
Anonymous Donor Pays for College of Every Student in Kalamazoo - unfoldedorigami
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/magazine/kalamazoo-mich-the-city-that-pays-for-college.html
======
kevinconroy
From Wikipedia:

"To receive a full scholarship, students must have attended Kalamazoo public
schools since kindergarten. The program, unveiled at a November 10, 2005,
Kalamazoo Board of Education meeting, is also viewed as an economic
development tool for Kalamazoo. Since the Kalamazoo Promise was announced,
enrollment in the school district has grown by 16%, test scores have improved,
and a greater proportion of high-school graduates are attending college. In
2010 alone, the Kalamazoo Public School district saw enrollment rise 3% to
12,409."

Have to be there K-12 to get full tuition. There's a chart that shows the
sliding scale based on your length of attendance. Most interesting part is
that if you move in for the tail end of high school you get 0% covered to
prevent people from temporarily joining the community just for the tuition.

    
    
      Attendance -> Proportion of full tuition
      K–12   100%
      1–12   95%
      2–12   95%
      3–12   95%
      4–12   90%
      5–12   85%
      6–12   80%
      7–12   75%
      8–12   70%
      9–12   65%
      10–12  None
      11–12  None
      12     None
    
    

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalamazoo_Promise>

EDIT: Added table.

------
alttag
Wow. That's neat.

I once had a conversation with a state legislator where he argued it wasn't
the responsibility of government to provide grant and loan opportunities for
higher education, and that by doing so, the federal government was
disincentivizing saving and investing. Instead, he argued universities should
be more market driven (which I will concede might introduce more price
competition in the face of rapidly rising tuition rates). He was a firm
believer that a university education should be something one works and
sacrifices for.

In my elected position with public education at the time, I disagreed (and
still disagree) with some of his claims, believing a subsidized higher
education experience for a expanded pool of people is a long-term net gain
compared to crime/prison costs and the cost of government-funded social safety
net programs. (Although, again, college-student families admittedly qualify
for most government assistance programs already, but this is hopefully a
short-term rather than lifetime dependence.)

I'd love to see the long-term effects on the quality of life, debt, and
employment prospects of these students.

~~~
JPKab
As a guy who grew up in an impoverished, rural family and received Pell grants
and federal loans for my college costs, can someone explain to me why articles
like this talk about students not being able to go to college without the
donation? Has something changed since 1999 when I, with zero money or savings
in my family, was able to go to college on government loans/grants based on
the fact that I got in due to good grades/etc? (IF SOMETHING HAS CHANGED, AND
POOR KIDS WITH GOOD GRADES ARE UNABLE TO GET FEDERAL LOANS AND GRANTS, THEN I
AM GOING TO DO WHATEVER I, AS AN AVERAGE MIDDLE CLASS CITIZEN, CAN DO TO FIX
THIS.) I realize that we've had an economic collapse, and I think this is a
fantastic program, but statements like those in the article distract from the
fact that poor areas of this nation fail not because students can't AFFORD
college, but because they can't GET IN, due to substandard educations and (to
some degree) bad parenting.

Regarding my comment on bad parenting, before people crucify me for blaming
the victim, I assure you that a lot of poor, uneducated parents actively
interfere (knowingly or not) with their children's educational chances. They
do this mainly through ignorance (leaving TV on at night in child's room,
never reading to them when they are young, not helping with homework, putting
children to bed too late, etc.) I've watched this happen with most of my
friend's growing up.

~~~
SatvikBeri
Ramit Sethi argues that the belief that you can't go to college due to a lack
of money is largely misplaced, at least in the USA.

I'm sure there are edge cases where it really is impossible to get funding,
but I know several people who went to very expensive schools and got it nearly
all paid through various scholarships. NB: most of these scholarships were not
granted by the college itself, but by an outside agency, whereas most people I
know seem to only apply for scholarships through the college.

1: [http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/college-at-
stanfor...](http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/college-at-stanford-is-
now-effectively-free-so-whats-your-excuse/) 2:
[http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/some-people-
think-...](http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/some-people-think-theres-
only-a-limited-amount-of-money/)

~~~
noahc
I wish someone would have told me about all this starting my freshman year of
high school. Being from a poor rural family, I had no idea that these
opportunities existed and the first thing I looked at was price of school over
anything else. So, I only applied to one school which to be honest seemed
unreasonably expensive at the time.

I think a huge part of the problem is not so much the resources, but the
mentality that surrounds the poor. Having grown up poor, I was focused on
being cheap, not on value. Of course, no one every said, "Hey, with your 3.3
GPA maybe you should apply somewhere else".

I also only took the ACT once after having been away at summer camp and only
getting 3-4 hours of sleep each night for the past week, and no idea until
later that people retook it.

The other aspect, is that in small rural towns it has been my experience, that
the guidance counselors who do the college admissions have no idea what to do
with a student who doesn't want to go to the traditional schools, which in my
case were the 3 nearest community colleges, the University of Nebraska,
University of Iowa, or Iowa State.

Ramit, would tell you that just because the information is out there, that
isn't enough. In regard to this, it is absolutely true.

------
tokenadult
"The Promise was created against a backdrop of recent economic thought that
considers investment in education better than nearly every other kind of
developmental effort when it comes to promoting economic growth."

That's the kind of thinking that turned east Asia from a place of wretched
poverty to a place of wealth in my lifetime.

