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MATTER OF FACT. IT’S THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS LEARN WHETHER THEY’VE BEEN ACCEPTED TO THE COLLEGE OF THEIR CHOICE. BUT FOR MANY, COLLEGE HAS SIMPLY BECOME UNAFFORDABLE. IN THE LAST 20 YEARS, THE COST OF TUITION AND FEES HAS INCREASED BY ABOUT 140%. MORE THAN THREE YEARS AGO, WE TOLD YOU ABOUT A NEW SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM CALLED HOPE CHICAGO. IT WAS FOUNDED BY WEALTHY BUSINESSMAN PETER KADENS AND TED KOENIG. SINCE THEN, WITH HELP FROM DONORS AND BUSINESSES, HOPE CHICAGO HAS RAISED MORE THAN $75 MILLION TO SEND STUDENTS FROM FIVE CHICAGO PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS TO COLLEGE TUITION FREE. AND IN A TWIST, A PARENT TO. OUR CORRESPONDENT JESS GOMEZ, TRAVELED TO CHICAGO TO CHECK BACK IN. SO MAKE SURE YOU KEEP YOUR SWEATER ON IN CLASSROOM, OKAY? THE ROUTINE IS HECTIC, BUT THE BODY GETS USED TO IT. YOU HAVE TO MOVE FAST TO KEEP UP WITH THE MELGAREJO FAMILY. MY BRAIN IS THINKING, WHAT’S THE NEXT THING I HAVE TO DO? WHAT’S NEXT? ON THIS SNOWY DAY IN CHICAGO’S PILSEN NEIGHBORHOOD, IS SCHOOL DROP OFF FOR SEVEN YEAR OLD ROSIE AND 16 YEAR OLD JULISSA AS 19 YEAR OLD VICTOR HEADS TO CLASS AT NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY. THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS WE’RE GOING TO PAY ATTENTION TO ALL TERM AND SINGLE MOM. GABBY. ALSO IN SCHOOL, PART TIME WORKING ON HER BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DEGREE AT NATIONAL-LOUIS UNIVERSITY DOWNTOWN. IN BACK OF MY HEAD, I SAID, I WANT TO GO BACK ONE DAY AND FINISH. I JUST DIDN’T KNOW HOW I WAS GOING TO DO IT. WE’RE GOING TO CHANGE THE WORLD, STARTING RIGHT HERE WITH YOU. STUDENTS TODAY. IT WAS THREE YEARS AGO AT VICTOR’S HIGH SCHOOL, BENITO JUAREZ COMMUNITY ACADEMY, THAT THE ANNOUNCEMENT CAME YOUR COLLEGE TUITION, YOUR ROOM AND BOARD, YOUR BOOKS AND FEES WILL BE PAID FOR, AND YOU WILL GO TO COLLEGE FOR FREE. STUDENTS IN ALL FOUR GRADES WOULD GET A FREE RIDE TO ONE OF THE STATE’S 29 POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS. THE HOPE CHICAGO SCHOLARSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT AT FOUR OTHER CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AS WELL. I FINALLY, LIKE, REALIZED LIKE, OH, THIS IS A BIG OPPORTUNITY. YOU KNOW, LIKE IT’S SOMETHING THAT I CAN’T MISS OUT ON, YOU KNOW, HE FORGOT TO MENTION ONE THING. WHAT’S MORE, THE HOPE CHICAGO SCHOLARSHIP WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO A SCHOLAR’S PARENT AS WELL. IT’S THE REASON THAT WE SEE SO MANY CHANGES. CHANGES. JUAREZ PRINCIPAL JUAN CARLOS OCON SAYS. LIKE COLLEGE ENROLLMENT PRIOR TO HOPE CHICAGO, FEWER THAN 50% OF STUDENTS AT THE MAJORITY LATINX SCHOOL ENROLLED IN COLLEGE. THAT NUMBER NOW MORE THAN 80%. THE OTHER HOPE CHICAGO SCHOOLS REPORTING SIMILAR INCREASES. AND THAT’S NOT ALL. IN