Top hurdle for Kalamazoo Promise isn’t sending kids to college. It’s getting them to finish.

When seeking a success story about The Kalamazoo Promise, look no further than Maurice Washington, Kalamazoo Central Class of 2011. He grew up in a poverty-stricken family destabilized by addiction, incarceration and stints of homelessness. But thanks to The Promise, he enrolled at Western Michigan University, where he graduated with a 3.8 grade point average from the honors college.