CHAC's Higher Education Program

The Chambersburg Hispanic American Center (CHAC) is a nonprofit organization offering information, referral and case management services to low-income people, with a particular emphasis on underserved Hispanic adults. Many of the people served by CHAC know little about the U.S. higher education system. Often they have left school at an early age, and have no personal experience with an interrelated system of education that takes a child from pre-school through college.

CHAC recognizes that Latino students often face significant economic, social, academic and cultural barriers to education. CHAC assists Chambersburg Area School District ESL teachers with parent-teacher open houses.  CHAC partners with volunteers from Falling Spring Presbyterian Church who mentor individual Latino students desiring to enter area colleges.  In addition to students, CHAC focuses on Latino parents.

To get ahead in life, many Latino parents emphasize work - work - work rather than the pursuit of educational opportunities. CHAC partners with schools, colleges, churches, libraries, businesses and community organizations to reach out to Latino parents and children in order to raise their awareness of the importance of education, in general, and higher education, in particular. Parents must learn how to help their children prepare for college-level academic courses, how to apply to colleges/universities and how to gain access to student financial aid.

A coalition has been formed to advance CHAC's higher education initiative. Members of the coalition include the Chambersburg Area School District (CASD), the Franklin County Library System (FCLS), Harrisburg Area Community College-Gettysburg Campus (HACC), The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), Shippensburg University and Wilson College.