Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO)
The Edwin Gould Foundation's long-term and wide-ranging support of SEO has contributed greatly to our sustainability. In addition to financial support, EGF has made in-kind donations of office space and supporting facilities over the years. Just as important, EGF’s continuing wise counsel on programmatic and fiscal matters has been invaluable. The development and implementation of SEO’s Scholars Program, in large part, is a result of our unique partnership with EGF.
William Goodloe
President
Sponsors for Educational Opportunity Scholars Program
The SEO Scholars Program prepares motivated New York City public high school students to earn admission and succeed at the nation’s strong colleges and universities. The rigorous academic program currently assists more than 400 high school and college students of color each year, offering a comprehensive roadmap to college admissions and career success. SEO has paved the way to college admissions and graduation for some of NYC’s most underserved students, while developing a reputation as a premier college preparation program. SEO provides academic preparation, guidance, mentoring and enriching life experiences that prepare students to take leadership roles in all areas of their lives.
The Gould Foundation partners with the SEO Scholars Program, with one main objective—to close the achievement gap for its students, making them nationally competitive in time for college admissions. By preparing students for higher levels of academic success and college admissions, SEO addresses the achievement gap at one of its most critical junctures.
Recognizing the lack of rigorous academic curricula in under-resourced high schools, SEO has developed an extensive college-aligned English Language Arts Curriculum for grades 9-11, aiming for the most effective standardized curriculum, with the potential to be replicated. “The idea is to build a foundation of critical reasoning and writing skills in New York City public high school students, which is fundamental to our mission of preparing young people of color to establish themselves as leaders in their families, communities and careers,” says Julian Johnson, Senior Vice President.
The Gould Foundation provided vital early and ongoing input and the necessary funding to develop the curriculum. “SEO and Gould are active partners, with all parties involved in strategy and programming,” says Johnson. “The partnership doesn’t stop with the grant. Whenever the Foundation encounters something they think will be helpful to us, they bring it to our attention.”
Sponsors For Educational Opportunity Career Program and Alumni & Philanthropy Program
SEO’s renowned Career Program recruits, selects and trains outstanding college students of color for summer internships that lead to full-time jobs with investment banks, corporate law firms and other leading global companies. In addition, SEO Alumni & Philanthropy Programs serve SEO alumni—a global network of more than 6,000 alumni in 35 countries and 43 states—with professional development events as well as helping build capacity for, and commitment to, strategic philanthropy.
Carrie Montgomery’s hard work in the SEO Scholars program helped her win both a New York Times Scholarship and a Gates Millennium Scholarship to attend Columbia University. Since eighth grade, she has planned to be an attorney and has created One Step Ahead, a mentorship program to help students—including her two younger brothers—start high school “one step ahead."
“I would not have made it this far if not for SEO’s guidance."
“I am one of 10 children. I have grown up in a poor and gang-filled neighborhood in the South Bronx, living with my mother and two brothers. My family's lack of education has held us in poverty. None of my seven older brothers or sisters finished high school, and they struggle because they lack the education needed to get a good job."
“I am determined to have a brighter future and to help my family out of poverty, and that starts with a good education. My mother has always stressed the importance of education, and I challenge myself each and every day to pursue the best education this world has to offer. This is one of the main reasons I applied to SEO."
“If asked, I would tell a new 9th-grade SEO Scholar that you will be challenged, and you’ll give up a lot of your free time, but you will see results. You will see the difference it makes in your writing and math skills. You will see the difference in your high school grades, and you will have so many great opportunities."
“I am determined to show generations younger than me that anything is possible. I want to have the same influence on them that my SEO mentor ReNika Moore and President Barack Obama have had on me. Can we help students obtain the best education there is?... ‘Yes we can.’”
Click to view full size
RESULTS
- Although most students enter the SEO program below average, after participation in their rigorous academic program the mean SAT score for Scholars in the high school graduating class of 2009 was over 1600 out of 2400.
- More than 87% of the class of 2009 received offers of admission to a college ranked most, highly or very competitive by Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges.
- Competitive Colleges attended by SEO Students include Amherst, Bates, Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, NYU, Occidental, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, Vassar, Wesleyan, Williams and Yale.