Overview
At Community Charter School of Cambridge (CCSC), our work is broader than high school graduation: our goal is to ensure that our students have access to the resources, opportunities, and support needed as they work toward financial independence and security and pursue their post-secondary dreams.
Our Alumni Persistence Program was launched in the 2022-2023 school year and formally extends this commitment to our graduates. The program is designed to provide CCSC alumni with one-on-one coaching and guidance, resources, and emergency funding to support their social, emotional, and academic transition to college and career.
Key Activities
While at CCSC, students received individualized instruction and guidance that is designed to broaden college access, improve college persistence, and increase exposure to varied career pathways to ensure that each CCSC student graduates prepared to achieve post-secondary success. This includes:
- A rigorous curriculum where all students have access to Advanced Placement coursework and the opportunity to participate in dual enrollment courses earning high school and college credit for their work.
- Transition to college and career programming that includes campus visits, job shadowing, forums and panels with faculty/staff, professionals, and alumni about their professional journeys, and career days that educate students about careers that may be available to them upon graduation from college.
- A College and Career Counselor ratio that mirrors that of independent schools and that allows each student and family to receive individiualized guidance and support as they consider the next step in their journey. This includes helping students identify the best school fit, maximizing access to student aid and scholarships, and, for students seeking a non-traditional college experience, vocational, or training program, laying out a path to financial independence and security.
Our Alumni Persistence Program builds upon this foundation and formally extends our commitment to our students after high school graduation:
The cornerstone of our Alumni Persistence Programming is personalized coaching and guidance for students in the years after graduation. Our volunteer Alumni Success coaches reach out via text and/or phone calls at least four times a year to support students as they navigate a new academic and social environment. - Our Alumni Persistence Program also includes a small Emergency Persistence Fund, which provides micro-grant funding for students who are facing financial challenges related to their college fees. Requests are reviewed by a committee of CCSC alumni and staff and are typically granted for important supports such as: academic materials and supplies, transportation, transcript fees, tuition gaps (after exhausting other funding sources), or other immediate needs.
- Finally, our alumni webpage (https://ccscambridge.org/alumni-resources) provides information and resources for CCSC graduates, including information on how to connect with the school and with each other.
Support Our Work
Our Alumni Persistence Program was originally manged by a single volunteer working with one graduating class. Due to the generosity of donors, the program is now run by a full-time Alumni Success Manager and supported by roughly a half dozen volunteer Alumni Success coaches.
Contributions to our Alumni Persistence Program are instrumental in providing:
- Regular and individualized coaching, outreach, guidance, and engagement activities led by a full-time Alumni Success Manager
- Funding for reunions, events at CCSC, incentive gift cards for alumni who participate in outreach programming, and other incidentals
- Expanding the Emergency Persistence Fund
- Creating an alumni summer jobs/internships program to match students in college with available jobs that provide high-quality professional experience and help students earn money to cover tuition bills
To make a contribution to CCSC’s Alumni Persistence Program, please click here. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Thank you in advance for your generous support. 
We are incredibly grateful to the support of many donors and to have been selected as one of the 150 recipients of Cummings Foundation's $30 Million Grant Program in 2025.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Elizabeth Debraggio, Director of Communications and Development at edebraggio@ccscambridge.org or (781) 801-8913.