing market and higher property values. The Promise also makes the community more attractive for businesses seeking to invest, expand, or relocate; not only will their employees’ children have access to free college tuition, but the businesses themselves will be able to tap an increasingly well-trained workforce (provided that college graduates or newly skilled workers opt to stay in the region). The program fits readily into a regional growth strategy that seeks to position the Kalamazoo area as a leader in the life sciences field and a home to high value-added, high-wage service jobs. And the arrival of middle-class professionals is also expected to benefit the struggling downtown, as a larger population can support more of the kinds of amenities – restaurants, bookstores, arts and cultural institutions – that are seen as essential for attracting and retaining members of the “creative class” found in vibrant urban centers around the world.
- Extract from A Simple Gift? The Impact of the Kalamazoo Promise on Economic Revitalization,
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