b'Our Message to StudentsREACHNEWIts time to reach new heights! Building on 30 years of a shared commitment to educational equity, Philadelphia Futures and Steppingstone Scholars have merged to make Heights Philadelphia the place where Black, Brown, and first-generation-to-college scholars find support to reach their full potential and achieve economic mobility.We are ready to watch you soar!This years StepUp to College Guide, and its accompanying resources, including the Applying to College 101 course, aims to offer every high school student and their college prep teams the tools they need to gain admission to and graduate from college. This work is more essential now than ever. With the recent Supreme Court ruling on Affirmative Action, it is imperativethat we work to ensure the doors to a college education remain wide open for all students.Students deserve everyopportunity to reach their goals.The Guide offers a step-by-step approach to becoming college ready and collegebound so that students are ready to walk through those doors with confidence. Just as two historically strong organizations have partnered to create better opportunities for students, we are callingon our communities, colleges, and school partners to join us in this critical work to equip and advocate for the nextgeneration of college aspirants. We are grateful to all those who make the Step Up to College Guide possible, particularly our sponsors and the schools, community-based organizations, and other institutions who utilize thiscritical college resource in their classrooms and with their students. Your partnership and shared commitment tocollege access and success is essential to achieving our vision of a city where all students have what they needto achieve a successful life. This is a future we can all see, for our students and for this city. Lets all come together to make this opportunity real.Sara L. WoodsSean E. Vereen President and CEOPresident and CEO Heights PhiladelphiaHeights Philadelphia'