[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 80 (Thursday, May 15, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4284-S4285]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID (for Mrs. Clinton):
  S. 3027. A bill to amend the National and Community Service Act of 
1990 to establish a program to provide college coaches to low- and 
middle-income high-achieving high school students; to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, in honor of AmeriCorps Week, I am 
pleased to introduce legislation that will place more of our Nation's 
low- and middle-income high school students on the road to higher 
education. My legislation will address the disparity that exists in 
college persistence between lower-income, high-achieving students and 
their more affluent peers.
  According to the National Educational Longitudinal Survey, NELS, more 
than 1.5 million high school students with annual household incomes of 
less than $85,000 do not earn college degrees despite having ranked in 
the top half of their high school classes. Further, a recent report 
from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation found that 59 percent of lower-
income high-achieving students graduated from college compared to 77 
percent of their higher income peers. America cannot remain competitive 
in the global economy if we continue to squander our college talent 
every year. That is why I am sponsoring the Coaching Our Adolescents 
for College Heights Act, or the COACH Act.

[[Page S4285]]

  The COACH Act creates a pilot AmeriCorps program to recruit, train, 
and place recent college graduates, or coaches, in high schools to help 
prepare low- and middle-income, high-performing high school students 
for success in college. Under this program, coaches will be responsible 
for working with school staff to build a strong college-going culture 
within their high schools. Coaches will be paired with a cohort of low- 
and middle-income, high-achieving students to ensure student enrollment 
and success in college-prep coursework and to connect participating 
students with summer internships, community service activities, and 
other opportunities that will enrich each student's academic 
experience. Coaches will also help students and their parents in 
understanding the college application, admissions, and financial aid 
processes as well as work with students to select and enroll in the 
institutions of higher education that best meet each student's 
educational and social needs.
  The role of coaches will not end once students are enrolled in 
college, as coaches will be required to monitor their students' 
academic performance and social adjustment through the end of each 
student's first year of college. In this way, coaches will ensure that 
students are connected to the support services they need to persist in 
and ultimately graduate from college.
  A recent study by the Consortium on Chicago School Research found 
that only 41 percent of students who aspired to go to college took the 
steps necessary in their senior year to apply to and enroll in a four-
year college, despite being well-qualified for even the most selective 
colleges and universities. It is among these students that the Nation 
suffers the greatest loss in proven talent. Unfortunately, our high 
schools are struggling to provide these students with necessary 
guidance. In 2002, the National Center of Education Statistics found 
that the average ratio of high school students to full-time guidance 
counselors was 315 to 1. Furthermore, only 10 percent of public schools 
have advisors whose sole responsibility is college counseling. The 
COACH Act not only addresses the need to prepare our high-achieving, 
low- and middle-income students for college, but it also engages eager 
AmeriCorps members as a necessary resource for completing this task.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in this effort to help these 
students succeed in higher education and compete in the global economy.
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