{"id":1854,"date":"2025-07-29T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T14:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/m-cubed\/?p=1854"},"modified":"2025-07-29T09:00:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T14:00:33","slug":"herb-kohl-philanthropies-renews-support-for-m%c2%b3-smart-start-with-300000-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/m-cubed\/news\/herb-kohl-philanthropies-renews-support-for-m%c2%b3-smart-start-with-300000-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"Herb Kohl Philanthropies Renews Support for M\u00b3 Smart Start with $300,000 Gift"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>MILWAUKEE, July 30, 2025 \u2014 M\u00b3 (pronounced \u201cM-Cubed\u201d), the education partnership uniting Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), is proud to announce renewed support from Herb Kohl Philanthropies for its Smart Start program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This three-year, $300,000 grant, distributed in $100,000 annual installments, will expand and strengthen Smart Start\u2019s proven efforts to ensure graduating MPS seniors successfully transition into college at MATC or UWM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smart Start combats \u201csummer melt,\u201d which happens when students accepted to college fail to enroll, by providing coaching, peer engagement opportunities, and transition events throughout the summer and fall. Participating students receive up to $500 in scholarships while building skills and relationships that support their long-term success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since its launch, Smart Start has grown more than sixfold, from 106 students in its first year to 641 in 2024. Retention data underscores the program\u2019s impact:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>At UWM, 95.6% of Fall 2024 Smart Start participants continued into Spring 2025, compared to 86.1% of other MPS students.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At MATC, 74.7% of participants persisted to the spring semester, compared to 68.9% of their peers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSmart Start reflects the kind of thoughtful, student-centered work we\u2019re proud to support,\u201d said JoAnne Anton, President and CEO of Herb Kohl Philanthropies. \u201cThis collaborative model helps young people navigate one of life\u2019s most important transitions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The announcement comes as Smart Start gears up for key summer events, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>July 31 \u2013 MPS Summer College and Career Expo<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>August 1 \u2013 Smart Start Social at UWM Student Union (12:00-1:00 pm).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Media are invited to attend and see firsthand how students are preparing for their first semester of college with the support of success coaches and community partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information about Smart Start, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/uwm.edu\/m-cubed\/programs\/smartstart\">uwm.edu\/m-cubed\/programs\/smartstart<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MILWAUKEE, July 30, 2025 \u2014 M\u00b3 (pronounced \u201cM-Cubed\u201d), the education partnership uniting Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), is proud to announce renewed support from Herb Kohl Philanthropies for its Smart Start program. This three-year, $300,000 grant, distributed in $100,000 annual installments, will expand and strengthen<\/p>\n<a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/m-cubed\/news\/herb-kohl-philanthropies-renews-support-for-m%c2%b3-smart-start-with-300000-gift\/\">Read more<\/a>","protected":false},"author":33600,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Herb Kohl Philanthropies Renews Support for M\u00b3 Smart Start with $300,000 Gift - M cubed - MATC, UWM, MPS Collaboration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/m-cubed\/news\/herb-kohl-philanthropies-renews-support-for-m\u00b3-smart-start-with-300000-gift\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Herb Kohl Philanthropies Renews Support for M\u00b3 Smart Start with $300,000 Gift\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MILWAUKEE, July 30, 2025 \u2014 M\u00b3 (pronounced \u201cM-Cubed\u201d), the education partnership uniting Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), is proud to announce renewed support from Herb Kohl Philanthropies for its Smart Start program. 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