~~~
riffraff
I want to believe your statement, but could you share some references for it?

I mean, some clue that education has been the driving force in the growth of
east asian countries, rather than internal/external factors of other kinds.

~~~
batgaijin
Singapore.

~~~
riffraff
this is an example rather than a reference. (Is it? when did singapore start
to invest a lot on education? WolframAlpha believes that the country had high
growth since 1965[0], which would be the year of the independence)

I was more looking to something like books, articles, researches that would
explain how _investments in education_ in eastern countries have been the most
effective on growth, rather than everything else.

Or the opposite, say, the last 20 years of low growth in japan are due to
disinvestments in education.

[0]
[http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=singapore+gdp+growth+ra...](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=singapore+gdp+growth+rate+1900-2012)

------
unfoldedorigami
What's fascinating to me is that because it prevented the surrounding
communities from growing at the expense of Kalamazoo, those districts invested
even more in their schools and education infrastructure to compete with the
city with The Promise. I would have predicted the exact opposite. Super
interesting.

------
thewordis
I went to college there and live one city over (25 minute drive). There are a
lot of wealthy people living in the area, multimillionaires in the suburbs,
but also a lot of poverty. A _lot_ of poverty. I'm glad to see someone trying
something new, even on such a small scale. I was almost tempted to look for
housing within the Kzoo city limits because of the Promise, but I don't plan
on having children any time soon. We need more such experiments and resultant
data.

------
femto
On the assumption this is a good thing, let's say every town/state rolls such
a scheme out. Now every student in the nation is having their tuition paid.
It's also costing about the same amount as if the government levied taxes and
paid the costs.

A negative, compared to government funding, is that the economy has lost
mobility of labour. Getting a full scholarship requires the child to be
enrolled from K-12. Loss of mobility might be a good thing, in that it prompts
people to improve their local economy, rather than run away. Alternatively, it
could lock people into a form of serfdom, unable to move to better their
situation.

I'd advocate that a voucher system, whereby the government gives each student
a voucher for the degree of their choice, would be preferable to the
widespread adoption of "the promise".

~~~
kevinconroy
Lack of mobility is a key part of the experiment here. It's an economic growth
strategy - attract families that value education, get them to set up roots,
and the local economy will benefit.

If this were to roll out on a national level then it would be much similar to
public school, but rather than K-12, it'd be K-BA. Maybe there'd be vouchers,
maybe not.

The point is that this is an experimental model for economic growth and social
benefit for the town, not _the_ model for the entire nation.

~~~
bigiain
There's also a kind of inevitability here - that schemes with intended pay-off
periods measured in decades are not going to interest politicians who's main
(some say "only") job is to be re-elected on 3 or 4 year cycles…

Call me cynical, but if this had been my idea - I would have taken it to
potential local wealthy benefactors, and probably would not have bothered
pitching it to "the government"…

~~~
rmc
Politicians care about short term because voters often care about short term.
Politicians have hacked the "get elected" game, we get what we deserve.

------
steiza
Only now as an adult, having grown up in southwest Michigan, do I appreciate
how unusual the region is.

The amount of culture and philanthropy in area is very high considering the
population. In Kalamazoo there's the Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center
(thank you Upjohn family), the Gilmore Keyboard Festival (thank you Gilmore
family), the philanthropic work of the Stryker family, ... the list goes on
and on.

About an hour north of Kalamazoo is Grand Rapids, another major Michigan metro
area, which is also defined by philanthropy: Art Prize (thank you DeVos
family) and the Fredrick Meijer sculpture park (thank you Meijer family), just
to name a few.

Are all towns in the United States like this?

~~~
revicon
I grew up in Kalamazoo. Living in other places makes me wish everywhere was
like Kalamazoo.

------
mahmud
What would be the unintended negative consequences of this?

