Balance (1965 - 1990)
Project Opportunity (1964-1973)
Funded by the Ford Foundation and the Danforth Foundation, Project Opportunity aimed to increase the number of low-income students in higher education and thereby break the cycle of poverty in which these youngsters were trapped. Project Opportunity was initially the idea of John Monro, dean of Harvard College and devisor of the financial needs analysis.
The College Board worked with the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and with participating colleges for this project. Sixteen colleges participated in 1965 and 1,200 students participated.
Each year of the project, the College Board selected high schools that had high drop out rates and low percentages of students that continued onto higher education. In 1965, eleven southern high schools were targeted. Talented students in these schools were then identified, and provided remedial education and an enriched curriculum for the 7th through the 12th grades.
The schools' teachers were given training to improve the curriculum. Each participating college also guaranteed a certain amount of financial aid to four students who completed school and continued in higher education.
Beyond aiding students in these schools, Project Opportunity also encouraged the close working relationship between participating colleges and high schools. Colleges committed faculty, staff, and students to advise and coordinate the program. Assistance with curricular revision, teacher training, and cultural activities were also provided by the colleges.
Three assumptions guided Project Opportunity:
- That the academic achievement of disadvantaged youths can be raised if students are given enrichement;
- That in so doing, teacher, counselor, and principal understanding of these students will be raised;
- That the community's educational aspirations can be raised through the success of these disadvantaged youths.
