7-16-25v College AIM and DCSD Memorandum of Understanding (25-26) (2)[66]

                      MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN

                                      COLLEGE AIM, INC.

                                               AND

                            DEKALB COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

PURPOSE

This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) confirms an understanding and outlines the terms
of cooperation between the DeKalb County School District (hereinafter referred to as “School
District”) and College AIM, INC (hereinafter referred to as “College AIM”), a non-profit
organization located at 342 South McDonough Street, Decatur, GA 30030). College AIM guides
and supports high school students to and through college, including technical college, two-year
colleges and four-year institutions, by (among other things) providing individual postsecondary
advising, taking students on college visits, counseling students regarding financial, academic
and social support services through college graduation, and providing scholarships and access
to scholarship opportunities. The School District operates public schools in DeKalb County,
including McNair High School (hereinafter referred to as “McNair”), Stone Mountain High School
(hereinafter referred to as “Stone Mountain”), Towers High School (hereinafter referred to as
“Towers”), Cross Keys High School (hereinafter referred to as “Cross Keys”), and Lithonia High
School (hereinafter referred to as “Lithonia”).

Collectively, the aforementioned parties will work together towards the following primary
outcomes:

A.​ At least 60% of Class of 2026 graduates from Towers, McNair, Stone Mountain, Cross Keys,
    and Lithonia high schools will enroll in a postsecondary education program within 16 months of
    high school graduation.
B.​ Class of 2026 graduates from Towers, McNair, Stone Mountain, Cross Keys, and Lithonia
    graduates will collectively secure at least $50 million in grant and scholarship offers.
C.​ At least 55% of Class of 2026 graduates from Towers, McNair, Stone Mountain, Cross Keys,
    and Lithonia high schools will complete the FAFSA by 7/31/26.
D.​ At least 80% of enrolled Class of 2025 graduates receiving College AIM’s individual coaching
    will earn a credential or persist to year two of their postsecondary education program by
    9/30/26.

To reach these outcomes, College AIM will also work towards intermediary goals including:
E.​ 90% of seniors receiving College AIM’s individual coaching will have match/fit-oriented college
    lists built by 1/31/26
F.​ 90% of seniors receiving College AIM’s individual coaching will apply to college by 7/31/26
G.​ 60% of seniors receiving College AIM’s individual coaching will complete individual financial
    analysis meetings by 7/31/26
H.​ 60% of seniors receiving College AIM’s individual coaching will complete their intent to enroll in
    a postsecondary education program by 7/31/26



                                                                                                  1
TERM

This Memorandum of Understanding outlines the partnership between College AIM and DeKalb
County School District during the term of August 1, 2025 through July 31, 2026.

ROLES OF EACH PARTY

A. Role of College AIM During the 2025-2026 School Year and 2026 Summer

During the 2025-2026 School Year, College AIM will collaborate with the respective
administrations and counseling departments of McNair, Stone Mountain, Towers, Cross Keys
and Lithonia, as well as district staff, to coordinate the programming and schedule for College
AIM’s activities in partnership each school for the 2025-2026 school year.

Once scheduled with the school administration, counseling department and other school and
district staff, College AIM will provide full-school “postsecondary prep” programming at McNair,
Stone Mountain, Towers, Cross Keys, and Lithonia. Programming would include postsecondary
advising for 12th grade students, continued postgraduate coaching for enrolled students and
postsecondary exposure for 9th-11th grade students.

12th Grade - Postsecondary Advising

  I.​    Individual Coaching for 12th grade students who select “Enrollment” as their postgraduate
         pathway. Topics include building a college list, application planning and submission, essay
         writing and editing, scholarship search and application support, financial analysis to
         minimize student debt and family engagement in the postsecondary process. College AIM
         suggests ideal caseloads of 150 students to 1 College AIM Access Coach for 12th grade
         students to optimize student outcomes and coach effectiveness.
 II.​    Monthly college visits to local four-year colleges, community colleges and technical
         colleges
 III.​   College Admit Day - on-site admissions and scholarship event, hosting 20+ colleges who
         provide free application, admissions and scholarship opportunities
 IV.​    Signing Day - student celebration, including significant scholarship awards and
         announcements
  V.​    Monthly exposure and support workshops including FAFSA completion, scholarship
         application support and college essay writing and editing
 VI.​    Access to $1M+ in College AIM student specific scholarship opportunities annually,
         including: CAPS Scholarship (20 students/year), Goucher College full scholarship, Rhodes
         College full scholarship, Genevieve Ramsey Scholarship, BLEST Scholarship, 9East
         Scholarship, DeKalb Alphas Scholarship and Dell Scholarship.Students also receive




                                                                                                  2
         significant support with FAFSA and CSS Profile completion and applications for additional
         external scholarships.

