PALMS... College Within Their Grasp

Postsecondary Access for Latino Middle-grades Students

Partners

Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC)
For more than four decades EDC has been a pioneer, building bridges among research, policy, and practice. EDC's award-winning programs and products, developed in collaboration with partners around the globe, consistently advance learning and healthy development for individuals of all ages. Today, EDC manages 335 projects in 50 countries. Its work strengthens nearly every facet of society, including early child development, K-12 education, health promotion, workforce preparation, community development, basic and adult education, and learning technologies. The PALMS project is housed in EDC's Center for Family, School, and Community.
LULAC National Educational Service Centers, Inc. (LNESC)
LNESC, a national non-profit, community-based organization, is the educational arm of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the country's oldest and largest Hispanic organization. LNESC's mission is to educate and prepare America's future workforce through intensive educational programming and leadership development training. Since its inception in 1973, LNESC has grown to become the leading provider of educational opportunities for Hispanics in America; awarding over 1,000 scholarships annually through the LULAC National Scholarship Fund and assisting nearly 400,000 students enroll in the college of their choice.
National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform, Inc.
The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform is an alliance of over 60 educators, researchers, national associations, and officers of professional organizations and foundations committed to promoting the academic performance and healthy development of young adolescents. Through its Schools to Watch program, the Forum has developed criteria for identifying high-performing middle-grades schools, created tools to help schools use the criteria, selected and honored four successful schools across the country, developed on-line tours to highlight the four schools' successes, and replicated the selection program in several states.
Evaluators: Rosenblum Brigham Associates (RBA)
Founded in 1987 as Rosenblum and Associates, RBA specializes in program and policy evaluation. The principals of Rosenblum Brigham Associates have worked as partners in numerous state and national policy and evaluation studies in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education, employment and training, child care policy, collaboration, literacy, educational leadership and program improvement. RBA's methodological focus is primarily qualitative, case study research and cross-case data analysis. They have pioneered the use of tracer case methodology in dissemination of knowledge.