Project GRAD Los Angeles

Our Mission

We believe the transformative power of a college education ignites the full potential of first generation students, their families, and their communities. Since 1999, Project GRAD Los Angeles has been working to raise the college graduation rate in the northeast San Fernando Valley by helping students navigate the path from middle school through college.

Disparities in educational resources undermine too many first generation students’ post-secondary success, ultimately affecting the regions economic vitality and quality of life. Project GRAD is on the frontlines of this most pressing challenge.

Our staff is embedded in eight public schools, championing the college aspirations of all students, while working directly with 1,500 students and families providing the skills, knowledge, and programs needed to ensure college success. Project GRAD Los Angeles has crafted an innovative, high-quality, data-driven model for college success beginning in middle school and continuing throughout college that is specifically designed to help first-generation, low-income students.

The Project GRAD model has been recognized nationally for its success in increasing the number of first generation college-goers and was adopted into the Higher Education Act of 2008 as a reform model to replicate.