Postgraduate - Continued Coaching for Enrolled Students

  I.​    Individual monthly coaching sessions for students enrolled in postsecondary education
         programs. Topics include: mapping campus resources, seeking academic support, securing
         additional financial aid and connecting credentials to career opportunities. College AIM
         suggests ideal caseloads of 100 students to 1 College AIM Success Coach for postgraduate
         students to optimize student outcomes and coach effectiveness.
 II.​    Emergency Daily office hours with College AIM coaches to receive emergent academic,
         financial and social support.
 III.​   Access to a pool of $30k in emergency financial support to cover costs that would
         otherwise prohibit students from remaining enrolled, including but not limited to books,
         housing, meal plans, transportation and medical needs.
 IV.​    Access to emergency grocery store gift cards via College AIM’s partnership with
         Invisible Food Pantry, which supplies up to $1k in gift cards/month to College AIM students.


9th-11th Grade - Postsecondary Exposure

  I.​    Access to 12th Grade Programming, including sessions added to College AIM’s 12th
         grade events, such as Admit Days, FAFSA Workshops, and Signing Day, tailored towards
         the needs of underclassmen and their families, and spaces strategically reserved for
         underclassmen on local college visits to provide early exposure.
 II.​    Specialized 9th-11th Grade Event - Co-planned event, with consultation from school
         leadership to provide additional exposure to postsecondary opportunities and planning and
         support underclassmen Naviance task completion.

To fulfill these roles, a team of two College AIM staff members will support each partner high
school. These individuals will include a Postsecondary Access Coach and Postsecondary
Success Coach, with roles as follows:

  I.​    The Postsecondary Access Coach will serve as the team lead, conducting all
         postsecondary advising for 12th grade students and exposure efforts for 9th-11th grade
         students, listed above. The Postsecondary Access Coach will be a full-time College AIM
         employee, based at each partner high school.
 II.​    The Postsecondary Success Coach will work with postgraduate students, to provide
         continued coaching for enrolled students, as listed above. The Postsecondary Success
         Coach will be a full-time College AIM employee, with time split between the partner high
         school and remote work to support students who are enrolled in college.

B. Role of School District During 2025-2026 School Year and 2026 Summer




                                                                                                 3
During the 2025-2026 school year, School District will provide to College AIM data on McNair,
Stone Mountain, Towers, Cross Keys, and Lithonia students, as outlined below and to be
detailed further in a data sharing agreement upon signing of the MOU, for the purpose of
tracking such students to and through college. Furthermore, School District will provide:

   I.​   Designated space at McNair, Stone Mountain, Towers, Cross Keys, and Lithonia, for
         College AIM programming, with the specific space to be determined by each partner
         school’s administration;
  II.​   Access to students at McNair, Stone Mountain, Towers, Cross Keys, and Lithonia both
         during the school day and after school, with the intent of minimizing or eliminating
         missed instructional time, as agreed upon with the administration and staff of each
         school;
 III.​   $40,000 in funding per school partner, totalling $200,000;
 IV.​    School buses for local college exposure programming, with nine trips per school,
         totalling $15,000; and
 V.​     The School District’s best efforts in collaborating and partnering with College AIM in
         applying for grants from external sources, including, but not limited to, joint funding
         applications, joint meetings with potential funders and letters of support for grant
         applications.

Outline of Data Sharing, to be detailed further in a data sharing agreement upon signing of the
MOU:

On at least an annual basis, according to the timeline established by College AIM, DCSD shall
collect data pertaining to student demographics, course enrollment, site characteristics and
related outcomes specified by College AIM and provide that data to College AIM via their secure
web portal. DCSD shall also submit such individual student academic and disciplinary data
concerning College AIM participants as College AIM may specify. College AIM’s data collection
process conforms to the privacy protections specified in the Federal Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act (FERPA). College AIM will maintain as confidential any personally identifiable
student information or information that is privileged or confidential under federal or state law and
that is conspicuously marked by DCSD as “privileged” or “confidential” before DCSD delivers to
College AIM. College AIM will destroy all individual student data when it is no longer needed for
reporting purposes. DCSD reserves the right to withhold, revise, and/or edit certain confidential
data such as student names, Social Security numbers and any other information the disclosure
of which would violate FERPA. College AIM agrees not to use any of the data collected under
this section in a manner that would violate, or cause DCSD to violate, any applicable provision
of FERPA. These data will be outlined in a Data Sharing Agreement, to be signed by both
DCSD and College AIM, prior to any data sharing between the aforementioned organizations.

