A home is where it starts. Education Pathways is how Razing the Bar connects the young adults in our homes to school: the application, the aid, the enrollment, and the support to keep going.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is how students apply for federal grants, work-study, and loans (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.).
Federal
No parent information
A college financial aid office can accept documentation of a student’s homelessness from “the director (or designee) of an emergency or transitional shelter” or another “program serving individuals who are experiencing homelessness.” Once documented, the college “shall presume the student to be independent for each subsequent award year at the same institution” (Federal Student Aid, 2024).
“This program waives enrollment fees for eligible community college students.” Filing the FAFSA or the California Dream Act Application is one way to qualify (De Anza College, n.d.-a).
California
Cal Grant
“There are three types of Cal Grants, but you don’t need to figure out which one to apply for.” At a community college, “the Cal Grant A is held on reserve until you transfer,” “Cal Grant B provides a living allowance of up to $1,670 for first-year college students,” and Cal Grant C “provides up to $547 a year, for up to two years, for books, tools and equipment” (De Anza College, n.d.-b).
Federal + California · Foster youth
Chafee Grant
California’s Chafee Grant is “federal and state funded,” with awards of up to “$5,000 per academic year” for students who were in foster care “for at least one day, between the ages of 16 and 18 as a dependent or ward of the court” (San José State University, n.d.-c). The federal program behind it is the Education and Training Voucher (Administration for Children and Families, n.d.).
Federal · City of San José
Paid vocational training through the workforce system
Under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), work2future offers “ETPL Vocational Training: paid training for in-demand, high-wage, high-growth careers,” and works with community colleges including San José City College. Its Youth Program serves “both in-school and out-of-school youth” with “skills training in in-demand industries” (work2future, 2025). Eligibility is determined at the local workforce board: work2future for “Silicon Valley and unincorporated Santa Clara County,” or NOVA for “Northern Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties” (De Anza College, n.d.-c). See Workforce Readiness.
California · Already saved
CalKIDS: college money that may already be yours
Students who were low-income or English learners in a California public school “in grades 1-12 during the 2021-2022 academic year” received a CalKIDS account with “an initial scholarship of $500.” Foster youth received an “additional one-time $500 contribution,” and homeless students received an “additional one-time $500 contribution,” for up to $1,500. The money is for college or career training: students “must be at least 17 years old to request a distribution,” and “scholarships must be used before the participant turns 26” (ScholarShare Investment Board, 2025). Claim your account at CalKIDS.org.
Where to enroll
Community college, close to home.
Community colleges across Santa Clara County, from San José to Gilroy.
Colleges run their own programs for students facing the hardest roads. Ask for them by name.
Community colleges
EOPS
Extended Opportunity Programs and Services serves students “disadvantaged by social, economic, educational or linguistic barriers” with “comprehensive academic and support counseling, financial aid and a bevy of other services” (California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, n.d.).
Community colleges
NextUp
An EOPS program at California’s community colleges that “gives current and former California foster youth extra support when pursuing their higher education goals,” including “books and supplies, child care, counseling and career guidance, educational planning.” Support and services vary by college (California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, 2017).
San José State University
Guardian Scholars
SJSU’s Guardian Scholars Program “provides holistic support services for former and current foster youth,” as well as “wards of the court, unaccompanied homeless youth, and youth under legal guardianship.” It “exists to help students persist, graduate, and be career-ready upon completion of their bachelor’s degree” (San José State University, n.d.-b).
San José State University
EOP
SJSU’s Educational Opportunity Program “continues to serve first-generation, low-income students on campus,” with services that include advising, tutoring, a bridge program for incoming and transfer students, career counseling, and grants (San José State University, n.d.-a).
In our community
More hands on the path.
Community organization
Pivotal
A Silicon Valley nonprofit that provides “foster youth with scholarships, tutoring, internships, job placements, and their own Pivotal coach” (Pivotal, n.d.-a). Its programs include high school coaching, post-secondary coaching, college scholarships, and career readiness.
Razing the Bar CEO Dontae Lartigue serves on Pivotal’s Board of Directors and is a Pivotal alum (Pivotal, n.d.-b).
Scholarships
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
SVCF “offers scholarships to graduating high school seniors, currently enrolled undergraduates, re-entry students” and graduate students, with “one application with one deadline” for the scholarships it manages (Silicon Valley Community Foundation, n.d.). Check its site for the next deadline.
