This week, James T. Minor, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Postsecondary Education, will visit three Detroit area high schools and meet with higher education leaders to engage students, counselors and other school leaders in conversation about their efforts to increase college-going among local students. Today, April 29, Minor is visiting Osborn High School, Denby High School and Early College of Excellence, a public charter school. Denby High School is one of several local Upward Bound target schools. Upward Bound is a federally funded program that provides college preparation support to students from low-income families and students from families where neither parent holds a bachelor’s degree. Minor, a native of Detroit, will speak with students about their high school experience, their college aspirations and the kind of support needed to help students successfully transition to postsecondary institutions.
On Thursday April 30, 2015, Minor will visit Wayne State University to speak with university leaders about their role in college completion and effectively leveraging other federally funded programs housed at Wayne State. These programs include Educational Opportunity Center, a TRIO program designed to provide counseling and information on college admission to adults who want to enter or continue a postsecondary program; Child Care Access Means Parents in School program, which provides campus-based child care services for low-income students with children; and Veterans Upward Bound, a program designed to motivate and assist veterans interested in pursuing a college degree.
On Friday May 1, 2015, Minor will speak to local leaders about President Obama’s higher education priorities. Leaders from the Presidents’ Council of State Universities of Michigan, Michigan Community College Association, Michigan Colleges Foundation, Michigan College Access Network, Excellent School Detroit, Kresge Foundation, and Wayne State University will convene to discuss collaborative efforts and challenges associated with significantly improving degree attainment for students from Detroit and the state of Michigan. This event will precede First Lady Michelle Obama’s participation in the city-wide College Signing Day event, a pep rally-style event at Wayne State University that will begin at noon. The White House said in a statement that Obama will "highlight the importance of students pursuing and completing a form of higher education, and students doing their part to answer the President's call for America to once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world." The first lady will be joined by Ciara, a Grammy award-winning recording artist and education advocate. Minor and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan will also speak.