ORDER FOR THEM TO GET ACCEPTED INTO THE TOP UNIVERSITIES IN ILLINOIS, THEIR GPA HAD TO IMPROVE THEIR ATTENDANCE, HAD TO IMPROVE THEIR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE SCHOOL, HAD TO IMPROVE. AND SO WE SAW A DRASTIC IMPROVEMENT IN ALL OF THOSE SPECIFIC METRICS. OF COURSE, WE’RE GOING TO BE COMPLETING THE FINANCIAL AID APPLICATION, A SHIFT IN METRICS AND MINDSET. THOSE FRESHMEN AT THE TIME OF THAT BIG ANNOUNCEMENT, NOW, SENIORS, STUDENTS NOW LOOK INTO THEMSELVES AND THEY SEE A FUTURE AND THAT THERE ARE SPACES FOR US, FOR PEOPLE LIKE US. THERE HAS BEEN HISTORIC AND WHAT I WOULD CALL TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE THAT’S HAPPENING IN THESE HIGH SCHOOLS. HOPE CHICAGO SO FAR SENDING NEARLY 2000 CPS STUDENTS TO COLLEGE AND LIKE GABBY, ABOUT 200 PARENTS, WE HOPE TO BUILD THAT NARRATIVE FOR YOU. THE KEY SAYS HOPE, CHICAGO’S CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER MICHELLE HOWARD, IS KEEPING THEM THERE. SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? ARE WE SETTING ALARMS? ARE WE SETTING THREE ALARMS TO DO THAT? THE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM PROVIDES WRAPAROUND SERVICES LIKE SUCCESS COACHES, EARLY DATA SHOWING MORE STUDENTS IN HOPE. CHICAGO’S FIRST CLASS OF SCHOLARS HAVE STAYED IN SCHOOL COMPARED TO THOSE PRIOR TO THE PROGRAM. WE’VE SORT OF BEEN EAVESDROPPING. WE’RE HEARING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SLEEP. ABOUT PHONE USE, MENTAL HEALTH, ALL OF THOSE THINGS PUT TOGETHER. A WHOLE PERSON. HELLO, FOR ME, JUST THE FEELING OF ACCOMPLISHMENT. CHICAGO DORMAN LEE FOUNTAIN IS WORKING ON A BACHELOR’S IN CYBERSECURITY, WHILE HIS SON, MALACHI, IS A SOPHOMORE AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY. IT HASN’T ALWAYS BEEN EASY. I FEEL LIKE I KNOW THEM AND THEY KNOW ME ON A PERSONAL LEVEL. SO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE A SAFETY NET? YEAH, IT FEELS LIKE SOMEBODY I KNOW AND I CAN TRUST TO BE VULNERABLE WITH. YOU GOT A SOLID GPA, VERY STRONG FOR THOSE LIKE VICTOR AND MOM. GABBY, WHO HASN’T BEEN IN SCHOOL IN MORE THAN TWO DECADES, IT’S WELCOMED SUPPORT. I SHOWED UP TO THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS WITH A NOTEBOOK, MY PENCIL, MY CALCULATOR, AND EVERYBODY HAD 1 OR 2 LAPTOPS AND I SAID, OH, AWKWARD MOMENT, LET’S GET THESE READY. ONCE I GET EVERYTHING DONE THAT WE HAVE TO DO, THEN THAT’S WHEN HOMEWORK STARTS. HOMEWORK. ALONGSIDE HER SON. TRY CLICKING RIGHT THERE. THE FACT THAT I HAVE THAT SUPPORT AND THEN I HAVE HOPE. CHICAGO SUPPORTING US. IT’S JUST TREMENDOUS. YOU DON’T HAVE THAT STRESS OF I CAN’T DO THIS. THIS IS TOO HARD. MAYBE I’M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE. I’M GONNA HAVE TO COMPARE THE GPAS 3.25. WOW. I DON’T KNOW WHERE I COULD SEE MY GPA. I JUST KNOW MY GRADES. YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO HELP ME WITH THAT IN CHICA