It reminds me of the story of a West African king who went on a pilgrimage to
Mecca. On his way to Arabia, the king gifted so much gold to all intervening
communities that the price of gold crashed, taking with it the economies of
North Africa and Arabia.

~~~
kevinconroy
Unlike gold which is a scare resource, knowledge is non-rivalous. College
tuition acts as an economic exclusion mechanism and thus only allows
consumers/students with sufficient means to gain access to it.

By removing the exclusion mechanism for these students, it in effect turns
college education into a public good.

As a country, we've deemed that this is so vastly in the public interest that
we provide free K-12 education to all students regardless of how much
(income/property tax) their family pays.

I'm not very familiar with studies of free college-level educations, but based
on the thousands of studies that shows the incredible economic and social
benefits to obtaining higher levels of education, I'd wager that any negative
consequences will be vastly out weighed by the positive impacts.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivalry_(economics)>

~~~
jdminhbg
Knowledge is non-rivalrous, but it's not settled that the value of a college
education comes mostly from added knowledge. If instead it comes from
signaling, then it's no longer the case.

~~~
kevinconroy
Agree with you on the signally aspect. As a nation we've become obsessed with
college degrees and college may not be the right choice for everyone. But
that's a whole other discussion thread.

------
tete
Coming from a European country where we still have free university I think
it's a good thing. Sadly things are changing. Now there are limitations, first
universities where you have to pay and ever since this was introduced you can
follow how the rankings fall and fall.

Note for people from the US: College/University is harder to attend to
(graduating from high school is harder) and it's also harder to stay in there
(or not take long), so it's still not like everyone can attend it which sucks,
because the reason may besides personal problems may be the fact that you are
not good at something you won't ever need again anyway. Also on personal
experience stuff like math is completely different at college anyway, if you
study CS.

------
beloch
I'd say the kids of Kalamazoo could use a break given the kind of stuff they
have to deal with.

[http://www.calgaryherald.com/opinion/letters/Nose+Hill+Park+...](http://www.calgaryherald.com/opinion/letters/Nose+Hill+Park+confrontation+makes+visitors+feel+unsafe/7050028/story.html)

Note: The above Kalamazoo sheriff is probably not quite as paranoid as the
story suggests since Kalamzoo has a murder rate almost 7 times higher than
Calgary despite being roughtly 1/14'th the size. If Kalamazoo is that
dangerous, it's natural to assume a much bigger city would be even more
dangerous. Still, that's one sheriff I wouldn't want to run into in a
Kalamazoo park, let alone a dark alley!

~~~
Dylan16807
Isn't murder rate per capita? I fail to see how size matters. Also this says
the murder rate is half the Michigan average:
<http://m.countyhealthrankings.org/node/1404/15>

The sheriff is apparently not very good at being off-duty, oh well.

~~~
fjorder
I think a popular misconception is that small-towns are safer than big cities.

    
    
      Calgary
      -------
      2011 Population: 1,096,833
      2011 homicides: 10 
      Rate: 0.91 per 100,000 people
    
      Kalamazoo
      ---------
      2011 Population:  74,262
      2011 Homicides: 5
      Rate: 6.73 per 100,000
    
    

So the homicide _rate_ in Kalamazoo is 7.4 times higher. So much for small-
town peace and quiet!

------
sukuriant
And now. Whatever you do. No. Whatever. You. Do. Do. NOT. Turn back on this
promise. Make it happen. No ifs, ands, or buts. Period.

And colleges. If somehow, something terrible happens, and the money stops
coming in. Let those kids finish for free anyway. Anything less is the newest
worst thing that could happen to these kids and then adults.

[edit: I am curious about the downvotes. From what I gathered, the people that
these donors have chosen to help are the downtrodden of this area. Much of
their life may have been spent in a world of people not fulfilling their
world. Fathers leaving, etc. The last thing these kids need is for yet another
promise to be left unfulfilled, be it by red-tape or just some series of
unfortunate events. Despite that, these children need to have the results of
the promise fulfilled.]

~~~
geoffschmidt
Re downvotes -- using periods like that for emphasis (in the first line of
your post) is like typing your message in all caps for emphasis. It makes your
argument harder to read, but it doesn't make it more persuasive. And it makes
people not really want to talk with you -- you're signaling that you're not
going to engage them intellectually, you're just going to get offended and
shout at them if they disagree with you.

~~~
sukuriant
That's reasonable

------
szpilman
I usually let out some man-tears on especially touching movie scenes, book
passages, music verses and family occasions, but I'm pretty much sure this is
the first time I couldn't hold it while reading an article. At least 5 times.

"The Promise" sounds like some utopian sci-fi plot, and the childrens' thank
you notes for their unseen benefactors are more than heartwarming. These kind
of investments that empower and multiply their effects are the farthest
reaching long-term, and just brilliant.

Now I want to be a billionaire.

------
Dylan16807
_With every added student, the school district gets another $7,250 from the
state._

That's per year, right? That's very close to the $4,200/semester number. So
the college payments are almost equivalent to extending education from K12 to
K16. That means that this could be done, even without donations, across the
country.

