Wilkes: ‘Lifting a generation out of poverty’ WILKESBORO (June 15, 2022) – Something remarkable is happening in Wilkes County. First, with a goal to lift a generation out of poverty, Wilkes Community College has dramatically improved completion rates for its students over the past four years. Second, an ardent new initiative will attempt to connect Wilkes graduates with high-paying jobs in the tech economy – jobs they can do from home in the hills of Wilkes, Alleghany and Ashe counties. Officials think the effort can serve as a national model for rural communities. After adopting an ambitious strategic plan four years ago, “We’ve gone from a 25% completion rate to a 45% completion rate, which is absolutely astounding,” says Craig DeLucia, CEO of the Leonard G. Herring Family Foundation, which provided $2 million for the planning process.  A key element? Career coaches for students in the six high schools that feed the college. The schools have great guidance counselors, DeLucia says, but five years ago, each counselor had more than 400 students to advise. Most of the college’s students are the first generation in their family to go to college, DeLucia says, so officials studied methods that work for first-generation students in rural areas across the country. The coaches get to know students, their hobbies and fields that both interest and don’t interest them. Another help is North Carolina’s Career & College Promise – students can sample subjects and earn college credits for free while they’re still in high school. With the credits earned in high school, “Now we can graduate students with a two-year associate degree 12 to 18 months after they’ve graduated high school and help them get out into the workforce,” DeLucia says. The college also supplies wraparound services – help when life happens and makes school more of a challenge. Even before the current spike in gas prices, a student told Higher Ed Works how gas cards from the college are critical to helping her get to school. Watch videos >> |
