Potential on the Periphery

College Access from the Ground Up

By Omari Scott Simmons; Foreword by Damon T. Hewitt

Rutgers University Press

Even high-performing students sometimes need assistance to transform their high school achievement into a higher education outcome that matches their potential, especially when those students come from vulnerable backgrounds. Without intervention, many of these students, lost in the transition between secondary school and higher education, would not attend selective colleges that provide greater opportunities. Potential on the Periphery profiles the Simmons Memorial Foundation (SMF), a grassroots non-profit organization co-founded by author Omari Scott Simmons, that promotes college access for students in North Carolina and Delaware. Simmons discusses how the organization has helped students secure admission and succeed in college, using this example to contextualize the broader realm of existing education practice, academic theory, and public policy. Using data gleaned from interviews with past student participants in the programs run by the SMF, Simmons illuminates the underlying factors thwarting student achievement, such as inadequate information about college options, limited opportunities for social capital acquisition, financial pressures, self-doubt, and political weakness. Simmons then identifies policy solutions and pragmatic strategies that college access organizations can adopt to address these factors.

Simmons provides families and educators with valuable information on effective practices involving both access to college and academic success. His analysis includes practical suggestions and a substantial review of the literature, along with policy recommendations and actual solutions. Most importantly, he brings first-hand experience in working with students throughout their higher education experiences, and he inspires us with their stories. Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County

The brilliantly told story of a mentoring program, launched and sustained by an African-American family, which nourishes access and success in college for first-generation, low-income youths of all races. This is a playbook to study for social scientific and practical answers. Joseph A. Soares, author of The Power of Privilege: Yale and America's Elite Colleges

Chronicle of Higher Education 'Selected New Books on Higher Education'' compiled by Ruth Hammond Chronicle of Higher Education

Omari Scott Simmons Talks About What Ignited his Passion to Help Others on WBOC WBOC

'Wise counsel: Milford graduate visits MHS with advice, new book,' by Jennifer Antonik Delaware State News

Omari Simmons Interview on the Simmons Memorial Foundation and New Book Ali.org

Simmons provides families and educators with valuable information on effective practices involving both access to college and academic success. His analysis includes practical suggestions and a substantial review of the literature, along with policy recommendations and actual solutions. Most importantly, he brings first-hand experience in working with students throughout their higher education experiences, and he inspires us with their stories. Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County

The brilliantly told story of a mentoring program, launched and sustained by an African-American family, which nourishes access and success in college for first-generation, low-income youths of all races. This is a playbook to study for social scientific and practical answers. Joseph A. Soares, author of The Power of Privilege: Yale and America's Elite Colleges

Chronicle of Higher Education 'Selected New Books on Higher Education'' compiled by Ruth Hammond Chronicle of Higher Education

Omari Scott Simmons Talks About What Ignited his Passion to Help Others on WBOC WBOC

'Wise counsel: Milford graduate visits MHS with advice, new book,' by Jennifer Antonik Delaware State News

Omari Simmons Interview on the Simmons Memorial Foundation and New Book Ali.org

OMARI SCOTT SIMMONS is the Howard L. Oleck Professor of Business Law and the director of the Business Law Program at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is the co-founder and executive director of the Simmons Memorial Foundation.

Contents
Foreword
Introduction
1.         Origins
2.         The SMF College Access Program
3.         Challenges in College Access
4.         The Role of SMF Intervention
5.         Reforms
6.         Parting Thoughts
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Index

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