After free sign-up, foster youth can get free or discounted resources, including school supplies, laptops, phone programs, and internet access (Gavilan College, n.d.). Visit iFoster.
Our part
We hold the home.
Razing the Bar is not a school, and we do not award financial aid or scholarships. Colleges, aid agencies, and community organizations do that work. Our part is the home and the support around it.
A stable home.A place to live, study, and rest while you are in school.
A Community Mentor.Help with education is part of the support around every home.
Connections.To your college, its financial aid office, campus programs like EOPS and Guardian Scholars, and community organizations.
The next step.When school leads to work, Workforce Readiness picks up the path.
Why it belongs in housing
Education is a housing service.
Under the HUD Continuum of Care Program, education services are eligible supportive services.
“(5) Education services. The costs of improving knowledge and basic educational skills are eligible. (i) Services include instruction or training in consumer education, health education, substance abuse prevention, literacy, English as a Second Language, and General Educational Development (GED). (ii) Component services or activities are screening, assessment and testing; individual or group instruction; tutoring; provision of books, supplies, and instructional material; counseling; and referral to community resources.” (24 C.F.R. § 578.53(e)(5))
Questions
Straight answers.
Do I need my parents’ information for the FAFSA?
Not always. A college can accept documentation of homelessness from the director, or a designee, of a program serving people experiencing homelessness, and then treat the student as independent in later years at the same college (Federal Student Aid, 2024). Ask your college’s financial aid office what it needs.
Is there help paying for job training at a community college?
Yes. Cal Grant C helps with books, tools, and equipment (De Anza College, n.d.-b), and the local workforce board can fund vocational training for in-demand careers (work2future, 2025). Ask your Community Mentor, or start with Workforce Readiness.
Could I already have money saved for college?
Possibly. If you were a low-income student or English learner in a California public school during the 2021–2022 school year, you may have a CalKIDS account, with more for foster youth and students who were homeless (ScholarShare Investment Board, 2025). Check and claim it at CalKIDS.org.
Does Razing the Bar pay for school?
No. Razing the Bar is not a school and does not award financial aid or scholarships. We help young adults in our homes connect to the aid and programs that do.
How do I start?
Living in our housing? Ask your Community Mentor. Looking for housing first? Start with Get Help.
EDUCATION PATHWAYS
A diploma.
A degree. A direction.
A home is where it starts. Education Pathways is how Razing the Bar connects the young adults in our homes to school: the application, the aid, the enrollment, and the support to keep going.
Learn from
a steady place.
A home first.
A stable place to live, with a Community Mentor beside you.
Finish high school.
A diploma or high school equivalency opens every door after it.
Apply for aid.
The FAFSA or the California Dream Act Application comes first. Grants follow from it.
Enroll.
A community college close to home in Santa Clara County.
Keep going.
Term by term, with support from your college and your mentor.
Transfer or go to work.
A university, a certificate, or a career through Workforce Readiness.
The aid is yours
to claim.
FAFSA
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is how students apply for federal grants, work-study, and loans (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.).
No parent information
A college financial aid office can accept documentation of a student’s homelessness from “the director (or designee) of an emergency or transitional shelter” or another “program serving individuals who are experiencing homelessness.” Once documented, the college “shall presume the student to be independent for each subsequent award year at the same institution” (Federal Student Aid, 2024).
California Dream Act
For undocumented students, the California Dream Act Application is the way to apply for state financial aid (California Student Aid Commission, n.d.). Go to the application.
California College Promise Grant
“This program waives enrollment fees for eligible community college students.” Filing the FAFSA or the California Dream Act Application is one way to qualify (De Anza College, n.d.-a).
Cal Grant
“There are three types of Cal Grants, but you don’t need to figure out which one to apply for.” At a community college, “the Cal Grant A is held on reserve until you transfer,” “Cal Grant B provides a living allowance of up to $1,670 for first-year college students,” and Cal Grant C “provides up to $547 a year, for up to two years, for books, tools and equipment” (De Anza College, n.d.-b).
