How Project GRAD Began

Project GRAD began in Houston and was founded by James Ketelsen, then Tenneco’s Chairman and CEO. Beginning in 1988, Tenneco funded a four-year college scholarship program, the Tenneco Presidential Scholarship Program, to eligible graduates of Davis High School, at the time Houston's lowest-performing high school. By 1991–92, the number of Davis graduates entering college had more than quadrupled. Yet, Ketelsen was frustrated because this was still far from his goal of having 40 percent of entering 9th graders enrolling in college. In addition, there was little or no change in SAT or ACT scores. The scholarship program was not having a large enough impact on the dropout rate. Sadly, it appeared that 9th grade was too late to reach most students.

It then became apparent that if the program were to reach its ambitious goals, it would be necessary to develop and implement a comprehensive set of interventions that would begin in kindergarten (or even before) and span all the grades through the 12th. This led to the development of the full GRAD model.

When Jim Ketelsen retired from Tenneco in 1992, he spearheaded a search for a solution to the challenges facing Houston's inner city public schools. With associates, he looked for curricular, methodological, and student and family support programs that would help build basic skills, improve student behavior, and catch children before they found themselves at risk of dropping out. This search identified four program components that were added to the already-existing scholarship program.

Project GRAD Today

The success of the program and its unique approach led to its expansion into four additional feeder systems in Houston's public school system, where the program now reaches over 45,000 students. Project GRAD has also expanded nationally, with sites in Akron, Alaska, Atlanta, Brownsville, Cincinnati, Knoxville, Lorain, Los Angeles, Newark, Long Island, and Philadelphia with more on the way. Nationally, Project GRAD now serves more than 134,000 at risk youth in 213 of the nation's most disadvantaged public schools. After more than 10 years of experience, it is clear that Project GRAD schools produce:

• Students with better grades, higher student achievement and improved test results
• Students with positive attitudes and improved classroom behavior
• Teachers with better training and ongoing support
• Parents with more direct involvement in their children’s education
• High school graduates with increased college access 
• College students with greater access to financial aid and college scholarships
• Increased college graduation rates and closing achievement gaps
• No child left behind