Grayson College lands $1 million to widen Texoma Promise path from high school to careers

Grayson College is a lead partner in a new three-year effort to help rural students move from high school into college credentials and well-paying work, paid for with $1 million from the Greater Texas Foundation.

The college announced on Sept. 28 that the grant, made to the nonprofit Economic Mobility Center, funds an initiative called The Rural Promise of Economic Mobility. The project grows out of Texoma Promise, which the college and the center started together in 2021 and, according to the college, has already improved college access, advising and data systems across the region.

What the money pays for

The next phase adds money for four pieces of work:

• a redesign of student advising
• better alignment of dual credit courses
• more learning that takes place on the job
• one regional data hub that school districts, employers, workforce boards and community groups can all use

The college said the effort is built to match HB 3 and HB 8, the state laws tied to outcomes-based funding, so that money becomes better-coordinated help for students all the way from high school into a job.

"For students, this work is really about making the path forward easier to understand and navigate," said Logan Maxwell, Grayson College's vice president of student services.

Bree Miller, programs and strategy associate at the Greater Texas Foundation, said the steps from high school to college to work are often disconnected for rural students.

Who the college serves

Grayson College enrolls about 4,843 students, according to the announcement, which estimates that 40% to 55% of them are Pell Grant eligible and that almost 32% take dual credit classes before turning 18. Statewide, 54% of Texans of working age have earned a degree or other high-value credential past high school, the college said.

Howard College's Open Roads Promise is also part of the center's work. Anabel Romero-Juarez, the center's managing director for regional partnerships, runs the project day to day.

Grayson College's South Campus is at 1455 W. Van Alstyne Parkway in Van Alstyne.

Sources

grayson.edu