The Power of a Promise: Education and Economic Renewal in Kalamazoo

A Second Look at Enrollment Changes after the Kalamazoo Promise

“…A subset of KPS students were not randomly assigned to the Promise, so there can be no within-district comparison, nor are there detailed microdata from a comparable district to act as a control group. 3 Nevertheless, the analysis represents the best attempts to answer these questions with the data available, and the descriptive evidence is compelling and supports the argument of Miller-Adams (2009 New students to KPS after the Promise was announced were 7 percentage points (10 percent) less likely to qualify for free or reduced-price lunch than previous new entrants, and they also scored higher on the MEAP exam. Whereas the enrollment surge happened only in 2006, both socioeconomic effects lasted through 2007, illustrating that head counts alone do not capture the entire margin of response.…”

The Kalamazoo Promise and Perceived Changes in Teacher Beliefs, Expectations, and Behaviors

“…However, postsecondary scholarship as a reform model is garnering attention in communities across the nation, including Denver, Colorado; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and El Dorado, Arkansas. There is an emerging literature that describes these related efforts (see Miller-Adams, 2009;Stransky Vaade, 2009;Stransky Vaade, Connery, & McCready, 2010). These results then may be of interest to school administrators, educators, and business leaders that are seeking intentional practices to promote college access and transform the educational landscapes of their own communities.…”

The Impact of the New Haven Promise Program on College Enrollment, Choice, and Persistence

“…School graduates who had attended the district since Kindergarten (Miller-Adams, 2009). Since the introduction of the Kalamazoo Promise, city-based programs have expanded rapidly.…”