Agenda Item
b. Renewal: College AIM, Inc. (Not to Exceed $240,000)
Summary: Presented by: Kishia K. Towns, Ph.D., Chief of Wrap Around Services, Division of Wrap Around Services
Request: It is requested that the DeKalb County Board of Education approve the Letter of Agreement between College AIM, INC., and the DeKalb County School District (DCSD), for an additional year for an amount not to exceed $240,000. The contract renewal is through July 31, 2027, and will be in accordance with the existing fee structure provided in the vendor's service agreement. This request supports Strategic Goal Area 1 Student Academic Success with Equity and Access.
Why: The DeKalb County School District’s Strategic Plan Goal Area I Student Success with Equity and Access prioritizes graduating students who are ready to thrive in college, career, military, and life. DCSD is committed to students who have historically been under-served in the traditional public education system by providing the post-secondary readiness support and services they need. Through a partnership with College AIM INC., students will benefit from a flexible, non-traditional approach to earning their high school diploma and/or vocational certification. In addition, more than $1 million will be awarded to DCSD students and alums in 26-27 through College AIM-specific and partnered scholarships.
Details: College AIM guides and supports high school students to and through college, including technical colleges, two-year colleges and four-year institutions, by running workshops to help students explore and connect to postsecondary opportunities, providing individual post-secondary 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. College AIM will provide “post-secondary prep” programming at McNair, Stone Mountain, Towers, Cross Keys, and Lithonia High Schools. Programming would include post-secondary advice for 12th grade students, continued postgraduate coaching for enrolled students and post-secondary exposure for 9th-11th grade students.
Financial impact: The compensation to College AIM, Inc. will be a payment not to exceed $240,000. This includes $45,000 in funding per school partner, totaling $225,000; for school buses for local college exposure with nine trips per school, totaling $15,000. The source of funding will be derived from General Funds under Change Code: 100.2210.530000.00011.7040.9990.8010.090.0000.
Contact: Kishia K. Towns, Ph.D., Chief of Wrap Around Services, Division of Wrap Around Services, 678.676.1811
Mr. Christopher Key, Executive Director of Student Advancement, Division of Wrap Around Services, 678.485.9544
Effective: Upon Board Approval
Status: Approved by the Office of Legal Affairs
College AIM/DCSD 25-26 Impact Data Monthly Data (5/1/26)
Total McNair Towers Stone Mountain Lithonia Cross Keys
Student Full Full Full Full Full Full
Metric Target Deadline College College College College College AIM College AIM
Population Graduating Graduating Graduating Graduating Graduating Graduating
AIM Cohort AIM Cohort AIM Cohort AIM Cohort Cohort Cohort
Class Class Class Class Class Class
REACH
12th Grade College AIM
550 7/31/26 542 1,477 43 188 46 216 148 281 153 424 152 368
Students Served Cohorts
Postsecondary
Enrollment Within
Full
16 months of High
60% Graduating 9/30/26 62% 75% 45% 71% 76% 51%
PRIMARY METRICS
School Graduation
Class
(HS Class of 2025)
[1]
Grant and Full
Scholarship Amount $50M Graduating 7/31/26 $55,479,568 $15,027,344 $4,958,296 $5,184,912 $23,081,944 $7,227,072
[2] Class
Full
FAFSA Completion
55% Graduating 7/31/26 93% 59% 100% 51% 96% 66% 84% 60% 99% 62% 86% 54%
Rate [3]
Class
Persist to Year Two College AIM
or Earn Credential 80% Success 9/30/26
[4] Cohort
Created Match and College AIM
INTERMEDIARY GOALS
Fit-Oriented College 90% Access 1/31/25 97% 100% 98% 93% 100% 99%
Lists Cohort
College AIM
Applied to College 90% Access 7/31/26 86% 95% 78% 78% 88% 90%
Cohort
Completed College AIM
Individual Financial 60% Access 7/31/26 78% 91% 91% 65% 95% 67%
Analyses Cohort
College AIM
Completed Intent to
60% Access 7/31/26 46% 33% 33% 34% 62% 51%
Enroll
Cohort
Notes: Postsecondary enrollment is as of Fall 2026 (first fall enrollment). Additional data will be pulled in Fall 2027 to determine final enrollment within 16 months. Additionally, 533 students from the full graduating class at
Key
all partner high schools enrolled in the first fall. Actual graduating class totals from 2025 are needed to determine percentages.
Data sources include National Student Clearinghouse for all enrollment data, National College Attainment Network for FAFSA Completion and student report with College AIM coach validation of student evidence for
Goal Met
intermediary goals
Traditionally, College AIM sees a surge in intent to enroll completion in May and June. Current data significantly outpaces progress at this time in previous years, which ranged from 20-30%. As such, we anticipate
Within 10% of Target
both intent to enroll and actual enrollment will surpass the 60% targets.
College AIM coaches work with students year-round, with increased focus during the summer, when students are not in as regular contact with high school and college personnel. As such, we expect continued
Within 20% of Target
growth in all categories through July 2026.
Within 30% of Target
College AIM/DCSD 25-26 Impact Data Notes
[1] Data Source: National Student Clearinghouse
[2] Data Source: Student report (with documented evidence of awards) via school counseling offices
[3] Data Source: National College Attainment Network (school-level data), student validation (College AIM cohorts)
[4] Data Source: National Student Clearinghouse