Chafee Grant
California’s Chafee Grant is “federal and state funded,” with awards of up to “$5,000 per academic year” for students who were in foster care “for at least one day, between the ages of 16 and 18 as a dependent or ward of the court” (San José State University, n.d.-c). The federal program behind it is the Education and Training Voucher (Administration for Children and Families, n.d.).
Paid vocational training through the workforce system
Under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), work2future offers “ETPL Vocational Training: paid training for in-demand, high-wage, high-growth careers,” and works with community colleges including San José City College. Its Youth Program serves “both in-school and out-of-school youth” with “skills training in in-demand industries” (work2future, 2025). Eligibility is determined at the local workforce board: work2future for “Silicon Valley and unincorporated Santa Clara County,” or NOVA for “Northern Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties” (De Anza College, n.d.-c). See Workforce Readiness.
CalKIDS: college money that may already be yours
Students who were low-income or English learners in a California public school “in grades 1-12 during the 2021-2022 academic year” received a CalKIDS account with “an initial scholarship of $500.” Foster youth received an “additional one-time $500 contribution,” and homeless students received an “additional one-time $500 contribution,” for up to $1,500. The money is for college or career training: students “must be at least 17 years old to request a distribution,” and “scholarships must be used before the participant turns 26” (ScholarShare Investment Board, 2025). Claim your account at CalKIDS.org.
Community college,
close to home.
Community colleges across Santa Clara County, from San José to Gilroy.
Support built into
the campus.
Colleges run their own programs for students facing the hardest roads. Ask for them by name.
EOPS
Extended Opportunity Programs and Services serves students “disadvantaged by social, economic, educational or linguistic barriers” with “comprehensive academic and support counseling, financial aid and a bevy of other services” (California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, n.d.).
NextUp
An EOPS program at California’s community colleges that “gives current and former California foster youth extra support when pursuing their higher education goals,” including “books and supplies, child care, counseling and career guidance, educational planning.” Support and services vary by college (California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, 2017).
Guardian Scholars
SJSU’s Guardian Scholars Program “provides holistic support services for former and current foster youth,” as well as “wards of the court, unaccompanied homeless youth, and youth under legal guardianship.” It “exists to help students persist, graduate, and be career-ready upon completion of their bachelor’s degree” (San José State University, n.d.-b).
EOP
SJSU’s Educational Opportunity Program “continues to serve first-generation, low-income students on campus,” with services that include advising, tutoring, a bridge program for incoming and transfer students, career counseling, and grants (San José State University, n.d.-a).
More hands
on the path.
Pivotal
A Silicon Valley nonprofit that provides “foster youth with scholarships, tutoring, internships, job placements, and their own Pivotal coach” (Pivotal, n.d.-a). Its programs include high school coaching, post-secondary coaching, college scholarships, and career readiness.
Razing the Bar CEO Dontae Lartigue serves on Pivotal’s Board of Directors and is a Pivotal alum (Pivotal, n.d.-b).
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
SVCF “offers scholarships to graduating high school seniors, currently enrolled undergraduates, re-entry students” and graduate students, with “one application with one deadline” for the scholarships it manages (Silicon Valley Community Foundation, n.d.). Check its site for the next deadline.
Bill Wilson Center
A nonprofit with programs in housing, education, counseling, and advocacy (Gavilan College, n.d.). Visit Bill Wilson Center.
iFoster
After free sign-up, foster youth can get free or discounted resources, including school supplies, laptops, phone programs, and internet access (Gavilan College, n.d.). Visit iFoster.
We hold
the home.
Razing the Bar is not a school, and we do not award financial aid or scholarships. Colleges, aid agencies, and community organizations do that work. Our part is the home and the support around it.
Education is a
housing service.
Under the HUD Continuum of Care Program, education services are eligible supportive services.
Straight answers.
Do I need my parents’ information for the FAFSA?
Not always. A college can accept documentation of homelessness from the director, or a designee, of a program serving people experiencing homelessness, and then treat the student as independent in later years at the same college (Federal Student Aid, 2024). Ask your college’s financial aid office what it needs.
I can’t file the FAFSA. Is there another option?
Yes. For undocumented students, the California Dream Act Application is the way to apply for state financial aid (California Student Aid Commission, n.d.).
I was in foster care. Is there more help?
