Cocoa High School students explore post-high school opportunities through Cocoa Champions, a collaborative initiative between Brevard Public Schools and Elevate Brevard.
As high school graduation celebrations settle in, education partners across Florida are focused on tackling “summer melt”—the all-too-common scenario where students with college plans fail to enroll in the fall. Through creative programs and local partnerships, communities are testing new ways to keep students connected and on track.
Thanks to a two-year initiative funded by the Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, in partnership with the Florida College Access Network (FCAN), these community leaders are taking a data-informed, student-centered approach to reduce melt and increase postsecondary enrollment. The Post-High School College Enrollment Innovation Project seeks to increase college-going rates by at least 4% for the graduating Classes of 2025 and 2026.
“College access support doesn’t stop in the summer—in fact, that’s when it matters most,” said Braulio Colón, FCAN’s executive director. “FCAN is pleased to share a few success stories from our partners across the state,” said Colón. “The collaborative work is happening, and a Florida working together is what we’re seeing”.
Polk Vision Tackles College Access with School-Based Partnerships and Parent Support
In Polk County, Polk Vision is working to bridge gaps in college access by partnering closely with high schools—and the difference between full buy-in and limited engagement has been striking.
“One of our biggest successes was at a school where the entire team was on board,” said Amy Nickerson, Polk Vision’s education coordinator. “The principal advertised our workshops and paid his entire staff to stay after school to support students. That kind of support changes everything.”
Polk Vision directly supported 40 students this year, with 17 qualifying for a college spending account award of $250–$350 for attending their first week of college.
The organization is also focused on helping families navigate college transitions, offering reimbursements for parents to attend freshman orientation and preview weeks—ensuring they can share in the campus experience with their students.
Citrus County Sees 100% College Enrollment Among Targeted Students in Coaching Program
In Citrus County, a student-centered coaching model is showing powerful early results in addressing summer melt. Patrick Simon of the Citrus County Coalition for College and Careers found that pairing trained teacher-coaches with students who have the least support is proving remarkably effective.
“All 41 students at Crystal River High School in our program have been accepted, enrolled, and are on track to begin college in fall 2025,” Simon announced. “It stunned us.”
| “This work has shown us that with the right relationships and resources, we can absolutely change outcomes.” |
The coalition partnered with two out of three local high schools, supporting a total of 107 students. Their project provides stipends for eight postsecondary coaches, as well as $2,500 scholarships for eight participating students, funded through a combination of Florida College Access Network support and local coalition resources.
To continue momentum over the summer, the coalition also funds a dual-enrolled high school student ambassador who serves as an on-campus liaison at the local state college. This envoy contacts incoming students to help resolve issues and ensure smooth enrollment.
“We’re thinking about every point of contact and removing every barrier possible,” Simon said. “This work has shown us that with the right relationships and resources, we can absolutely change outcomes.”
Cocoa Champions Program Shows Promise in Brevard County
In Brevard County, Elevate Brevard is seeing encouraging progress at Cocoa High School—located in one of the community’s most distressed areas—where the graduation rate rose this year. For Shayla Murray Smith, who leads Elevate Brevard’s college access efforts, a boost in graduation rates is critical to combating the county’s persistently low college-going rate.
“You can’t go to college if you don’t have a high school diploma,” Smith said. “So far, 96% of Cocoa High School Student participated in the Cocoa Champions program and that is a big win.”
Through a Title I partnership with Cocoa High School, Elevate Brevard’s Cocoa Champions program appoints mentors and offers incentives to help students complete essential tasks to continue their education beyond high school. The team also hosted a senior brunch where they surveyed students to assess interest in receiving continued support over the summer.
“The survey is a direct line of communication, we can stay connected and offer meaningful help to prevent summer melt,” Smith said. “So far, we’ve learned that 85% of the Class of 2025 students who completed the Cocoa Champions Project Survey said they have a post-secondary plan, with 75% planning to attend college and 10% entering the military.
Ninety-six percent of Cocoa High School seniors participated in Elevate Brevard’s Cocoa Champions initiative, with 75% planning to attend college and 10% entering the military. Through mentorship, surveys, and incentives, the program is making a measurable impact.
Jacksonville Bootcamp Aims to Prepare Students for College and Careers
In Jacksonville, Earn Up is preparing to host a two-week “Level Up” summer bootcamp to strengthen college and career readiness among students at Title I high schools in Duval County. The camp, scheduled for July 14–25, is part of a broader effort to boost education beyond high school by hosting postsecondary prep and career readiness activities.
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“We want to make sure students understand the value of showing up, every day, to build the future they want.” |
“Our goal is to have 25 students, and we’re finding that educating families about the importance of full participation is critical,” said Julie Hindall, Earn Up’s senior talent development director. “We want to make sure students understand the value of showing up, every day, to build the future they want.”
Earn Up partnered with FSCJ, Florida State College at Jacksonville to build the curriculum. The camp offers ACT/SAT prep, college and career readiness workshops, and site visits to local companies like Vystar, Amazon, and Guidewell. Students who complete the bootcamp earn a “Level Up” digital badge—an achievement they can display on LinkedIn and college applications.
Sarasota Launches First Summer Bridge Program to Support College-Bound Students
In June, the Education Foundation of Sarasota County, administrator of PLANIt Sarasota, will expand its college enrollment efforts at North Port High School with the launch of its first-ever Future-Ready Summer Bridge Program. The initiative is designed to support students at a high-need, diverse school by making postsecondary pathways more accessible.
“To make the program truly accessible, we’re hosting it at Suncoast Technical College’s North Port campus—closer to where many of our students live,” explained Dr. Anayah Walker, Education Foundation’s director of student programs. “We’ve been out in the community, visiting local centers and libraries to spread the word.”
The Future-Ready Summer Bridge Program is part of a broader strategy to organize student programming around a Future-Ready mindset to ensure more students graduate from high school with purpose, prepared to pursue and complete an intentional pathway. North Port High School currently one of three high schools that hosts a Resiliency Success Coach through the Foundation, and additional planning meetings are underway to shape next year’s strategy.
“Today I visited the Student Success Center at North Port High—there were tons of students, and it was a great opportunity to promote the bridge program face-to-face,” Dr. Walker said. “We’re excited to get this off the ground.”
These early successes reinforce a clear message: staying connected with students after graduation isn’t optional—it’s essential. As more communities adopt summer engagement strategies, Florida is proving that with the right relationships and resources in place, students can make it from high school graduation to college enrollment without losing momentum.
Building a Talent Strong Florida
All these efforts represent a Florida working together to build a Talent Strong Florida. Florida College Access Network believes a Talent Strong Florida is one where every Floridian has access to high-value post-high school credentials and degrees. Bridging individual career interests and aspirations with the programs that align with Florida’s talent needs is a service of the FCAN and Talent Strong Florida movement.