In-person community access and additional virtual helpline aim to bring college and career pathways to all students and families in Philadelphia
To expand college and career support access to families in Philadelphia neighborhoods, Heights Philadelphia (“Heights”) will launch a new Community Access Pathway to equip all Philadelphians with the tools they need to achieve educational and workforce success. Debuting this new Pathway at two campus locations, the Temple University (“Temple”) OwlHub and Drexel University (“Drexel”) Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships, Heights professionals will be regularly onsite offering in-person and walk-in appointments, as well as a virtual helpline to offer students, parents, families, and community members of surrounding neighborhoods access to Heights supports beyond the classroom.
“Heights currently reaches more than 3,000 students within 23 schools across Philadelphia,” said Chris Avery, Vice President, K-12 Programs, Heights Philadelphia. “This new pathway allows us to extend our reach to serve even more students and families that don’t see Heights professionals or receive Heights access within their schools. All Philadelphians are worthy of reaching college or career goals, and launching our services within two university campuses will help us continue to expand opportunity and pathways for all, not some.”
On each campus and through the virtual helpline, Philadelphians will have access to one-on-one assistance, programming and workshops designed especially for students and families with children in high school and college to navigate educational journeys and career success. Workshops and drop-in support will include: job fairs, college essay composition, SAT preparation clinics, FAFSA assistance, scholarship application assistance and guidance with applying to college including access to the newly launched free online Coursera course – Applying to College 101 – in partnership with University of Pennsylvania Admissions Office (“Penn”).
Heights’ Community Access Pathway launched its on campus services at Temple’s OwlHub with regular hours on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 pm to 7 pm. Heights on campus services at Drexel’s Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships offer regular hours Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 pm to 7 pm. For those unable to visit in person, Heights encourages community members to utilize a newly launched community helpline available Monday through Thursday evenings 4:30 to 6:30 pm.
In conjunction with the launch of its Community Access Pathway services embedded at Temple and Drexel campuses, Heights has released its annual Step Up To College Guide. For 34 years, the Guide has become a go-to resource for high school students, families, and youth-serving professionals, offering a wide range of essential information and resources to take the steps to apply to college. As an extension of the newly launched Applying to College 101 free online course in partnership with Heights and Penn, this year’s Step Up to College Guide covers topics from understanding college admission options to writing application essays, conquering the FAFSA, and making the right college decision. A new Family checklist is offered in both English and Spanish to reach expanded members of the community, and provides an expansive high school college access plan. The Guide also features links to Step Up to College activities, videos, and other college-related resources and has expanded to offer a post-secondary career section to highlight Heights work it does to help reach career path goals.
For more information about Heights’ Community Access Pathways and to download the Step Up To College Guide, please click here.
Heights Community Access Pathway Programming Hours & Locations at Temple and Drexel include:
Temple University’s OwlHub
1915 N. 11th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19121
Hours: Monday & Wednesday, 5pm – 7pm
Drexel University’s Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships
3509 Spring Garden Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 5pm – 7pm
Virtual Helpline Appointment Booking (found here)
Hours: Monday through Thursday evenings 4:30 – 6:30 pm