Yes. California’s Chafee Grant awards up to $5,000 per academic year to students who were in foster care for at least one day between the ages of 16 and 18 (San José State University, n.d.-c). At community colleges, NextUp offers extra support (California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, 2017); at San José State University, Guardian Scholars (San José State University, n.d.-b); and Pivotal offers coaching and scholarships for foster youth.
I’ve experienced homelessness. Is there support on campus?
Yes. At community colleges, ask about EOPS (California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, n.d.). At San José State University, Guardian Scholars serves unaccompanied homeless youth as well as current and former foster youth (San José State University, n.d.-b).
Is there help paying for job training at a community college?
Yes. Cal Grant C helps with books, tools, and equipment (De Anza College, n.d.-b), and the local workforce board can fund vocational training for in-demand careers (work2future, 2025). Ask your Community Mentor, or start with Workforce Readiness.
Could I already have money saved for college?
Possibly. If you were a low-income student or English learner in a California public school during the 2021–2022 school year, you may have a CalKIDS account, with more for foster youth and students who were homeless (ScholarShare Investment Board, 2025). Check and claim it at CalKIDS.org.
Does Razing the Bar pay for school?
No. Razing the Bar is not a school and does not award financial aid or scholarships. We help young adults in our homes connect to the aid and programs that do.
How do I start?
Living in our housing? Ask your Community Mentor. Looking for housing first? Start with Get Help.
Can my organization help?
Yes. Reach out through Collaborate With Us.
Two ways
in.
Open a door to school.
Bring your education program, campus support, or scholarship to the young adults in our homes.
Ready for school?
Living in our housing? Ask your Community Mentor. Looking for housing first? Start with Get Help.
From a first class
to a degree.
Your gift goes to the Open Door Fund, wherever the need is greatest.
References
Administration for Children and Families. (n.d.). John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://acf.gov/cb/grant-funding/john-h-chafee-foster-care-independence-program
California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. (2017, November 8). California Community College Chancellor’s Office announces name change of foster youth support program [Press release]. https://www.cccco.edu/About-Us/News-and-Media/Press-Releases/CAFYES-Name-Change
California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. (n.d.). Extended Opportunity Programs and Services. https://www.cccco.edu/?p=1808
California Student Aid Commission. (n.d.). AB 1540 (Mike Fong): Streamlining financial aid for undocumented students [Fact sheet]. https://www.csac.ca.gov/sites/main/files/file-attachments/ab_1540_fact_sheet.pdf
Continuum of Care Program, 24 C.F.R. § 578.53 (2026). https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/24/578.53
De Anza College. (n.d.-a). Waivers. https://www.deanza.edu/financialaid/types/waivers
De Anza College. (n.d.-b). Grants. https://deanza.edu/financialaid/types/grants.html
De Anza College. (n.d.-c). WIOA career training. Occupational Training Institute. https://cis.deanza.edu/oti/unemployed.html
Federal Student Aid. (2024, July 19). Reminder – Unaccompanied homeless youth determinations (GENERAL-24-88). U.S. Department of Education. https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2024-07-19/reminder-unaccompanied-homeless-youth-determinations
Gavilan College. (n.d.). Community resources [EOPS foster youth]. https://gavilan.edu/student/eops/foster_youth/community%20resources%20.php
Pivotal. (n.d.-a). Pivotal. https://pivotalnow.org/
Pivotal. (n.d.-b). Board of directors. https://pivotalnow.org/about/our-team/board-of-directors
San José State University. (n.d.-a). What is EOP? https://www.sjsu.edu/eop/eop/what-is-eop.php
San José State University. (n.d.-b). What is Guardian Scholars? https://sjsu.edu/eop/guardian-scholars/what-is-guardian-scholars.php
San José State University. (n.d.-c). Chafee Grant. https://pdp.sjsu.edu/faso/types-of-aid/grants/chafee-grant.php
ScholarShare Investment Board. (2025). CalKIDS media kit. California State Treasurer. https://calkids.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CalKIDS-Media-Kit-Final-12.29.25.pdf
Silicon Valley Community Foundation. (n.d.). Scholarships. https://www.svcf.org/scholarships
U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Filling out the FAFSA form. Federal Student Aid. https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
work2future. (2025). Local plan 2025–2028 [Final draft]. San José Silicon Valley Workforce Development Board. https://www.work2future.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IVC_PY25-PY28_WIOA_LocalPlan_FinalDraft.pdf