Kalamazoo, Michigan is currently home to an unprecedented experiment in economic development. Announced in November 2005, the Kalamazoo Promise guarantees full college scholarships to potentially every graduate of the Kalamazoo Public School district. Behind the scholarship program is an economic development agenda that seeks to revitalize the city and the region through a substantial investment in public education. It is an unorthodox approach and one that is drawing attention throughout the United States. If the return on investment in human and economic terms is high enough, the Kalamazoo Promise could serve as a new model for community revitalization and change the way policymakers think about K-16 education. Read more.  

The first annual PromiseNet Conference was a great success! Thank you to those communities who assisted in the planning of PromiseNet 2008, to our keynote presenters, and to the practitioners and facilitators who led the in-depth conversations. We also appreciate the financial support from the Kalamazoo Community Foundation and the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation and, as always, the in-kind support from the Kalamazoo Promise.

Click here for the PromiseNet 2008 Conference Proceedings.

PromiseNet 2009 was held on June 24-26, 2009 in Denver. Click here for details.

PromiseNet in the News - USA Today | USA Today | The Oregonian | Cleveland.com | Quad-City Times

• Research into the origins and initial impact of the Kalamazoo Promise, including the alignment of the community around its goals, carried out by Dr. Michelle Miller-Adams, Visiting Scholar. The research culminated in the book The Power of a Promise: Education and Economic Renewall in Kalamazoo.
• A project funded by the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate the short- and intermediate-term outcomes of the Kalamazoo Promise, carried out in partnership with Western Michigan University’s Evaluation Center and the Midwest Educational Reform Consortium based at WMU’s College of Education.
• A long-term evaluation of the Kalamazoo Promise.
• “Investing in the Success of the Kalamazoo Promise,” an initiative funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to strengthen the outcomes of the scholarship program by investing in its evaluation and research infrastructure, and deepen community engagement.

• Kalamazoo Promise data
  • Kalamazoo Promise Summary Data - A summary of the data on KPS graduates, graduates eligible for the Promise, and graduates who have used at least some portion of their scholarships as of October 2008. Updated February 2009.
  • Kalamazoo Promise Demographic Data - Race and gender breakdowns for KPS graduates, graduates eligible for the Promise, and graduates who have used at least some portion of their scholarships as of October 2008. Updated February 2009.
  • College or University Attendance for Promise Users - Number and percentage of Kalamazoo Promise recipients attending each eligible college or university as of October 2008. Updated February 2009.
  • Attendance at Local Institutions for Current Promise Users - Number of Kalamazoo Promise recipients attending local and non-local institutions as of October 2008. Updated February 2009.
  • Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship Funding Level Eligibility - Scholarship eligibility levels for students from graduating classes of 2006, 2007, and 2008. Updated February 2009.
  • Kalamazoo Public Schools' Enrollment - Long-term enrollment trend for the Kalamazoo Public Schools. Updated February 2009.
• Scorecard: List of key indicators
• Past Report Cards
  • The Promise at a glance: 2006
  • Community report card: 2006
  • Promise Week: Report card 2007 (4.5 Meg)

• The Kalamazoo Promise: Building Assets for Community Change, a PowerPoint presentation by Michelle Miller-Adams. Updated December, 2008.
• Paths to Success diagram - This diagram represents the linkages within and between the educational and economic systems, and suggests the ways in which the Kalamazoo Promise can contribute to the vitality of both.
• A Simple Gift? The Impact of the Kalamazoo Promise on Economic Revitalization, by Michelle Miller-Adams
• Working papers and presentations
  • Reducing Inequality through Universal, Place-Based College Scholarships: Lessons from the Kalamazoo Promise, a working paper by Michelle Miller-Adams. Posted June, 2009.
  • The Kalamazoo Promise and the Diffusion of a Private Policy Innovation, a working paper by Michelle Miller-Adams. Posted June, 2009.
  • The Kalamazoo Promise: A Study of Philanthropy’s Increasing Role in the American Economy and Education, a working paper by Shelley Strickland. Posted November, 2008.
  • The Effects of the Kalamazoo Promise on College Choice, a working paper by Rodney J. Andrews, Stephen DesJardins, and Vimal Ranchhod. Posted November, 2008.
  • Michigan: The #1 Quality Workforce in the Nation?, by Roberts T. Jones
    • Accompanying PowerPoint presentation
  • Assessing the Cherry Commission, a PowerPoint presentation by Timothy J. Bartik
  • Mapping the Promise: Critical Pathways, a PowerPoint presentation by Randall W. Eberts
  • A History of Job Loss and Economic Adjustment: Looking Ahead, a PowerPoint presentation by George A. Erickcek
  • What’s New? What’s Not? The Kalamazoo Promise in the Context of Other Scholarship Programs, a PowerPoint presentation by Michelle Miller-Adams

• Randall W. Eberts
• Michelle Miller-Adams
• Bridget Timmeney

• Working papers/presentations: Town Hall Meeting on "Education and Michigan's Economic Future"
• Media coverage of the Kalamazoo Promise
• Communities with programs modeled on the Kalamazoo Promise
• Selected scholarship programs and evaluation reports
• Other research