Hires New Coaches to Urgently Reach 20,000 New Students Dealing with Campus Closures

Oakland, CA (April 23, 2020) –– Beyond 12, a nonprofit dedicated to college completion, today announced the launch of its COVID-19 Virtual Coaching Corps to support 20,000 first-generation and low-income students facing campus closures during this pandemic.

The current school closures could devastate decades-long efforts to make colleges more racially and economically diverse, and to increase opportunity in our country for students who have been underserved by our educational institutions. But Beyond 12 is well-positioned to support those students who are most vulnerable.

For a decade, Beyond 12 has provided virtual and mobile-based coaching and guidance to first-generation college students, working in close partnership with both high schools and colleges. Beyond 12 is now raising funds to launch a COVID-19 Virtual College Coaching Corps to hire more coaches and reach even more students.

“As a first-generation college graduate myself, I can’t imagine how I would have stayed the course during a campus closure and move to distance learning,” said Beyond 12 Founder and CEO Alexandra Bernadotte. “We are raising additional funds urgently to ensure that no college student is left to navigate these challenging times alone.”

Students on the Beyond 12 platform rely on their college and university for so much more than learning. For many students, their college campus is their primary source of security; providing food, housing, health care, employment, and safety. To support the 2,000+ students currently being coached on the platform, Beyond 12 immediately launched a COVID-19 response fund to give micro-grants to students dealing with the unexpected financial challenges associated with the shift to virtual learning and campus closures: flights home; food/groceries; temporary housing; storage for belongings; technology equipment, including laptops and portable wi-fi hotspots.

Beyond 12 is now going beyond basic needs to provide more support to help students persist during this unprecedented time with the launch of the COVID-19 Virtual Coaching Corps. In the past two weeks, Beyond 12 has raised approximately $300K and the organization is seeking more funds to hire 20 new coaches to reach 20,000+ additional students. These part-time coaches will be former Beyond 12 college coaches, current contract and substitute teachers who are not working as a result of school closures, and graduate students from area schools.

To learn more about how Beyond 12 is responding to the COVID-19 crisis, visit www.beyond12.org for more information about the Virtual Coaching Corps, Student Relief Fund and additional student resources.

About Beyond 12

Beyond 12 is a high-tech, high-touch coaching platform that helps high schools, college access programs, and colleges provide their students with the academic, social, and emotional support they need to succeed in higher education. Founded by Alexandra Bernadotte in 2009, Beyond 12 works to dramatically increase the number of historically under-represented students who graduate from college. For more information about Beyond 12, visit www.beyond12.org.

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