Kalamazoo, Michigan is currently home to an unprecedented experiment in economic development. Announced in November 2005, the Kalamazoo Promise guarantees full college scholarships to potentially every graduate of the Kalamazoo Public School district. Behind the scholarship program is an economic development agenda that seeks to revitalize the city and the region through a substantial investment in public education. It is an unorthodox approach and one that is drawing attention throughout the United States. If the return on investment in human and economic terms is high enough, the Kalamazoo Promise could serve as a new model for community revitalization and change the way policymakers think about K-16 education. Read more.  

Click here for information on PromiseNet 2010.

• Research into the origins and initial impact of the Kalamazoo Promise, including the alignment of the community around its goals, carried out by Dr. Michelle Miller-Adams, Visiting Scholar. The research culminated in the book The Power of a Promise: Education and Economic Renewal in Kalamazoo.
• A project funded by the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate the short- and intermediate-term outcomes of the Kalamazoo Promise, carried out in partnership with Western Michigan University’s Evaluation Center and the Midwest Educational Reform Consortium based at WMU’s College of Education.
• A long-term evaluation of the Kalamazoo Promise.
• “Investing in the Success of the Kalamazoo Promise,” an initiative funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to strengthen the outcomes of the scholarship program by investing in its evaluation and research infrastructure, and deepen community engagement.

• Kalamazoo Promise data
  • Kalamazoo Promise Summary Data - Kalamazoo Promise Summary Data - A summary of the data on KPS graduates, graduates eligible for the Promise, and graduates who have used at least some portion of their scholarships as of December 2009. Updated February 2010.
  • Kalamazoo Promise Demographic Data - Race and gender breakdowns for KPS graduates, graduates eligible for the Promise, and graduates who have used at least some portion of their scholarships as of December 2009. Updated February 2010.
  • Kalamazoo Promise Usage by Race - Comparison of percentage of African-American, Hispanic, and Caucasian students eligible for and using at least some portion of their scholarship as of December 2009. Updated February 2010.
  • College or University Attendance for Promise Users - Number and percentage of Kalamazoo Promise recipients attending each eligible college or university as of September 2009. Updated October 2009.
  • Attendance at Local Institutions for Current Promise Users - Number of Kalamazoo Promise recipients attending local and non-local institutions as of September 2009. Updated October 2009.
  • Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship Funding Level Eligibility - Scholarship eligibility levels for students from graduating classes of 2006, 2007, and 2008. Updated February 2009.
  • Kalamazoo Public Schools' Enrollment - Long-term enrollment trend for the Kalamazoo Public Schools. Updated October 2009.
  • Kalamazoo Promise Usage by Socioeconomic Status - Shows percentage of students using the Kalamazoo Promise who qualified for free- and reduced-meal status while at KPS. Updated February 2010.
  • Class of 2006 Summary Data - Tracks usage of the Kalamazoo Promise and broader college-going trends for Class of 2006 KPS graduates. Updated February 2010.
  • Initial Impact of 2008 Redistricting Effort – First-year impact of middle- and high-school redistricting plan, showing percentage of students qualifying for federally subsidized lunch program before and after plan's implementation. Data as of September 2009. Updated February 2010.
• Scorecard: List of key indicators

• The Kalamazoo Promise: Building Assets for Community Change, a PowerPoint presentation by Michelle Miller-Adams. Updated July, 2010.
• Paths to Success diagram - This diagram represents the linkages within and between the educational and economic systems, and suggests the ways in which the Kalamazoo Promise can contribute to the vitality of both.
• A Simple Gift? The Impact of the Kalamazoo Promise on Economic Revitalization, by Michelle Miller-Adams
• Working papers and presentations
  • The Kalamazoo Promise and Enrollment and Achievement Trends in Kalamazoo Public Schools, a working paper by Timothy J. Bartik, Randall W. Eberts, and Wei-Jang Huang. Posted June 21, 2010.
    • View the PowerPoint presentation
  • Advanced Placement Progress—Presentation before the Board of Education. Posted February, 2010.
  • Financial Aid for College: What Works?, a PowerPoint presentation by Susan Dynarski of the University of Michigan. Posted July, 2009.
  • Reducing Inequality through Universal, Place-Based College Scholarships: Lessons from the Kalamazoo Promise, a working paper by Michelle Miller-Adams. Posted June, 2009.
  • The Kalamazoo Promise and the Diffusion of a Private Policy Innovation, a working paper by Michelle Miller-Adams. Posted June, 2009.
  • The Kalamazoo Promise: A Study of Philanthropy’s Increasing Role in the American Economy and Education, a working paper by Shelley Strickland. Posted November, 2008.
  • The Effects of the Kalamazoo Promise on College Choice, a working paper by Rodney J. Andrews, Stephen DesJardins, and Vimal Ranchhod. Posted November, 2008.
  • Michigan: The #1 Quality Workforce in the Nation?, by Roberts T. Jones
    • Accompanying PowerPoint presentation
  • Assessing the Cherry Commission, a PowerPoint presentation by Timothy J. Bartik
  • Mapping the Promise: Critical Pathways, a PowerPoint presentation by Randall W. Eberts
  • A History of Job Loss and Economic Adjustment: Looking Ahead, a PowerPoint presentation by George A. Erickcek
  • What’s New? What’s Not? The Kalamazoo Promise in the Context of Other Scholarship Programs, a PowerPoint presentation by Michelle Miller-Adams

• Randall W. Eberts
• Michelle Miller-Adams
• Timothy J. Bartik
• Bridget Timmeney

• Working papers/presentations: Town Hall Meeting on "Education and Michigan's Economic Future"
• Media coverage of the Kalamazoo Promise
• Selected scholarship programs and evaluation reports

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  For more information, contact Bridget Timmeney at timmeney@upjohninstitute.org.

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