In Hartford, Conn., more than $11 million was recently committed to support college access for low-income students. Federal funds under "No Child Left Behind?" Nope. A gift from the Gates Foundation? Not that either.

The millions were pledged by a group of Hartford-area private, or independent, high schools as part of Mayor Eddie Perez's campaign to improve college matriculation rates in Connecticut's capital city.

Faced with a long-term economic crisis if the city's school system fails to show marked improvement, Ferez charged a Blue Ribbon Commission in 2004 to "open the doors of economic opportunity for Hartford residents by increasing the number of Hartford youth obtaining bachelor's ...