// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did OneGoal say to the soccer ball? You're my one and only goal.
| Established | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Jeff Nelson[1] |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
Chair | Ron Sonenthal[1] |
CEO | Melissa Connelly[1] |
| Website | https://www.onegoal.org/ |
OneGoal is an American educational nonprofit organization that partners with schools to provide postsecondary advising and support for students from low-income communities. Founded in Chicago in 2007, the organization developed a school-based model in which teachers lead a college-readiness class and continue supporting the same students during the transition from high school into postsecondary education.[2][3] As of 2025, OneGoal's classes had served more than 30,000 students, with 80 percent of its graduates enrolled in college or vocational school, according to a New York Times editorial.[4]
History
[edit]OneGoal began in Chicago in 2007 under the name Urban Students Empowered, also abbreviated as US Empowered.[5][6] The organization's cofounders included venture capitalist Eddie Lou, Northwestern University doctoral student Dawn Pankonien, and teachers Matt King and Jeff Nelson.[7][8] Its early work grew out of an afterschool college-preparation program at Dunbar Vocational High School on Chicago's South Side.[6]
Jeff Nelson, a Teach For America alumnus, became executive director in January 2007.[8]
In 2010, 227 students at 11 Chicago high schools were participating in the organization's three-year program.[6] In 2012, it expanded outside Chicago for the first time by launching in Houston and was renamed OneGoal.[5] By 2013, OneGoal was in 23 Chicago high schools with 1,300 students enrolled.[9] As of 2025, OneGoal's classes had served more than 30,000 students across the country.[4]
Program
[edit]OneGoal's core model is a teacher-led, three-year program that begins with a cohort of high school students and continues into the first year after graduation. The organization trains teachers to lead a college-readiness class and remain with the same students over multiple years, with cohorts generally beginning during junior year, meeting regularly through high school, and receiving online or direct support after graduation.[3][6][10]
The curriculum includes college applications, application essays, financial-aid applications, college matching, scholarship guidance, and other practical steps in the transition from high school to postsecondary education.[6][4] The program has also emphasized noncognitive or behavioral skills, including resilience, ambition, resourcefulness, integrity, professionalism, goal setting, time management, and study skills.[6][11]
Paul Tough’s 2012 book, How Children Succeed, discusses OneGoal as an intervention for students whose academic records made college completion statistically unlikely but who showed ambition and capacity for improvement. Tough writes that OneGoal teachers recruited cohorts of roughly 25 students and stayed with them through high school and into the first year of college. He describes the program as combining academic preparation, practical college-navigation support, and explicit instruction in noncognitive skills.[8]
Research
[edit]In 2010, program officials said 98 percent of participants had been accepted to four-year colleges since the organization's founding with an average GPA increase of 0.29 and an average ACT gain of 3.5 points among program students.[6] In 2012, Fast Company reported that 85 percent of OneGoal students were persisting in college.[5]
In 2022, a University of Chicago report found that OneGoal participants had stronger postsecondary outcomes than comparable Chicago students.[10][12] In 2024, the Journal of Human Capital published a peer-reviewed study of noncognitive skill development in adolescence using Chicago Public Schools and the OneGoal program.[13] A 2025 New York Times editorial noted that 80 percent of OneGoal graduates enrolled in college or vocational school.[4]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Our Boards". OneGoal. 2025-09-23. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
- ↑ "Enrichment Programs Fill Opportunity Gap for Students". PBS News. 2013-02-07. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
- 1 2 "OneGoal Sets High Bar for Low-Income Students". WTTW News. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
- 1 2 3 4 Board, The Editorial (2025-12-19). "Opinion | College Is Still Worthwhile. This Organization Proves It". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
- 1 2 3 "Minding The College Gap". Fast Company. 2012-02-24. Archived from the original on 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Nonprofit turns students into stars". Chicago Tribune. 2010-07-09. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
- ↑ "15th Anniversary". OneGoal. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
- 1 2 3 Tough, Paul (2012). How Children Succeed: grit, curiosity, and the hidden power of character. Boston New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 160–196. ISBN 978-0-547-56465-4.
- ↑ "One Goal helping CPS students get to college | ABC7 Chicago | abc7chicago.com". ABC7 Chicago. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
- 1 2 Napolitano, Jo (2022-05-16). "Chicago Students 40% More Likely to Earn Bachelor's After Prep Program". Retrieved 2026-05-14.
- ↑ Adams, Caralee J. (2012-11-14). "'Soft Skills' Pushed as Part of College Readiness". Education Week. ISSN 0277-4232. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
- ↑ "UChicago Study Finds Education Nonprofit Helped Boost College Enrollment, Grad Rates For Low-Income CPS Students". WTTW News. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
- ↑ Kautz, Tim; Zanoni, Wladimir (2024). "Measurement and Development of Noncognitive Skills in Adolescence: Evidence from Chicago Public Schools and the OneGoal Program". Journal of Human Capital. 18 (2): 272–304. doi:10.1086/728087.