College Access Partnership, Inc.

College Access Partnership, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing support to college-bound students who need assistance navigating college admissions and paying for their college education. College Access Partnership is located in La Canada Flintridge, California and provides college counseling and test prep services to low-income students throughout Los Angeles County.

We serve students by running workshops that teach every step in the college application process as well as the ins and outs of funding the cost of attendance. We have projected to steadily expand our reach to serve an increasing number of students and their families. The students we serve are classified as low-income, many of whom are the first generation in their family to attend college. A staff that brings a collective 75 years of experience in academic instruction, administration and college counseling.

Workshops - College Access Partnership partners with local organizations to serve their employees and dependents. By offering on-site workshops, we guide families through every aspect of college readiness including course and activity selection in high school, the college application process, and ways to obtain debt-free funding for college.

Test Prep - Most college-bound students are required to take the ACT or the SAT. All students taking standardized tests need resources to help them be successful. Better scores help students demonstrate their abilities to colleges and help schools know if students are college ready.

Counseling and Mentoring - All CAP participants receive one-on-one counseling and mentoring on an individualized basis.

Our staff consists of three individuals, all with years of experience in teaching, education administration, and college counseling.

● Lisa Kurstin brings over 25 years of experience as a classroom teacher, senior level administrator in local independent schools, and private college counselor. For the purposes of this project, Lisa’s duties would include preparing workshop content (presentation slides and handouts), presenting at the workshops, conducting follow-up college counseling to individual participants, and leading the Systems Evaluation Protocol monthly meetings, as described in the Evaluation section of this proposal, in order to evaluate the program content.
● Susan Slotnick has worked as a K-12 Director of Admissions and Director of School Placement at two independent schools in the Los Angeles, California area for 38 years.
● Jim Westerholm brings over 20 years of classroom instruction, administrative experience and private tutoring in SAT and ACT preparation.

As a young organization, we are looking to broaden our reach. This past year, we served approximately 40 students by running workshops that teach every step in the college application process as well as the ins and outs of funding the cost of attendance. We have projected to steadily expand our reach to serve an increasing number of students and their families.