Catalina High School senior Arselan Madlol has long known that college was in the cards for him.
But like many students in Tucson and across the country, he’s had to make it over some hurdles to get there.
One of those hurdles was the ACT, a common test required by most colleges for admissions that comes with a $40 price tag for the basic assessment and goes up to $56 if a student elects to take the optional writing test.
“I knew that in order to go to a top college I had to take the ACT, unfortunately, I couldn’t afford it,” the 18-year-old said.
With the help of his school, Areslan was granted a fee waiver. He is now preparing to graduate at the top of his class and is looking forward to attending the University of Arizona to pursue a career as a dentist.
In an effort to break down the walls that students like Arselan face in gaining access to educational opportunities after high school, the Helios Education Foundation is launching a $5.1 million College Knowing and Going effort across the state.
Of that investment, more than $1.8 million is designated for Southern Arizona high schools in TUSD, Sunnyside, Flowing Wells, Vail and Nogales.
By covering the cost of ACT testing, ensuring that each student applies to at least one college and completes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and other support services, Paul Luna, president and CEO of Helios, hopes to narrow the achievement gap for Latino children and set them on a path to success.
“We understand and recognize and are very mindful of the fact that there’s a demographic shift happening in our state,” Luna said. “The face of Arizona and the face of our schools is changing. Latino students and kids of color now make up the majority of the K-12 education system today, however, we also know that too many Latino students in particular are not performing at the same rate as their white counterparts.
“In order to secure Arizona’s economic future, we believe that we must close that achievement and (college) attainment gap.”
Through the College Knowing and Going initiative, Helios expects to impact 145,000 Arizona students over the next five years.
In addition to providing support services and covering the cost of ACT testing, students’ progress will be monitored to identify the drivers and barriers as students transition from high school. Helios will track whether they choose to continue their education and, if they do so, how they perform .
June Webb-Vignery, executive director of Tucson’s Metropolitan Education Commission said she is pleased to see the focus on the fast-growing population of students that she feels will lead to future success for those young people and will be positive for the economic development of the community.
“We believe that education changes lives and makes communities better,” added Luna. “We believe that education is an investment and not an expense, that seems to be a concept that is very difficult for some of our legislative leaders to accept — that education is in fact an investment that will reap benefits far beyond whatever cost we might have today.”