REPORTING & MEETINGS

College AIM will provide quarterly impact data reports and an end of year impact data report
with data to demonstrate progress towards all projected outcomes during the following months:
October 2025, January 2026, April 2026, and June 2026. Reports will be reviewed by DCSD



                                                                                                   4
and discussed to determine success of joint programming and adjustments needed to support
student success.

Members of both parties will meet at least monthly to discuss progress towards joint goals,
provide program updates and make strategic decisions about program implementation.
“Members” should include College AIM’s Director, Access Program & Partnerships and the
School District’s Executive Director of Student Advancement. Both parties may opt to include
other members of their organizations in monthly meetings to further collaboration around joint
programming and goals.

Additionally, College AIM and the School District will develop a regular meeting and reporting
cadence for collaboration between school-based staff from College AIM and DCSD.
School-level meetings will occur at least monthly at each school and will include College AIM’s
Postsecondary Access Coach and Postsecondary Success Coach, as well as a school
administrator, school counselor, as assigned by the respective school, and the school’s
Postsecondary Transition Specialist and Senior Advisors. Both parties may opt to include other
members of their organizations or members of other organizations providing students at the
respective school with postsecondary attainment support in monthly meetings to further
collaboration around joint programming and goals.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

DCSD shall compensate College AIM a total of $200,000 for services rendered under this
Memorandum of Understanding. Payment shall be made in four equal installments of $50,000
each, corresponding to the successful completion of quarterly meetings. These meetings shall
take place in October 2025, January 2026, April 2026, and June 2026. DCSD will remit payment
to College AIM within thirty (30) days following the completion of each meeting, contingent upon
confirmation of satisfactory performance and submission of any required documentation.

TERMINATION

DCSD and College AIM both reserve the right to terminate this Memorandum of Understanding
with thirty (30) days written notice if agreed-upon progress goals are not met, as determined
through joint review at quarterly meetings, or if funding shortfalls arise that materially impact the
feasibility or scope of the program. In such an event, both parties agree to engage in good faith
discussions to assess the situation and explore potential modifications before termination. Any
termination shall not relieve either party of obligations incurred prior to the effective date of
termination.

BACKGROUND CHECKS

Prior to student contact, College AIM will ensure that each employee or volunteer who has
contact with students at McNair, Stone Mountain, Towers, Cross Keys, or Lithonia, has
undergone the same criminal background check as is required of School District employees, in
addition to any mandatory background checks performed by College AIM for such employees
and volunteers. College AIM agrees that any individual charges against such persons revealed



                                                                                                    5
by such background checks may be deemed unacceptable by School District, in its sole
discretion.

INSURANCE

College AIM and all of its subcontactors and consultants, if any, will maintain insurance in the
types and coverage amounts shown below, providing coverage for the term of this MOU. Before
the commencement of its activities hereunder, College AIM will provide School District with (A)
an endorsement from the insurer naming School District as an additional insured under the
liability policies, and (B) certificate(s) verifying that these insurance coverages and limits are in
force. College AIM waives all rights, including rights of subrogation, against School District and
its respective directors, officers, partners, board members, officials, agents, insurers,
subcontractors, consultants and employees for damages covered by any type of insurance
during and after the completion of College AIM’s activities hereunder. The limits of coverage
agreed upon by College AIM and School District will not be construed as a limit on College
AIM’s potential liability to School District.

     Type of Insurance                         Coverage Limits

     Commercial General Liability Coverage     $2,000,000 (Aggregate)/$1,000,000 (Per Incident)

     Professional Liability Coverage           $2,000,000 (Aggregate)/$1,000,000 (Per Incident)

     Sexual or Physical Abuse or Molestation   $500,000 (Aggregate)/$500,000 (Per Incident)



DeKalb County School District

By: ______________________________

Date: ____________________________

Printed Name and Title: ______________________________________
x/




College AIM, Inc.

By: ______________________________

Date: ____________________________

Printed Name and Title: Sam Aleinikoff, Founder and Executive Director, College AIM




                                                                                                    6