About
OneGoal’s mission is to close the college divide by enlisting and training the nation’s best educators to teach underperforming high school students (students beginning 11th grade with a 2.0-3.0 GPA) how to enroll in and succeed in college. Through a three-year program that begins junior year of high school and runs through the first day of a student’s sophomore year of college, OneGoal supports students towards improved SAT scores, higher GPAs, and leadership skills that ultimately lead to enrollment and graduation from college.
Grantee Performance
Why We Invested
OneGoal seeks to close the degree divide by supporting academically underperforming, low-income students to enroll in and persist through college. OneGoal has developed a unique, teacher-led model that is effective, affordable and scalable. External evaluation has provided evidence of the program’s impact. A University of Chicago study found that OneGoal-Chicago (OGC) increases college enrollment and persistence by 10-20 percentage points while also increasing non-cognitive skills and academic performance. Additionally, over 50 percent of college enrollees from OGC’s three earliest cohorts have completed a four-year degree within six years, which compares to a rate of 38 percent for similar Chicago Public Schools students. Driven by its exemplary national and local management team, the organization has become a leading college success program in Chicago and nationally.
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead, OneGoal will be guided by a national strategic plan which was completed in 2017 with the support of A Better Chicago. The plan outlines a vision for the program’s aggressive growth both in Chicago and nationally and lays out key program innovations that will allow the organization to better serve students. OneGoal plans to serve 4,640 students in Chicago in 2019 and reach 25,000 students nationally by 2022.