For Students and Families
EDquity Scholars
A year-long program for college-bound students in grades 8 through 12 with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a Section 504 plan. Scholars learn to read their own document, speak in their own meeting, and build the organization, planning, and self-advocacy skills that carry them through school and into college and work.
In person at the Gallatin Public Library, in the large meeting room. Parents attend four workshops of their own during the year.
First cohort
July 2027 through May 2028
Format
A five-day July intensive, then one Saturday a month
Seats
Thirty, across grades 8 through 12
A seat
$1,000, funded by a sponsor
Why This Program Exists
Speaking up for yourself and getting organized are skills. We teach them directly.
IEPs often set goals for organization, planning, and speaking up. Students learn those things fastest when a person teaches them directly and they get a full year to practice. Students also do better when they understand their own program and can talk in the meetings about their own education. Scholars teaches both of those, across a full year instead of in one workshop.
The second thing happens at graduation. The IEP stops. College follows two different laws, Section 504 and the ADA. Under those laws, no one has to find the student, test the student, or put supports in place for them. The student has to ask. Most students are never told this, and most families find out after a hard first semester of college. Scholars teaches it years before graduation, while the high school team can still help.
We believe
Scholars runs from July through May with the same students and the same adults all year. One workshop is not long enough to learn these skills.
The IEP or 504 plan belongs to the student. Every Scholar learns to read their own document, say what helps them learn, and talk in their own meeting. They keep those skills after they graduate.
Parents learn too. Four times a year, on a program day, parents attend a workshop of their own while their students meet in their small groups.
Two tracks, one shared day
Students in grades 8 to 10 and students in grades 11 to 12 learn different things. Everyone comes on the same Saturday. The whole group starts together and ends together. In between, students work in a small group with only their own grade range. That small group is where most of the day happens.
Grades 8 to 10
Pathways
Five days in July, then nine Saturdays
What these students do during the year:
- Take a strengths assessment that shows what they are good at
- Look up real jobs and find out what each job pays and what it requires
- Talk with an adult who works in a job the student is interested in
- Practice answering interview questions, get feedback, and practice again
Grades 11 to 12
Scholars
Five days in July, then nine Saturdays
What these students do during the year:
- Learn that the IEP stops when they graduate, and that college follows different laws
- Ask the school for their Summary of Performance and get a copy to keep
- Sign up with the disability services office at a college
- Learn how to tell a teacher what makes learning hard and what to ask for, without saying their diagnosis
- Keep all their due dates in one place, with one person who checks in on them
- Build a folder that holds their paperwork, the accommodations they ask for, and their next steps with dates
What both tracks share
How a program Saturday runs
Saturdays run from 9:00 in the morning to 1:00 in the afternoon. Each session teaches one skill. Scholars practice that skill until they can do it on their own. Nothing is graded. A Scholar who cannot do it yet gets taught again in smaller steps. We provide food every program day.
Four times a year, on a program day, parents attend a workshop from our parent workshop catalog while their students are in their small groups. Parents learn on the same days their students do.
The program year
The year starts with five days together in July. After that we meet on the second Saturday of the month, September through May, from 9:00 in the morning to 1:00 in the afternoon. October is on the fourth Saturday instead, so it does not land on fall break. The two campus visits are on fourth Saturdays in February and April. The year ends on the third Saturday in May, when every Scholar presents to their family. Nothing meets on a school day, so no Scholar misses class. There are thirty seats, and we confirm them by email in the order requests arrive.
What happens on a campus visit
Every college gives tours. On our visits, Scholars take the tour and also meet with the campus disability services office. That office decides what accommodations a student gets in college. Most families do not know to ask for that meeting. Scholars bring their questions with them and get answers before they need them.
The first cohort visits Volunteer State and then Tennessee State or Fisk. Both dates are still to be confirmed. Every adult on the trip passes a background check. The trip costs families nothing.
What we ask of families, and what families get
Attendance
Each session builds on the one before it, so coming to every session matters. A Scholar who misses more than two of the nine Saturdays cannot finish the year. After any missed day, we meet with that Scholar one to one for fifteen minutes to catch them up.
What to wear
Wear your program T-shirt with shorts or jeans. Shirts have to cover your midriff, and sleeves cannot be cut off. We give every Scholar their program T-shirt, so there is nothing to buy.
Access
We ask what your student needs when they enroll, and we set up the day to match. That can mean captions, materials sent ahead of time, extra breaks, or anything else. Every adult in the program passes a background check.
How seats are funded
A seat is $1,000, which covers the cost of delivering a full year to one student: the summer intensive, nine Saturdays, two campus visits, materials, food, and each Scholar's IEP audits or 504 reviews. Every seat is funded by a sponsor and is free to the family it serves; no family ever pays for a seat, and we never ask for proof of income or hardship to qualify. Seats open as sponsorships are secured, which is exactly what sponsoring a Scholar funds. Requesting a seat costs nothing and carries no obligation.
$1,000
One Scholar's full year
$5,000
Five Scholars
$10,000
Ten Scholars
$30,000
The full thirty-Scholar cohort
Individuals, businesses, and funders can sponsor an EDquity Scholar for $1,000, covering one student's full year, or sponsor several Scholars at once. Email info@edquityatthemargins.org to sponsor, give through PayPal, or use our donation page. Note "EDquity Scholars" with your gift.
How to request a seat
Your student can join if they are college-bound, will be in grades 8 through 12 during the 2027-28 school year, and have a current IEP or Section 504 plan.
- Fill out the form below. It takes about five minutes and asks for no payment.
- You get an email right away saying we received it.
- Later you get a second email telling you whether the seat is confirmed. Seats go in the order requests arrive, as sponsors fund them.
Reserve a seat
There are thirty seats, and we confirm them in the order requests arrive. This form asks for a seat. It does not commit you to anything. We collect no payment, and no family ever pays. We confirm each seat by email as sponsors fund them.