Hi all:
For decades, tiny Chatfield College in Ohio served the sons and daughters of nearby farmers, but its future, like many other rural nonprofit schools, darkened in recent years as Americans grew skeptical about both the costs and the value of higher education.
When Chatfield shut its doors, joining dozens of two-year, private nonprofit colleges that have closed in the past three decades, that might have been the end of its connection to the community. Instead, something inspiring is happening, as The Hechinger Report’s Jon Marcus recently discovered.
Chatfield has set up a new nonprofit with its endowment that is providing volunteer mentors, career counseling and assistance with admissions and financial aid applications for students in the community. The nonprofit is focusing on older students, those from low-income backgrounds and those are first in their family to go to college, along with students are interested in trade school and certificate programs.
These are the kinds of solutions we welcome hearing about at The Hechinger Report, and that you will find week after week. Sign up for our free newsletters and become a member: you will never miss a story.
Liz Willen, Editor
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