Dallas County Promise Celebrates National Launch
Dallas County Promise celebrated its launch, May 2, announcing the inclusion of Richardson and Berkner high schools in the program. The organization aims to dramatically increase college completion rates and boost workforce development in Dallas County.
This unprecedented collaboration between school districts, colleges, universities, workforce, non-profits and the philanthropic community was created to change the future of education and workforce development in Dallas County by producing more college and career-ready graduates. The Promise is committed to achieving equitable outcomes for students, families and communities by reducing the financial burden of college for all students, regardless of income or GPA.
Dr. Jill Biden, a community college professor and Second Lady of the United States (2009–2017), attended the event and celebrated with students who have pledged to go to college and will benefit from the Dallas County Promise. “I’ve seen it time and time again in my own classroom: the chance to go to college is life-changing for students and their families,” said Dr. Biden, who serves as Honorary Chair of the College Promise Campaign’s National Advisory Board.
“With a dynamic scholarship, mentoring and support from partnering organizations, the Dallas County Promise is giving local students the chance to attend school, complete their education, expand their career choices, and build lives that are more financially secure. That’s not just good for them — it strengthens the Dallas workforce and helps build a more prosperous economy for all of North Texas,” said Biden.
At its core, the Promise is a last dollar, full-tuition scholarship for an associate’s degree provided by the Dallas County Community College District Foundation to every high school student, regardless of family income or grade point average. DCCCD’s effort is being matched with tuition-free scholarships provided by UNT Dallas, plus other public and private partner universities for students’ junior and senior years.
Equally important, the Promise will include a coordinated effort to promote career awareness in high schools and higher education institutions with the goal to better align the credentials that students are seeking with current high-demand jobs. Those efforts will be supported by a framework of non-profit staff members, and will include mentoring and support from a student success coach as well as robust data support to drive the goal of owning the educational outcome for every Dallas County Promise student.