~~~
gvb
There is a substantial difference: the $7,250 from the state doesn't come out
of thin air, it comes out of the pockets of the Michigan taxpayers. The $8,400
per year for college comes out of the "Kalamazoo Promise" donation, not out of
taxpayers' pockets.

I am not aware of any state that has been able to convince taxpayers to fund
the additional four years[1]. The "Kalamazoo Promise" sidesteps that issue via
private funding[2].

[1] States typically (heavily) subsidize college tuition for in-state
students.

[2] The "Kalamazoo Promise" implicitly relies on Michigan state college
tuition subsidies to achieve their tuition payment promise.
[https://www.kalamazoopromise.com/ParticipatingCollegesUniver...](https://www.kalamazoopromise.com/ParticipatingCollegesUniversities)

~~~
Dylan16807
Well of course it's different. I prefer the state paying because it actually
scales to all students in the country. So your reminder that the state is
already paying part of the bill makes this sound even better; they would only
have to pay a small fraction more to provide full educational coverage!

------
rmason
FYI Kalamazoo has three venture capital firms whereas to my knowledge Grand
Rapids and Lansing have none. In fact until a few years ago there weren't any
VC's in the Detroit city limits.

~~~
mikeyouse
This is untrue.

I don't know about Lansing, but there is a ton of angel / venture activity in
Grand Rapids. There is now an engineering school
(<http://www.gvsu.edu/engineering/>), a medical school
(<http://news.msu.edu/story/8262/>), a multi-billion dollar biotech research
facility -- which grants PhDs (<http://vai.org/>) all in downtown GR.

VCs:

<http://www.bridgestreetcapital.com> | [http://www.mlive.com/business/west-
michigan/index.ssf/2011/0...](http://www.mlive.com/business/west-
michigan/index.ssf/2011/08/grand_rapids_venture_firm_hope.html) |
<http://www.maf-1.com/>

Angels:

<http://www.grandangels.com/>

Coworking Spaces:

<http://workthefactory.com/> | <http://www.workcottage.com/>

Incubators:

<http://www.wmsti.org/about.htm> | <http://www.accelmich.org/default.aspx> |
<http://www.gvsu.edu/marec/>

------
dkroy
I am very jealous of these students, I entered my post college life in the
hole like many other students. Luckily, the tech world is in a completely
different state than the rest of the job world when it comes to looking for a
place to practice your profession.

------
kqr2
Actually, it's donors (plural). They are collectively called the Kalamazoo
Promise.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalamazoo_Promise>

~~~
jjguy
The words "donors" in that wikipedia page have remained unchanged since the
original page shell in May 2006. Considering also the NYT article explicitly
discusses donor vs. donors, I view the wikipedia characterization more as
editorial convenience than evidence.

That said, my common sense tends to agree with you. Is there evidence
elsewhere?

~~~
gareim
The article uses "donors" several times. I think while it's amazing if one
person is willing to sponsor, it's even more amazing if there are many out
there who believe in a brighter future for them. That actually makes me
happier, knowing that it's donors and not a donor.

"When asked how the conversations that led to the Promise unfolded, Brown
demurs. “That, and the identity of the donors, are things I just will never
talk about,” she says. "

------
MikeCapone
If I had to guess at a glance, I'd say maybe Chuck Feeney:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Feeney#Education>

~~~
dfriedmn
Oh come on, we know it's Derek Jeter. Jeter IS kalamazoo.

~~~
mikeyouse
Jeter's net worth is something near $125mm, the Promise campaign has given out
over $30mm so far. As nice of a guy as Jeter is, I don't think he's given up
1/4 of his wealth.

Smarter money is on the Stryker family ([http://www.mlive.com/business/west-
michigan/index.ssf/2010/0...](http://www.mlive.com/business/west-
michigan/index.ssf/2010/09/three_kalamazooans_with_stryke.html)) and the
Upjohn family. The combined wealth of the two families is ~$10B and they have
pretty strong Kalamazoo ties.

------
wtvanhest
Scott's Tots?

~~~
fastball
Let's hope it doesn't pan out that way...

------
gwern
Interesting how little effect they describe it as having on teen pregnancy and
dropout rates.

------
carioca3
Anonymous? If memory serves me right it is the Stryker family that provides
the scholarships.

~~~
r0ll3rb0t
Could be many... Upjohn, Stryker, Gilmore; there are many big names in
Kalamazoo.

------
jeffpersonified
Having grown up in Michigan, this isn't anything particularly new. Kalamazoo
has been at this for a while (perhaps the donor), and although it's
phenomenal, I'm surprised it's at the top of HN.

------
grandalf
I wonder if Anonymous is taking credit for this.

------
jedmeyers
Scott's Tots

------
humanfromearth
It was batman!

