Across the country, 10-40% of students with intentions to enroll, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, fail to enroll in college the fall after graduation. This phenomenon is known as "summer melt." For a variety of reasons, their college plans derail.
College-intending students have completed key college-going steps, such as being accepted to college and applying for financial aid, and have concretely signaled their intention to enroll in college. A student has "melted" if he or she was college-intending, and yet still fails to transition successfully to college the fall after high school graduation. Summer melt is a prevalent issue for education leaders because large shares of students are failing to bridge that gap between institutions.
As part of our ongoing efforts to help students reach their post-high school goals, we will be expanding a "Summer Melt" prevention program that launched last year. La Crosse Promise will partner with the school district to conduct outreach with 2019 graduates in order to keep them on track. The overall goal is to make sure students are continuing to work through the steps of attending school in the fall. With school out for summer and graduates left to figure out the next steps on their own, this fills a summer resource gap, providing the bridge to fall enrollment.
- Future Center Advisor Hayley Moe
Senior surveys will be administered at each local high school during the month of April. There surveys are used to learn about our graduating seniors, their post-graduation plans, and identify where they may still need help achieving their goals. Additionally, the survey is used to help determine which students may benefit from summer support (see "summer melt" below) from the Future Center.
During the second week of May, we're joining the City of La Crosse in celebrating their Community Development Week. The events showcase the investment the City and La Crosse Promise are making in our historic southside neighborhoods. 
