As its first Scholars graduate debt-free and enter the workforce, Hope Chicago welcomes its next class, building a growing continuum of educational and economic opportunity for Chicago families.
Hope Chicago, the two-generation economic mobility initiative supporting thousands of families from Chicago’s South and West Sides, today announced a new wave of postsecondary scholarships and wraparound supports to families of the Class of 2027 for five partner Chicago public high schools: Benito Juárez Community Academy, Farragut Career Academy, Morgan Park High School, Al Raby School for Community and Environment, and Noble Johnson College Prep. The new investment extends Hope Chicago’s pioneering model to additional 800+ students and marks the organization’s continued commitment to support a sixth consecutive class of graduating families to access and complete a postsecondary or workforce opportunity after high school.
Since 2022, Hope Chicago has invested more than $60M into supporting debt-free pathways for more than 3,000 students and parents/guardians in pursuing higher education and workforce credentials. The organization recently celebrated its first wave of state-wide four-year graduations this past May as hundreds of Hope Scholars and Parent Scholars crossed commencement stages all over Illinois, poised to enter the workforce.
Between August 18 and 28, recent Hope Scholar alumni returned to their high school alma maters to share the news with the Class of 2027 at Back to School orientations for families of 12th graders. The Hope Scholar Class of 2027 represents more than 800 additional students and their families eligible for the scholarship and supports across the Little Village, Pilsen, Morgan Park, Englewood, and Garfield Park communities, and they will officially join the sixth cohort of Scholars this fall.
“Chicago’s students have never lacked talent, ambition, or the desire to dream big when it comes to their futures. What they have not always had is equitable access to the opportunities and resources that can help them get there,” said Dr. Macquline King, CEO of Chicago Public Schools. “Hope Chicago is helping change that equation by investing in students and families and giving young people the resources to pursue their goals without allowing financial barriers to define their future. We see our students rise to the challenge every day, and when they are given the opportunity to succeed, they show us just how much is possible.”
Through Hope Chicago’s two-generation model, students and parents will have access to funding and comprehensive wraparound supports to pursue debt-free college degrees and/or workforce credentials. With each new cohort, Hope Chicago is building on a growing body of evidence that a two-generation approach can change postsecondary outcomes for students of all ages and create economic mobility opportunities for entire families and communities.
Early results from Hope Chicago’s investment since 2022 have shown transformation across partner high schools with historically low postsecondary attainment. Prior to Hope Chicago, only about half of graduates from these high schools enrolled in college – last year the Class of 2025 for Hope Chicago recorded an all-time high of 83 percent of graduates enrolled in a postsecondary pathway after high school.
Additional impact in Hope Chicago’s first five years includes:
- Hope Scholars are persisting at rates above both national and CPS averages – a key indicator of eventual degree completion – including rates that are 5 percentage points higher than the national average for Black students and 7 percentage points higher than the national average for Latinx students.
- More than 440 Parent Scholars have enrolled in a postsecondary opportunity thanks to Hope Chicago.
- Hope Parent Scholars are persisting at rates 40 percent higher than the national average, demonstrating the impact of Hope Chicago’s two-generation approach.
- 98 percent of Hope Scholars remain in Illinois for their postsecondary education, keeping their talent and economic contributions close to home.
- Each Hope graduate is projected to gain more than $1.2 million in additional lifetime earning power as a result of attaining a postsecondary degree or workforce credential debt-free.
“The first five years of Hope Chicago have shown us that when we invest in the potential of an entire family and an entire high school, the impact extends far beyond the individual student. Entire families, schools, and communities can transform,” said Dr. Aaron Kuecker, CEO of Hope Chicago. “Hope Scholars are enrolling in college, persisting toward their degrees and credentials, and building futures with less debt, while Parent Scholars are pursuing new educational and career opportunities of their own. The first five proved the model. Now, the next five are about scaling what works — bringing schools, higher education and employers together to create stronger pathways from education to careers and greater economic mobility for Chicago families.”
Support from Hope Chicago includes paying in full for the Scholar’s postsecondary program, financial aid guidance, dedicated campus staff, emergency assistance, stipends, and opportunities to connect with employers and explore careers — all designed to help Scholars navigate the path from high school to postsecondary completion and into the workforce. When a Scholar participates in the program, a parent/guardian from their family can also participate and pursue a debt-free college or workforce pathway.
“Being a Hope Scholar changed what I believed was possible for me and my family,” said Hope Chicago Alumni and recent Northern Illinois University graduate, Samiyah Mull. “Now, watching my brother – a current senior at Morgan Park High School – get ready to start his journey as part of the next cohort is incredibly meaningful. I know firsthand what it means to have Hope Chicago, and the whole city, behind you – not just financially, but with people who are there to help you navigate every step. I’m excited to see where he takes this opportunity, and I’m so proud that he gets to be part of the next chapter of Hope Chicago’s story.”
It costs approximately $20 million dollars to fully support a cohort of Hope Scholars and Parent Scholars through a four-year degree. Yet the projected social and economic return for Hope Chicago’s first cohort alone is $143 million, according to a study done in 2023. Each $1 invested in Hope Chicago is expected to return $4.20 in societal and economic gains.
