The Guardian Scholars Program’s purpose is to create a network of support that will meet the academic, social, emotional, and financial needs of college-bound students who are transitioning out of the foster care system. The program is fully committed to empowering these youth to become self-supporting, conscious community leaders, role models, and competent professionals in their fields of interest.

The NextUp Program seeks to provide a combination of support services and direct aid to ensure that current and former foster youth are successful in their academic, career, and personal pursuits. The new funds will help to increase the recruitment and retention of former foster youth by enrolling them in EOPS, which provides a student-centered approach to serving students by easing the process of navigating the college application, enrollment, and completion. Another critical goal is to create a greater sense of belonging for current and former foster youth at Skyline.

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

[PSLO #1: Persistence] Students enrolled in the Guardian Scholars and NextUP Programs will enroll in the subsequent semester.

[PSLO #2: Educational Goal Achievement] Guardian Scholar and NextUP Program students will graduate with a certificate, an associate degree, and/or transfer within three years.

[PSLO #3: Financial aid] 100% of Guardian Scholars and NextUP participants will have completed their financial aid application.

[PSLO #4: GPA] Students must maintain a GPA of 2.00 to stay in the program.