Growing What Works

Growing What Works is a national initiative offered by Excelencia in Education, supported by major national foundations, to replicate programs and strategies with evidence of effectiveness in accelerating Latino student success in higher education. Begun in September 2009 with support from the Walmart Foundation and expanded in 2010 with support from the Kresge Foundation, the GWW Initiative includes a searchable database and institutions selected through a national review to receive SEMILLAS grants to replicate promising programs on their campuses. SEMILLAS is the Spanish word for seeds, and is an acronym for "Seeding Educational Models that Impact and Leverage Latino Academic Success."

Initiative goals

• Catalog promising practices improving Latino success in higher education at the associate, baccalaureate, and graduate levels.
• Mobilize institutional leaders searching for institutional practices supporting Latino student success in higher education.
• Adapt and replicate promising practices with evidence of effectiveness in improving Latino student success in higher education.
• Inform public policy at the institutional, state, and national levels with efforts improving Latino success in higher education.

Characteristics of SEMILLAS Institutions

• Associate and baccalaureate, accredited, degree-granting institutions
• Institutional commitment to accelerate Latino student success
• Knowledge of current institutional student data and demographic trends
• Commit to maintain the use of the effective programs after the SEMILLAS grants end

Kresge SEMILLAS 2010-2011

Through support from the Kresge Foundation, Excelencia in Education will select a new cohort of institutions in summer 2010.  Five institutions will be chosen through an invitational competition to receive a $75,000 for 15 months to increase the number of Latino students completing degrees. This effort will be informed by and build on the experiences and lessons learned working with the 2009 Walmart SEMILLAS campuses funded by the Walmart Foundation. Institutional commitment is a key element and participating institutions will be required to design a sustainability plan to be implemented with direct involvement of the president of the institution.

The 2010 Kresge SEMILLAS offer an incentive for purposeful, institutional focus on Latino student success. Selected institutions will be invited to join Excelencia's community of action and benefit from other institutions' lessons learned in replicating promising practices. 

WalmaRT SEMILLAS 2009-2010

Through support from the Walmart Foundation, in 2009 Excelencia in Education awarded twenty institutions, $50,000 grants to replicate promising institutional practices addressing one of the following four areas:

Engaging and enrolling  first-generation, low-income Latino students and their families in college going through strategies that eliminate barriers to college entrance including partnerships with public schools, support for students earning college credits while enrolled in high school, and family outreach that  demystifies the pathway of earning a college education.

Integrating services such as advising, supplemental education, student services or academic support to improve retention for first-generation Latino college-goers.

Promoting seamless transfer for Latino students moving from two-year to four-year institutions through effective student and academic support services.

Developing and sustaining academic programs and practices designed to engage Latino students in the learning process for successful completion.

Click here to view the list of the 2009-2010 Walmart SEMILLAS recipients.