KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Kalamazoo Promise — the scholarship program that covers college tuition for Kalamazoo public school graduates — is expanding to include historically Black colleges and universities.
The new benefit begins with students graduating in fall 2027, marking the first time in the program's more than 20-year history that HBCUs will be included.
The deal has always been simple: graduate from a Kalamazoo public high school, and college is free. Now, that gift just got even greater.
Brooklyn Gardner, a senior at Kalamazoo Central High School, will be among the first students to benefit from the expansion. She has wanted to attend an HBCU since middle school, but the cost of out-of-state tuition put it out of reach.
Watch: 'By us for us': Kalamazoo Promise now covers HBCUs, giving Kalamazoo students free college starting fall 2027
Ajamian Gardner, Brooklyn's dad and principal at Kalamazoo Phoenix High School, said conversations about adding HBCUs to the Promise have been going on for as long as the program has existed.
"So the promise is 20 years old. Right? A little over 20 years old. So…20 years," Ajamian said.
I talked about why HBCUs matter with Brooklyn.
"Just being around my culture. My people. Something I haven't been able to experience. I think at HBCUs, it's a different type of feel. You're at an institution that was for Black people and by Black people. So I think that just gives us a chance to kind of see a different side of our culture," Brooklyn said.
"I think it gives us a chance for us to see and expand to a culture we aren't used to. Even with Kalamazoo Central being predominantly Black, I think that the culture in Kalamazoo can be a lot different. Us being able to go to HBCUs is a different feel, and something we haven't been able to experience," Brooklyn said.
Valerie Boggan, principal at Kalamazoo Central, said the Promise's expansion is about more than financial access.
"What we do know is you cannot be what you cannot see. The Promise has afforded our students the ability to see the world from a different vantage point," Boggan said.
For Brooklyn's mother, Keisha Gardner, the expansion is something she had only dreamed of for her daughter.
"When the announcement came out, it was literally our prayers being answered," Keisha said.
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