With Barriers Removed, the Sky's the Limit for High-Achieving Students

How the NKC Schools Catalyst Program supports high-performing and historically underrepresented students in pursuing higher education.

Karen knew that her twin daughters, Sydney and Rachel Prate, were bright, high-achieving students.

But she didn’t know what was possible for them until she found out about the North Kansas City Schools’ Catalyst program.

Catalyst identifies and supports high-performing students from across the district who are in historically underrepresented groups as a way to break down barriers. For talented students like Rachel and Sydney, it is a path to pursue their dreams.

“Even though I was a great student, it never even occurred to me that there were options for me beyond the jobs I saw and did growing up, coming from a low-income community,” said Karen. “I just had no idea that my daughters would have this opportunity, and I know they now have brighter futures than anyone in my entire family line, thanks to Catalyst.”

Catalyst supports students as they explore, apply to and eventually attend some of the nation’s most selective colleges and universities, taking them through the college application process, helping them develop skills, and guiding them as they pursue financial aid.

They even get to visit schools to experience first-hand what life at a top-tier university could look like.

Many students in the program are the first in their family to attend college, and the support for students and families goes beyond the school day, with a focus on college exposure and building the awareness and skills they will need.

Applying to Catalyst mirrors a college application process and gives students early exposure to writing application essays and thinking critically about their futures. Rachel and Sydney developed their skills by applying to the program and learning more about the higher education options through Catalyst.

“What I enjoyed most was the research that we were all able to do,” said Sydney. “Most students like us who are taking advanced classes don’t have a lot of time to research universities where we would want to go. Getting this time separately gave us an opportunity to have dedicated time to research colleges and what we want to do.”

The program provides support to give students what they will need to get into highly selective universities.

“It’s been very helpful to get the list of the 100 colleges and the financial options available,” said Rachel.

Sydney added, “We’ve been able to not only look at colleges that we all know, like the Ivy League schools, but with the lists we have looked at other universities that we have never heard of that have everything we want. I found a couple that I would like to go to one day because of this program.”

Students come together to support one another through the program, coming out of their shell, encouraging each other, and learning about options in presentations and school tours. In the summer of 2023, students were able to tour top schools in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, and through presentations, they learned about Brown University, Columbia University, The University of Chicago, and Vanderbilt University.

In 2023, the program graduated 33 Catalyst Scholars, whose goals include becoming lawyers, doctors, nurses, engineers, scientists and teachers. All together, the class earned more than $2.3 million in first-year scholarships and nearly $5 million in total funding for college, having been accepted to schools across the country.

That total includes two full-ride scholarships: one for Rachel to Brandeis University and one for Sydney to Tulane University.

Like public school districts around the Kansas City region, North Kansas City is investing in opportunities for students like Sydney and Rachel, so they can take their success in the classroom and create a new vision of what is now possible for their futures.